The Range Rover remains a State-of-the Art off-roading icon. It was indeed one of the first 4 x 4’s to combine premium segment ride comfort, with class leading off-road performance; and that was some 37 years ago. The Range Rover transformed the 4 x 4 concept from semi agricultural land conqueror, to all purpose commuting tool for those of both means, and stature. Luxury car performance, ride comfort, and luxury, tied in with class leading off road performance.
To its’ credit, the Range Rover’s legendary reputation remains totally intact; and here we sample this icon of a motoring legend in its most sporting guise to date; the range rover Sport. The Sport is the Range Rover for the enthusiast, the driver (note the emphasis) who wants all the accomplished attributes of a Range Rover, combined with a rewarding road driving experience.
Sporting
Yes, this is the one for the sporting driver; someone who is likely to spend many hours behind the wheel, using the car all-purpose, and every day. The keen ‘Sport’ driver will be seduced by the power and sharper handling of the V8 Sport over the less performance oriented models, and relish the practicality, luxury, and exceptional off road performance of a Range Rover. Those inclined towards the V8 Sport will enjoy more miles per pound spent on swift enjoyable day to day road driving, than non ‘Sport’ buyers, who opt for some occasional off roading.
It is already a well known fact that ‘hard core’ off roading in most 4x4 s these days applies to a relatively small minority of buyers. The trend is little different for the majority of Range Rover buyers, many of these vehicles coming into their own during the equestrian season, a challenge any Range Rover takes on with ease. Hence, most Range Rover driving is on ordinary roads, the roads you and I use, and that means the Range Rover Sport buyer is likely to be having more fun behind the wheel most of the time, compared to the owner of the ‘standard’ car.
Image and Style
But don’t forget, there is place for serious style and image here too. It is surely not by coincidence that many a Range Rover can be seen parked on just about every side street off the Kings Road. It is, however, an image that challenges rather than stereotypes the rather ‘macho’ impression we have of robust 4 x 4 s – the Sport being a ‘quality’, almost designer fashion vehicle in its own right, and one that is just as likely to have a woman behind the wheel as a man. As the pilot of the Range Rover Sport, she/he is clearly making a lifestyle statement, as the car certainly cuts more of a visual dash over the standard entry level car.
In this latest version of the Range Rover, the windscreen is steeply raked and the roof lower than other Land Rovers, while the big 20 inch wheels sit at the very edge of the wheel arches further conveying its purposeful look. Additional front and rear spoilers and side skirts emphasise the point by making this car look fast, stylish, and substantial. It’s full of presence too, yet beauty does not betray function as the side skirts and chin spoiler are able to absorb impacts without damage, making them ideal for off road use.
Seated
Once seated inside you are immediately aware of the superior stature every Range Rover driver naturally commands. Much of it is due to the height, combined with the understated ‘quality’ appearance. The ‘Integrated Body-frame’ structure, (first seen on the Discovery 3), has been tailored for this car to reinforce its’ sporting character. Once seated, you have a traditionally commanding view of the road ahead, and due to the large window areas, there is excellent all round vision, whilst the Sport feels ‘robust’, ‘big’ ‘strong’ – and it is reassuring to know that it is all of those things.
The dash houses a considerable array of switchgear, sharing many components of the lesser Land Rover models, and looks so when compared to the high quality fit and finish of the rest of the car. Yet it’s all fairly user friendly stuff – and you won’t be wanting for equipment. You name it; it’s there. But pinch yourself and remember you’re spending a ‘good’ £58,000 for a car that you and your family will spend a lot of time in, so you certainly wouldn’t expect equipment to be lacking. Would you? Heating, audio, and lighting controls are housed in the centre binnacle, whilst the centre console contains multi adaptable off roading variations that sadly so few of us will actually use.
Value
On the road, there’s the anticipation of double excitement – ‘on –road’ and ‘off road’. The whole question of value for money focuses into sharp contrast here when you consider that this is a performance road car, luxury saloon, and a competent off-roader all housed in the same package.
This particular Range Rover Sport (as opposed to the alternative engined versions, namely –the 4.4 litre normally aspirated V8, and the new 2.7 turbo diesel V6) is powered by a 4.2 litre supercharged V8, derived from the highly acclaimed Jaguar Supercharged V8 engine, and specially developed to Range Rover specification. It kicks out a heady 390 bhp and a massive 410lb ft of torque enabling the magic figure of 60 mph to be achieved in only 7.1 seconds. The car is capable of cruising at its maximum 140 mph all day without fuss, unless you are fussed about about achieving a mere 15 mpg for the privilege when the devil takes you.
