Midcycle refreshes can often be a boring affair when it comes to cars, usually heralding a few minor design changes and perhaps some equipment shuffling. That's not the case with Land Rover. The updated 2018 Range Rover receives a variety of upgrades across the board. But the most exciting part of the refresh is the new plug-in hybrid that will launch for the 2019 model year.

The hybrid is called the Range Rover Sport P400e, which comes from Jaguar Land Rover's new horsepower-based badging scheme. The P400e features a 296-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder coupled to a 114-horsepower electric motor. The combined output is 398 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque, which is channeled to all four wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. This powertrain is capable of whisking the Range Rover Sport to 60 mph in a brisk 6.3 seconds on the way to a top speed of 137 mph. Not only that, but the Sport P400e can travel up to 31 miles on electric power only. The hybrid Range Rover Sport also has drive mode options for EV-only use, combined use, and a "SAVE" button for using stored electricity at a later point in the drive.

The next-biggest news from the Range Rover Sport refresh is with the SVR variant. Land Rover upped the power from the supercharged V8 from 550 horsepower to 575. The extra power now allows the sportiest Range Rover Sport to hit 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. It also receives some exterior changes including its first-ever standard carbon-fiber hood. It features a couple extra vents and can be had with a clearcoat instead of a full paint job to show off that carbon fiber weave. Inside, there's also optional lightweight seats that can save another 66 pounds from the SUV's total weight.

Land Rover didn't neglect its volume Range Rover Sports, though. They, like the hybrid and SVR, get refreshed front fascias with much larger bumper grilles and slim fog lights. They also get LED headlights. The overall look is much more aggressive than the outgoing model, and is even reminiscent of the last SVR. Inside, the dashboard is familiar, but with some high-tech changes. Two touch screens make up the center stack. The top one is used for infotainment purposes, and the lower one handles climate control duties. The sun shade for the enormous sun roof can also be controlled via gesture. For people planning on towing with their Range Rover Sports, there is now a trailer assist system that allows you to guide your trailer in using the terrain select **** in a way very similar to Ford's trailer assist system. Under the hood of normal Range Rover Sports are the same selection of turbodiesel V6s, and supercharged V6s and V8s, with the V8 picking up 8 horsepower.

The purely gasoline powered Range Rover Sports will be hitting dealer lots early next year. The 2019 Range Rover Sport P400e will follow along next summer.