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By Jonathan Crouch

The Lamborghini Urus redefines exactly what a performance super-SUV can be. Now, it's a Plug-in Hybrid. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the Urus SE.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 88

With the Lamborghini Urus, which was the brand's first performance SUV, everything's super-sized: shape, performance, technology - and usually running costs. But to some extent, that latter issue's been addressed here with the brand's very first Plug-in Hybrid, the Urus SE. Previous conventionally-engined versions of the Urus have turned around this brand, being blindingly fast, very luxurious and properly practical without the lumbering feel common to many segment rivals. So with PHEV tech and the handling tweaks that have come with it, this car's become very desirable indeed.

Backgroundword count: 182

You might think the idea of a Lamborghini super-SUV a little strange but the company itself actually believes that it basically invented this kind of car - with the brutal V12-engined LM002 model of the Eighties and Nineties. That hand-built muscle model was though, a rather different thing from today's Urus, the car that has singlehandedly changed the company from a boutique sports car maker to a brand with a production capacity that now rivals that of Ferrari. Only 328 LM002 models were ever made. Since its launch in 2018 the Urus, in contrast, has doubled its marque's production output to around 7,000 cars a year. You wonder what company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini would have made of it all. It's only forty years since this famous maker was in receivership. Now, it's more successful than McLaren. But at what price? To create the Urus, the company has had to borrow almost everything from Volkswagen Group engineering. So can the result be a true Lamborghini? And could any modern SUV ever really be, especially in this car's current PHEV guise? Let's find out.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 306

So, even Lamborghini's had to go electrified. But not very electrified. There's still a throaty petrol 4.0-litre V8 beneath the bonnet, albeit in slightly de-tuned 611bhp form with 800Nm of torque (the original un-electrified Urus had 657bhp and 850Nm). Now though, that unit's mated to a 189bhp electric motor inside the 8-speed gearbox, giving a total power output figure of 789bhp (a little more than the Bentley Continental GT Speed this powertrain is borrowed from). The electric motor's energised by a 25.9kWh battery. Other changes for the SE include the replacement of the four wheel drive system's usual Torsen centre differential with a fully variable clutch pack. And a new e-LSD has been added at the back. In theory, this should make for better stability and traction. Performance remains startling, though despite the SE's extra outright power, its 3.4s 0-62mph sprint time is only 0.1s faster than the original model. For the very brave, top speed is 194mph. It still sounds great too - unless you're running in full-EV mode, which you're supposed to be able to do for up to 40 miles, according to Lamborghini; good luck with that. That 'EV Drive' setting is one of no fewer than 11 available drive modes, the others including 'Hybrid', 'Performance' and 'Recharge'. Other settings lower the suspension; or raise it for off road driving (yes, the Urus can capably go off road) which can raise the body by as much as 40mm. Plus of course there's an individual menu via which you can decide your own parameters for suspension feel, engine note and steering weight. Huge carbon ceramic brakes with ten-piston callipers are standard, as is a 48-volt active anti-roll system. Though virtually all the ingredients here are from other Volkswagen Group products, Lamborghini claims to have used them in a way unique to this Sant'Agata brand.

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