Power and torque are fed full time to all four wheels via a new ZF six speed ‘intelligent shift’ automatic gearbox featuring Sport programming (i.e. it ‘reads’ your driving style especially when you want to push on) and ‘Command Shift’ , offering manual control of the gearchange. You’ll enjoy using the latter on swift cross country jaunts where the Sport demonstrates its road holding and acceleration advantages in abundance. Once you’ve cast the grin aside and smirked at the puzzled look of the last vehicle you overtook, you’ll soon settle into the on-road character of this car.
Control of the gearchange allows you to hold the mid range gears making full use of that wide spread of power, allowing you to pick up strongly from slower speeds for the overtake and go another 40 – 50 mph up the scale before thinking about selecting another cog. This is where the power of the ‘Sport’ speaks to you, responding to your commands more keenly than its humble lesser powered cousins, and inspiring confidence and safety as a result of sitting lower on the road with stiffer sportier springs, and lots of grip from those big fat tyres.
Refined
The special air suspension feels the road with confidence and with hardly any discernable interruption of driver and passenger ride comfort. Credit that to Land Rover‘s new Dynamic Response system, which senses cornering forces, and acts to optimise body control and handling performance. The flatter, safer handling, and better driver feedback certainly shows.
The resultant refined, but assured ride comfort also shows on long motorway hauls – you’ll never tire of a long journey in this car, driver and passenger alike. Neither do you pull the short straw in town. To the onlooker, the sheer size of the Range Rover may appear intimidating, yet behind the wheel it is not at all so, the biggest surprise being that it is a doddle to park. Rear parking sensors clearly help to compensate for the high tailgate lip, but its’ four cornered styling means you can rely on good all round vision to help you place the car easily.
Truly sporting off -roader
So does the Sport compromise the Range Rover’s exemplary off road performance? In a word ‘no’, not unless you plan to tackle the very very roughest terrain. The Sporting road concept suggests that a little compromising here is bound to be necessary, but the Sport is well capable of tackling 90% of most achievable off road challenges.
For those of us who intend to maximise the rough stuff, the Sport features an electronically controlled option called Terrain Response, allowing the driver to choose one of five terrain settings via a rotary on the centre console. The system is integrated with the other off road advanced features of the car including ride height, engine torque response, Hill Descent Control, electronic traction and transmission settings, to achieve exceptional off road performance.
The Range Rover Sport proves that you can achieve true sporting character with real-life off roading ability. It is not a compromise, but simply capable of all things. The equation is simple – it promises and delivers…with heritage and style.
Kevin Haggarthy
Range Rover V8 Sport
Specification:
Price: £58,000
Max Speed 140 mph
Engine Size 4.2 litre V8 Supercharged
Max Power 390 bhp
Max Torque 550NM
Average Fuel Consumption 17.8 mpg
0-60 mph 7.1 secs
Insurance Group 20
To its’ credit, the Range Rover’s legendary reputation remains totally intact; and here we sample this icon of a motoring legend in its most sporting guise to date; the range rover Sport. The Sport is the Range Rover for the enthusiast, the driver (note the emphasis) who wants all the accomplished attributes of a Range Rover, combined with a rewarding road driving experience.
Sporting
Yes, this is the one for the sporting driver; someone who is likely to spend many hours behind the wheel, using the car all-purpose, and every day. The keen ‘Sport’ driver will be seduced by the power and sharper handling of the V8 Sport over the less performance oriented models, and relish the practicality, luxury, and exceptional off road performance of a Range Rover. Those inclined towards the V8 Sport will enjoy more miles per pound spent on swift enjoyable day to day road driving, than non ‘Sport’ buyers, who opt for some occasional off roading.
It is already a well known fact that ‘hard core’ off roading in most 4x4 s these days applies to a relatively small minority of buyers. The trend is little different for the majority of Range Rover buyers, many of these vehicles coming into their own during the equestrian season, a challenge any Range Rover takes on with ease. Hence, most Range Rover driving is on ordinary roads, the roads you and I use, and that means the Range Rover Sport buyer is likely to be having more fun behind the wheel most of the time, compared to the owner of the ‘standard’ car.
Image and Style
But don’t forget, there is place for serious style and image here too. It is surely not by coincidence that many a Range Rover can be seen parked on just about every side street off the Kings Road. It is, however, an image that challenges rather than stereotypes the rather ‘macho’ impression we have of robust 4 x 4 s – the Sport being a ‘quality’, almost designer fashion vehicle in its own right, and one that is just as likely to have a woman behind the wheel as a man. As the pilot of the Range Rover Sport, she/he is clearly making a lifestyle statement, as the car certainly cuts more of a visual dash over the standard entry level car.
In this latest version of the Range Rover, the windscreen is steeply raked and the roof lower than other Land Rovers, while the big 20 inch wheels sit at the very edge of the wheel arches further conveying its purposeful look. Additional front and rear spoilers and side skirts emphasise the point by making this car look fast, stylish, and substantial. It’s full of presence too, yet beauty does not betray function as the side skirts and chin spoiler are able to absorb impacts without damage, making them ideal for off road use.
