The Range Rover Sport is either the ultimate form of school run transport or its ultimate scourge, depending on how you view such things, but it’s a car which knows its audience.
The original developed a rather yobbish image in some quarters, and the two succeeding iterations of the car that have appeared since are stylistically less brutal, but the current version, which this year has had a minor spec makeover, is not aimed at introverts, with a bulk, squared-off profile and flashy visual detailing that are entirely inimitable. It’s an expensive thing and looks it.
High and mighty
This is a car you step up to enter, in part because it has genuine off-road capabilities and the necessary ground clearance to go with them. The Sport has air suspension, and it comes as little surprise to discover a driver’s door-mounted button that will adjust the car’s height, and one in the luggage deck to lower the large boot (835 litres with the back seats in place). The suspension can be raised too, and both operations are accompanied by hissing noises.
This car has a knack of making its occupants feel good, partly thanks to the lofty seating position, which allows you to see things denied to hatchback owners.
This is a big car, and the interior is far from cramped, but three adult rear seat occupants might be surprised at the ultimate compactness of this plushily appointed space. Children or a couple of grown-sups would have little to complain about, as they make the seat backrests electrically recline, one of the Sport’s many luxury party tricks.
Command and control
A lot of effort has gone into the design of the interior, which has a plethora of useful storage bins and lockers, and details such as a slight curve to the centrally mounted touch screen to make it reflection free. The screen itself oversees an endless choice of functions, doing so in a mostly logical way. Previously, the Sport’s heat/vent functions were taken care of by conventional controls lined up under the screen, but in the latest cars these functions have migrated to it, and although the graphics that animate them make sense, we think they’re more of a fiddle to use.
On a more positive track, the Sport’s parking camera setup, which includes a 360-degree function, is excellent and very necessary, given the car’s size. One quaint feature is the screen greeting you with either ‘good morning,’ or ‘good afternoon.’ A nice touch.
The front seats can be adjusted and tweaked electrically in all sorts of ways, making this an extremely comfortable car, the driving position is good, and the Sport’s lofty cabin offers a commanding view of the outside world.
Comfort zone
There is a suite of on and off-road driving modes, and in standard on-road trim, it’s a very comfortable thing to travel in. The ride is quite firm, but pliant, and this heavy car generally makes light work of poor road surfaces, although pothole-infested tarmac does lead to some crashing and banging, but this is hardly the fault of the car.
These days Range Rover offers a mix of petrol engines - some in plug-in hybrid form - and diesel variants, and we drove one of these with a mild hybrid system. A 3.0 litre six-cylinder, it was muted around town and relaxed and easy going at motorway speeds. This engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which changes gear slickly and smoothly. The only slightly jarring element was the engine stop/start system which sometimes engaged a little jerkily.
Four square
To describe this car as ‘sporting’ is rather stretching a point, but for such a large, upright thing it’s surprisingly nimble, helped in part by rear wheel steering, which comes in useful when parking. The steering itself is very light but perfectly precise and the car gets around bends in a confidence-inspiring way. It wouldn’t stand comparison with a Lotus Elise of course, but there’s nothing vague about this car’s dynamics.
Sporting chance?
People who despise luxury sports utilities are unlikely to warm to this one. It’s a big, brash decadent thing; a display of wealth with a wheel at each corner, but that doesn’t prevent it from being an engineering tour de force, and the acme of plushness and comfort.
Others who love the way it does things and what it represents will continue to buy it - assuming they can find an insurer willing to take it on.
The Facts
Range Rover Sport Autobiography
0-62mph: 5.9sec
Top speed: 145mph
MPG: 36.1
CO2 emissions: 205g/km
Price: £100,920.
