2025 Lamborghini Urus SE Review: The Unapologetically Silly Super SUV

The Drive

5 days ago

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One of my favorite perks of this job is showing off the fancy cars I occasionally get to friends and family. The first time I sat in the 2025 Lamborghini Urus SE, I couldn't figure out how to shift into drive for three minutes. And so began a fun game to play with all of my passengers: How the hell do you turn this thing on?
See, just below the secondary touchscreen for climate control in the Urus are three handles. There's one on the left labeled 'Anima' that scrolls through the Italian words for street, track, snow, and so on; one on the right that controls how deeply the plug-in hybrid super SUV taps its battery pack; and a big one in the middle with a tiny 'R' label on the very top. Miss this label—as I and most of my passengers tended to—and chances are that you'll assume that the big one puts you into drive.
Alright, so clearly, it isn't that handle. The others affect drive modes, and they won't get the car moving, either. It turns out our answer lies in the upshift paddle behind the steering wheel, keeping in tradition with the Huracán and Revuelto. Isn't that something? Three levers ahead of the center console, and none of them move the car forward. I asked on Instagram, 'How do you start this car? Wrong answers only,' and this was my favorite reply: 'You have to charge the Anima Engine by attacking until you reach Neve level. Then you can put it into Drive.' Adam Ismail
It's moments like these that define the Urus experience, weirdly. At its core, this is the most powerful version of a vehicle that is also available in Audi and Porsche flavors, for six figures less. And even as that familiar shield with a golden bull stares back at you, there's nothing about this Urus that feels especially Lamborghini-ish until you encounter one of its confounding user interface oddities, or you force it out of EV-only mode and that diabolical V8 bursts into life. The façade of fuel-sipping docility fades away, and sheer comedy takes its rightful place.
Believe it or not, the Urus has been with us for seven years now. The arrival of the SE marks the most comprehensive refresh yet in the model's history. Front and center is the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 611 horsepower, but it's now boosted by an electric motor feeding off a 25.9-kWh battery contributing a further 178 hp. All told, that's 789 hp and an even 700 lb-ft of torque pushing all four wheels through a central torque vectoring system and electronic limited-slip differential on the rear axle. Leave it in EV mode, as it defaults to upon startup, and it'll travel 37 miles on a full battery at speeds up to 80 mph. Adam Ismail
Outside, Lambo's SUV has become a bit softer on the eyes, with streamlined headlights, a hood shut line that now naturally runs to the top of the grille without any weird crinkles, and a rearranging of some elements and graphics on the tailgate. A neighbor of mine called it a 'beautiful vehicle' in its Verde Gea matte finish, and I reluctantly agreed because, what else are you supposed to say when someone compliments your Lamborghini? That it's 'a bit much?' This facelift certainly makes for a better-looking Urus, but this was always a beefy, angular hunk of metal, and a few nips and tucks here and there can't do much to change that.
The adjustments in the cabin are equally minor, and stand out only if you know where to look. Before the SE, the Urus' center console was one, sloping slab that incorporated two touchscreens, with the lower one reserved for HVAC controls. Now, the top display is wider and more upright, divided from the lower panel by a shelf of leather and little toggles that stick out overhead.
The Urus SE starts at $262,630, but the example seen here costs $344,966, and that's never harder to grasp than when surveying the interior. Yes, there's leather, carbon fiber, and Alcantara almost everywhere you look. But there's also black plastic on top of gray plastic, replete with frivolous ridges and hexagons accentuating what is, in many cases, standard Audi switchgear. The $141,000 BMW X5 M Competition I drove last year had seats that articulated in more ways than my spine could ever bend, an inferno spiraling behind its speaker grilles, and heated armrests inside an airy, elegant cabin. The Urus' interior is a dark and very serious bunker. And I know this will sound petty, but Lamborghini is too important and expensive a brand to use Google's free Roboto font across its whole user interface.
I won't say that I exactly forgot about all those things when I found a decent road to stretch the Urus SE's legs on, but almost 800 hp and the instant torque of an electric motor do have a way of making other concerns fade into the background.
With a top speed of 190 mph and the 62-mph dash dispensed in 3.4 seconds, the Urus SE is an excessive vehicle. It can be comfortable and relatively ordinary in Strada mode, and downright bassy, crackly, and jarringly stiff in Corsa. Sport presents a good compromise, then, and was the mode I had engaged during most of my driving. No matter which you choose, the steering tends to stay on the suspiciously light and numb side, slightly at odds with the Urus SE's 5,500-pound curb weight. That's actually some 700 pounds heavier than the Performante model without the hybrid powertrain that we tested last year. Adam Ismail
The active suspension and sophisticated all-wheel-drive system placing all that power keep the Urus SE playful, yet predictable. Left to my own devices on an empty gravel lot, switched to the appropriate Terra mode, I'd even expect it to be agile for its size—if Lamborghini allowed me the opportunity, that is. (This thing has no less than three off-road settings, but they still don't let you take loaners like these off the black.)
The 'for its size' part kind of gives away the whole game, though. It still feels like a massive SUV, maybe the most massive, with power and grip in equal measure, and a stunning normalcy when you're not intent on driving it like its badge would suggest.
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But the Urus SE isn't the only player in this town. Audi's is called the RSQ8; Porsche's is the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid. Those can be had for $100,000 less. And then, if you're in the market for one of these, there's also the Aston Martin DBX to consider, the Ferrari Purosangue, and whatever McLaren might cook up in the next couple of years. Adam Ismail
What does the Urus have that those don't? It looks the most pissed off, and has the most confounding start procedure with a dashboard aesthetic I'd describe as 'military-lite.' Those sound like put-downs, but honestly, damn near everyone I showed the car loved those qualities about it.
There's a sense of occasion to flipping up that candy-red shroud, pressing the ignition button, flicking the paddle into drive, and the repetitive 'chonk' noises as you pull those plastic levers to your desired drive mode and battery usage. It's silly, it's complicated, and that's the point. And now that it's a plug-in hybrid, you won't have to wake anyone up during that intricate ritual, unless you really feel like it. 2025 Lamborghini Urus SE Specs Base Price (as tested) $262,630 ($344,996) Powertrain 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with electric motor | 8-speed automatic | all-wheel drive | 25.9-kWh battery Horsepower 789 @ 6,000 rpm Torque 700 lb-ft @ 2,250-4,500 rpm Seating Capacity 5 Curb Weight 5,520 pounds 0-62 mph 3.4 seconds Top Speed 193 mph EPA Fuel Economy 48 mpge | 20 mpg (gas only) Score 7.5/10
The Urus SE's potent plug-in hybrid powertrain now makes it even more versatile than before, though the explosive performance—and gimmicky, love-it-or-hate-it interior—are still definitely here. Adam Ismail