The Range Rover has long been associated with luxury. A British institution, it has appealed to everyone from royalty to catwalk models. It’s a status symbol, a badge of honour and is a guaranteed way to make an entrance.
There’s considerable choice when it comes to luxury vehicles these days, but a few models still top the list. For that combination of comfort and statement, you would have to consider a Rolls-Royce Ghost or Phantom, a Mercedes S-Class (or its Maybach equivalent), a BMW 7 Series or a Range Rover.
Unlike the saloon models, the Range Rover is a four-wheel-drive SUV, which means as well as being luxurious, you can drive it up the side of the hill, or down a rough track to the country estate. As nice as a Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 Series looks in the city, I wouldn’t fancy taking one off-road.
Of course, these other luxury manufacturers also have off-road solutions. Rolls-Royce has the Cullinan, an incredible beast of a car, that shares the power and finish of a Ghost, but raised and with four-wheel drive. Mercedes has the GLS/EQS and even a higher-end Maybach version, too. And BMW has the X7, a practical yet suitably large SUV.
Despite ticking all the boxes, none have the gravitas of the Range Rover. So what makes this SUV different? I spent a week with one to see if I could pin down exactly what it is about this car that still draws people in.
I have to say, I was reminded of why the Range Rover is both impressive to drive and be driven in, though I also found one reason why you might not consider it in today’s climate.
The pick of the bunch
The model I was driving wasn’t just your average Range Rover. This was the Long-wheelbase Autobiography with a P530 mild hybrid petrol engine – that’s a 4.4-litre V8 – starting from £147,945 / $179,500. If you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of power, there is a Plug-in Hybrid model, which is a little cheaper at £137,550 (not available in the US).
Being a luxury model, the starting price is just that, and you can customise with an unlimited choice of paint through the SV Bespoke programme, as well as a wide range of exterior and interior features, from deployable steps, nine styles of alloys in three sizes, a dash cam and a quilted liner for the boot – perfect for keeping the pooch comfy.
My car was finished in Charente Grey with 23-inch SV Bespoke alloys, 24-way heated and cooled electric front seats with massage function, executive-class rear seats with rear entertainment screens, a refrigerator compartment and spare wheel. This meant a total price of £156,145.
For comparison, an S580 long-wheelbase Mercedes S Class starts from around £130,000, while the Rolls-Royce Ghost starts from around £290,000.
In the driving seat
While, like any SUV, the Range Rover has a raised driving position, it never feels like you’re sitting too high. The seat position is more like an armchair, with the steering wheel set to a comfortable height, closer to that of a saloon car. The seat is very comfortable, with armrests and lots of room for adjustments – especially this 24-way version, with heat and cooling functions to keep you at the perfect temperature.
The steering wheel also has a heated function, of course, but it’s the sections of wood veneer that offer a cooler premium touch than your typical leather that I really enjoyed. Driving information is kept clear and accessible through the 12-inch driver display and the head-up display, in addition to the central 13.1-inch touchscreen that is curved to not only match the dash but also to avoid reflections.
There’s adaptive cruise control at your fingertips, along with steering assistance to keep you centred in your lane. The rearview mirror flips down to offer a digital display from the rear camera, and the 3D surround camera view gives you a perfect view of the car from any angle, to make parking or tight spots a breeze. It also helps that this 5.2-metre-long vehicle offers rear-wheel steering to allow tighter turning.
Driving in comfort mode is great for those long journeys, smooth and gentle thanks to that electronic air suspension – it’s called a Range Rover for a reason, you could do hundreds of miles behind this wheel and not feel it. Equally, for performance, you can switch the car into dynamic mode and engage the Sports setting and have the car come alive.
The Range Rover takes on a different personality in sports mode, tightening up the steering and suspension and letting that V8 roar with great revs between the auto changes. Or you can switch to manual gears and use the paddles.
Left in auto, the car will also detect the terrain, though you can also manually select from grass/gravel/snow, mud and ruts, sand or rock crawl modes. It’s here you remember that this is still a fully functioning off-road car, complete with hill descent control, electronic traction control, hill launch assist and low traction launch functions. While the passengers in the back relax, you can take this car up a mountain without it breaking a sweat.
Being driven
If you thought the driving seat was luxurious in the Range Rover, the back seats blow it out of the water. With the long-wheelbase, you get lots of extra leg room, and with the executive class comfort rear seats, you get a proper business class experience in the rear.
While there is a seven-seater version of the LWB Range Rover, the five-seater is the luxury option. Those rear seats have 4-way lumbar adjustment, allowing you to recline in comfort, while the passenger not behind the driver can stretch out even further by moving the front passenger seat forward.
The missing piece
In today’s economy, the only thing that really shocked me about this P530 petrol model was the fuel economy. While this is a mild hybrid, due to the sheer size of this car, that 4.4-litre V8 gave me less than 16 mpg on my drives. Official figures suggest up to 23.9 mpg, but that would require some very gentle driving. That’s a thirsty car that eats through a full 90-litre tank in around 320 miles.
The Plug-in hybrid model is a more economical alternative. Though the 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine isn’t as powerful, the battery can provide up to 71 miles of electric-only travel, which means all but those longer journeys can be covered purely by electric power.
Later this year, the fully electric Range Rover is expected to finally go on sale. Having trialled the prototype version myself already, I can confirm that this model feels every bit the Range Rover but is completely battery-powered. I suspect initial models may only cover the standard rather than the long-wheelbase models, but this will be a big change.
An all-electric model should match, if not better, the power and acceleration of the P530 V8 model – maybe even delivering an equivalent to the high-performance SV model. It will still deliver the comfort and luxury features, and the off-road performance. The only thing it won’t do is cost a fortune to refill.
The verdict
The Range Rover is not only an excellent offering for luxury transport, it provides that luxury in an SUV form, so that you can go anywhere and any distance in style. This Range Rover is the perfect luxury car for both long and short distances, whatever the terrain, and whether you’re driving or being driven.
In this long-wheelbase form, it is a giant car, but it offers the perfect combination of comfort and performance. While it’s not the only car to provide this level of luxury in the rear, it is unique in that it can provide this while also offering class-leading off-road performance.
It’s the kind of luxury car that works equally well on the streets of London while also imagining it still doing the same in the apocalypse. Whatever the terrain, you know that a Range Rover will get you there in style.
There are versions of the Range Rover to suit all driving styles, from the diesel mild hybrid, to the petrol plug-in hybrid, to the petrol V8 and the powerful SV version. With the introduction of the fully-electric model later this year, the Range Rover will once again offer the perfect inner-city solution for those wanting either fuel efficiency, no emissions, or to simply avoid the tolls.