Seated
Once seated inside you are immediately aware of the superior stature every Range Rover driver naturally commands. Much of it is due to the height, combined with the understated ‘quality’ appearance. The ‘Integrated Body-frame’ structure, (first seen on the Discovery 3), has been tailored for this car to reinforce its’ sporting character. Once seated, you have a traditionally commanding view of the road ahead, and due to the large window areas, there is excellent all round vision, whilst the Sport feels ‘robust’, ‘big’ ‘strong’ – and it is reassuring to know that it is all of those things.
The dash houses a considerable array of switchgear, sharing many components of the lesser Land Rover models, and looks so when compared to the high quality fit and finish of the rest of the car. Yet it’s all fairly user friendly stuff – and you won’t be wanting for equipment. You name it; it’s there. But pinch yourself and remember you’re spending a ‘good’ £58,000 for a car that you and your family will spend a lot of time in, so you certainly wouldn’t expect equipment to be lacking. Would you? Heating, audio, and lighting controls are housed in the centre binnacle, whilst the centre console contains multi adaptable off roading variations that sadly so few of us will actually use.
Value
On the road, there’s the anticipation of double excitement – ‘on –road’ and ‘off road’. The whole question of value for money focuses into sharp contrast here when you consider that this is a performance road car, luxury saloon, and a competent off-roader all housed in the same package.
This particular Range Rover Sport (as opposed to the alternative engined versions, namely –the 4.4 litre normally aspirated V8, and the new 2.7 turbo diesel V6) is powered by a 4.2 litre supercharged V8, derived from the highly acclaimed Jaguar Supercharged V8 engine, and specially developed to Range Rover specification. It kicks out a heady 390 bhp and a massive 410lb ft of torque enabling the magic figure of 60 mph to be achieved in only 7.1 seconds. The car is capable of cruising at its maximum 140 mph all day without fuss, unless you are fussed about about achieving a mere 15 mpg for the privilege when the devil takes you.
Power and torque are fed full time to all four wheels via a new ZF six speed ‘intelligent shift’ automatic gearbox featuring Sport programming (i.e. it ‘reads’ your driving style especially when you want to push on) and ‘Command Shift’ , offering manual control of the gearchange. You’ll enjoy using the latter on swift cross country jaunts where the Sport demonstrates its road holding and acceleration advantages in abundance. Once you’ve cast the grin aside and smirked at the puzzled look of the last vehicle you overtook, you’ll soon settle into the on-road character of this car.
Control of the gearchange allows you to hold the mid range gears making full use of that wide spread of power, allowing you to pick up strongly from slower speeds for the overtake and go another 40 – 50 mph up the scale before thinking about selecting another cog. This is where the power of the ‘Sport’ speaks to you, responding to your commands more keenly than its humble lesser powered cousins, and inspiring confidence and safety as a result of sitting lower on the road with stiffer sportier springs, and lots of grip from those big fat tyres.
Refined
The special air suspension feels the road with confidence and with hardly any discernable interruption of driver and passenger ride comfort. Credit that to Land Rover‘s new Dynamic Response system, which senses cornering forces, and acts to optimise body control and handling performance. The flatter, safer handling, and better driver feedback certainly shows.
The resultant refined, but assured ride comfort also shows on long motorway hauls – you’ll never tire of a long journey in this car, driver and passenger alike. Neither do you pull the short straw in town. To the onlooker, the sheer size of the Range Rover may appear intimidating, yet behind the wheel it is not at all so, the biggest surprise being that it is a doddle to park. Rear parking sensors clearly help to compensate for the high tailgate lip, but its’ four cornered styling means you can rely on good all round vision to help you place the car easily.
Truly sporting off -roader
So does the Sport compromise the Range Rover’s exemplary off road performance? In a word ‘no’, not unless you plan to tackle the very very roughest terrain. The Sporting road concept suggests that a little compromising here is bound to be necessary, but the Sport is well capable of tackling 90% of most achievable off road challenges.
For those of us who intend to maximise the rough stuff, the Sport features an electronically controlled option called Terrain Response, allowing the driver to choose one of five terrain settings via a rotary on the centre console. The system is integrated with the other off road advanced features of the car including ride height, engine torque response, Hill Descent Control, electronic traction and transmission settings, to achieve exceptional off road performance.
The Range Rover Sport proves that you can achieve true sporting character with real-life off roading ability. It is not a compromise, but simply capable of all things. The equation is simple – it promises and delivers…with heritage and style.
Kevin Haggarthy
Range Rover V8 Sport
Specification:
Price: £58,000
Max Speed 140 mph
Engine Size 4.2 litre V8 Supercharged
Max Power 390 bhp
Max Torque 550NM
Average Fuel Consumption 17.8 mpg
0-60 mph 7.1 secs
Insurance Group 20
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