Defender PHEV

[DPF]

I live in Ireland and I’m looking at buying a new Defender 110PHEV. Would appreciate thoughts from forum contributors about this drivetrain. I already drive a PHEV, Volkswagen Passat GTE, which has turned out to be a really good plug in hybrid. Has anyone had experience of the system used by Land Rover? Understand that the Defender will use the same system as currently in the Range  Rover and the Discover. Due to taxation both of new vehicle purchases and of annual road tax in Ireland the PHEV drive train makes a lot of financial sense. Whereas, I understand, this drivetrain version is more expensive than the diesel option in the UK it is less expensive in Ireland after tax.

My experience with the VW is that the quoted mpg is a work of near fiction in the real world. In reality it usually returns a consumption about 40% of the “theoretical” levels quoted in specifications. This means in real world driving that it is comparable to a diesel and better than a petrol engine. The very high consumption figures are only realistically achieved in local driving and in stop start traffic where the electric motor does the work.

It would be appreciated and great to know how any owners with the PHEV drivetrain that Land Rover use on their vehicles have found the system Both in terms of driving and reliability.