Range Rover Sport - On and Off-Road Ability
Cocktails. My local boozer has started doing these concoctions. Personally, I can’t be bothered. All I know is that while I’m waiting to get a pint of my favourite ale, the folk behind the bar seem to spend ages faffing about mixing various ingredients which end up looking like a glass of orange juice. The pub is yet to go down the route of Del Boy with umbrellas and a curly straw.
Some cocktails, however, do work.
Like this latest Range Rover Sport, a wonderful blend of decent EV economy, performance, agility and luxurious interior. Cushty.
A wealth of choice
The one I had wasn’t the top of the range 4.4 litre 635bhp thumping V8, which is stunning by the way, and it’s not the 3.0 litre diesel, which will make sense if you do high mileage and regularly travel with a hefty load or need to tow.
Nope, I went for the utterly sensible 3.0 litre 6-cylinder plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).
Two versions are available using different outputs from the same 6-cylinder engine, either 454bhp (0-60 in 5.3 seconds) or 542bhp (0-60mph in 4.7 seconds). I had the lower powered version, which will certainly appeal if you’re keeping an eye on the pennies - although when you’re paying £85,575 (Aug 25) for entry-level SE trim, you’re either a company driver or can afford the fuel bills anyway. I’ve tried both PHEV models, and in terms of day-to-day driving, there’s not a lot in it…stick with the lower powered and cheaper model.
Two other trims are available. Add £3k for the Dynamic SE or around £15k for the fully stacked Autobiography.
Economy
The hybrid system works really well and you usually get the Range Rover Sport rolling using battery power alone. If you do a mix of urban, country and dual carriageway tarmac, you’ll appreciate the electric-only range of around 75 miles. You can select EV mode to prevent the petrol engine from bursting into life until the battery is depleted. For many of you reading this, 75 miles could be a daily, petrol-free commute. Company drivers will love that.
Land Rover reckons that if you use the hybrid system to its full extent and charge the car at home (or work), you can break the 300mpg barrier. For most of us, though, on a chilly wintery night, the battery range will drop, and if you do a longer journey, you’ll be using the engine most of the time, expect something like 30mpg overall.
Driving experience
The word ‘Sport’ in the Range Rover’s title is important because it’s meant to be more agile and sharper to drive than the full fat Range Rover. The exterior dimensions also make it easier to punt around town traffic. I think it looks better, too.
Performance is effortless. Floor the throttle and the 6-cylinder petrol engine unleashes the horses. Sounds good too. Handling is surefooted and the ride is surprisingly smooth courtesy of the air suspension. You can even adjust the ride height to either make it easier when clambering in or scrambling over rocky surfaces. There’s even a button in the boot which allows you to lower the ride height to make loading simpler.
And yes, this is a Land Rover, so it’ll resemble a mountain goat. If you do manage to get stuck in a Range Rover Sport and you really shouldn’t have had the idea of going there in the first place. All wheel drive comes as standard, so going for the more powerful models will get you all-wheel steering too, which makes the car simple to wriggle around city streets. Everything goes via an eight-speed auto ‘box. It’s a smooth changer but can be a bit sluggish to swap cogs. If you’re lucky enough to buy a Range Rover Sport, it’s worth going on a Land Rover course to discover exactly what the vehicle is capable of. Progress is remarkably simple because it’s a case of letting the various engine, suspension and gearbox settings do everything by themselves. And don’t brake.
Interior
So the Range Rover Sport is a hugely accomplished performer on and off road, which, to be fair, won’t come as much of a surprise to you…but the star of the show is the interior. It’s fantastic and reeks of style and quality.
The materials are top notch, look good and feel good. It’s proper posh. The driving position is perfect…you’re bound to get comfortable thanks to the 20-way electric and heated adjustable seat. The heated steering wheel adjusts for height and reach.
The 13.7-inch driver display is nice and clear…customisable too. The centre of the dashboard is home to a large infotainment screen. The sat nav feels a bit old school in terms of the graphics, but everything works snappily. Entry level SE trim (for the PHEV models) brings you LED headlights, leather upholstery, heated windscreen, DAB radio, powered tailgate, 3D surround camera, front and rear parking sensors, and adaptive cruise control.
The Dynamic SE trim might be worth considering because you get several styling touches inside and out including black alloys, deeper bumpers and side skirts, and black interior trim. It makes the Range Rover Sport look a tad more…err… sporty.
‘One of the best SUVs on the market’
If you want one of the best SUVs on the UK market, the Range Rover Sport hits the mark. Its on and off-road ability, excellent potential EV economy, driver enjoyment and downright luxurious interior, make it one of the most desirable cars available. Yes, it’s expensive to buy, and it won’t be cheap to run and maintain either, and there’s always a question mark over Land Rover’s reliability record, but once you’ve taken all of that into consideration, choosing a Range Rover Sport is one of the easiest decisions you’ll ever make.
words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Range Rover
