Sexy new Lamborghini exterior? Check.
Throaty, twin-turbo V8? Check.
Hybrid powertrain capable of 38 miles of all-electric range? Um… sure? Check.
Welcome to the new Urus SE, starting at (gulp) $250,000.
When Lamborghini (VWAGY) unveiled the new, or refreshed, version of its bestselling Urus, the thinking was, don’t mess with a good thing. The angular, aggressive (some may even say garish) exterior styling, combined with a thumping V8, guttural exhaust sound — and, oh, the ability to lug more than two people and some cargo — made the Urus the livable Lambo for the very upscale family.
But with Lamborghini’s Direzione Cor Tauri electrification plan in place, hybrid power was coming. And Lambo swears this is all in the name of performance.
In this case, Lamborghini is pairing a twin-turbo V8 similar to the one found in the outgoing Urus with an electric motor that sits connected to the 8-speed transmission, with power going to all four wheels. The new system in the Urus SE outputs around 790 horsepower, or nearly 150hp more than the last-gen Urus Performante. Torque also jumps from 627 lb-ft to a robust 700 lb-ft.
The all-wheel-drive system is improved to what Lambo is calling a “longitudinal electric torque vectoring system.” English translation: The system can electronically send power seamlessly between the front and rear axles. A new electronic limited-slip differential in the rear axle means more power to either rear wheel, meaning more fun — and the ability to “drift” (more on that later).
The system, paired with a rear-mounted 25.9 kWh battery, nets you the aforementioned 38 miles of electric range, which is not nothing. That’s important for more and more city centers that mandate zero-emissions vehicles. But again, this isn’t about being “green,” which is a nice afterthought.
But it’s also why the Urus doesn’t use a bigger battery and isn’t even a full EV at this point.
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Yahoo Finance, “Because this is a hybrid car, it’s about adding power and not too much weight, so this is very important because for us, yes, acceleration, top speed, is key.”
He added, “But even more is the handling behavior. So the lightness of the car, how you get into the corners… also the reactiveness of the car, the emotion which is giving the car back to you as a driver.”
During our first drive of the new Urus — which weighs an estimated 600 lbs more than the outgoing Urus Performante — it did not feel like it was that much heavier. The ability for near-instantaneous torque with the electric motor assist and the way the electric power “fills the gaps” when there would normally be power loss from gear changes means no hiccups in power delivery.
The car winds up when pushed — and the power comes on ferociously. It also sounds good, with the noise coming out of the quad exhaust. But Lambo admits it is also piping some additional exhaust notes through the sound system. That’s a bummer.
The power delivery is, of course, aided by the all-wheel-drive system. I was able to test out this all-wheel-drive system in a small off-road course, though the terrain was mostly sand and some loose rocks and ruts. When in “terra,” or off-road mode, the Urus had good traction. But it also allowed for some fun, with the tail sliding out with your foot mashed to the pedal and a hard yank of the steering wheel.
That trick rear electronic limited-slip differential allowed for drifting too, believe it or not. The system could push most of the power to the rear wheels, and with traction control and stability control turned off, the car had more than enough power to get its rear oversteering in hooligan-like fashion. Thank God I wasn’t paying for those tires (and thank you, Lamborghini, for the opportunity).
Now, when it’s time to go to work or tool around town doing the weekend errands, switching the car into EV mode makes tremendous sense. The car drives smoothly, quietly, and can easily go up to 60 mph in electric mode if need be. A lot of cars can do EV mode well, but how many look this extreme, and can transform into a snarling beast at the flick of a switch?
There are competitors in the $250K – $350K super SUV space, believe it not. There’s the Aston Martin DBX707 and Volkswagen stable mates with hybrid power like the Bentley Bentayga SUV and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT hybrid. And the Porsche here can be had for around $60K less ($196,300 MSRP, versus $258,636 for the Urus SE). The Ferrari Purosangue also plays in this space but at nearly double the starting price (MSRP $423,686).
Not surprisingly, Winkelmann believes the Urus SE sets itself apart from the others.
“It’s a real supercar inside this segment. When we started, we were the first ones. Now others are coming,” he said.
“Others are more, let’s say, on the comfort side,” he added. “We are more on the performance side, but also never forgetting that this is a daily usable car which is doing a high mileage every year. So comfort has an important part, but this combination is unique, and also, in terms of design, it’s a winner.”
Bottom line: In our first drive, it seems Lamborghini did enough to make electrification fun, and not a dirty word. Electric power only enhances the final product — and if it makes you green in the process, so be it. (Though Lamborghini swears its younger, and very wealthy, clientele does care about these things.)
Leave it to the millennials and Zoomers to question the long-held truism that you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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