Lamborghini Urus SE Review: Hardly Any Drawbacks
Lamborghini’s biggest sales success is now available only as a plug-in hybrid in Singapore, but it’s a stronger proposition than ever before.
When I met the CEO of Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann, in 2022, I was a little shocked when he confirmed that very soon, all Lamborghinis will be electrified.
What would that do to the engagement when driving an ICE-powered Lamborghini? How about those iconic V10 and V12 engine notes? Will it still be as desirable as ever?
All my fears, as it turned out, were unfounded. The Revuelto was the first example of what Lamborghini could achieve - a plug-in drivetrain mated to a monumental naturally-aspirated V12. Plainly, it still induced lots of sweat on my palms when driven hard (read: scintillating to drive), and it’s now even faster than ever before with assistance from the electric motor. It’s cliche to say, but it’s true - it’s literally merging the best of both worlds.
The Urus SE continues the successful PHEV strategy, mating the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with a 192 PS / 483 Nm electric motor and 25.9 kWh battery to produce a staggering 800 PS and 950 Nm. From the outside at least, you can’t really tell the SE is a PHEV except for really small badges on the side skirts. There are no additional badges on the boot lid or front, and I think this is intentional. A PHEV Lamborghini is still a Lamborghini.
There’s a useful 60 km or so EV range, while performance wise, 0-100 km/h is dispatched in 3.4 seconds (0.1 seconds quicker than the outgoing Urus S).
Yes, I know by now you would be voicing your concerns about the additional weight the SE has gained (300 kg, to be precise). I had the same thoughts too. But I was surprised to learn that I hardly felt it at all. The car goes even harder than I remember, while it corners with an agility that belies its size. Braking power still feels immense from the standard-fit carbon ceramic brakes. Honestly, the driving experience is just as good as the Urus S at the very least, but probably better in many ways thanks to the additional power and flexibility of running in EV mode. If there are any downsides, they are indiscernible to this writer. You could probably feel it on the track after a few laps, but not on Singapore roads.
Potting around for errands, you could realistically keep the car on EV mode for much of the day as it is pretty quick even just on electric power. But unlike new generation PHEVs in the market, the Urus SE won’t hesitate to turn on its V8 past a certain point on the throttle pedal. However, given the Urus SE is performance-biased, I don’t really mind the engine kicking in (you get to hear its lovely bellow after all). Charging takes place via an 11 kW AC onboard charger, but you could also drive the car in its sportier modes to recharge the battery - at least you’re not wasting all of the petrol to heat and exhaust fumes.
On the inside, the Urus SE receives some light updates mainly to its infotainment system, which now looks less like an Audi system and more like proprietary Lamborghini software. Honestly, it betters most of Audi’s newer infotainment systems that are devoid of buttons. In this ‘older’ generation setup, there are tactile buttons for climate control and for entertainment options. The extra hybrid and EV functions on the steering wheel are also intuitive to use. There’s very little to fault here.
I think the best part about the Urus SE is yet to be mentioned, and that’s its price and road tax. It is asking for virtually the same price as the outgoing Urus S ($1.15m before COE) and it even attracts the same road tax as well, despite offering 132 bhp and 100 Nm more. It’s quite a no-brainer on paper, but thankfully the experience behind the wheel hasn’t suffered one bit. In fact, it’s probably the best Urus for the road thus far.
Photos by Sean Seah
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