BackRange Rover Sport | Off the beaten path
The new Range Rover Sport may be too responsive for urban conditions but off-road, it rules
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The mix of surfaces on the test drive route ranged from smooth, twisty tarmac, steep, muddy slopes to troughs of water deep enough for submarine exercises. And the finale was a drive through the belly of a 747 plane.
To be honest, all it required was a couple of corners, a long straight route with a few bumps thrown in and a bit of mud to tell you that the Range Rover Sport is truly a special SUV. I test-drove the most powerful version with the 5.0-litre, 503 bhp, supercharged V8 motor that’s found in other top-end Land Rovers and Jaguars, but in the new Sport, it feels very different. As soon as you step on the accelerator, this SUV leaps forward with an urgency that belies its mammoth size. While this could excite those who look to drive in a spirited manner, it may be a bit too responsive in urban stop-start traffic conditions, especially for those who’ll be chauffeured around in this car.
One of the main reasons for this nimbleness is its all-aluminium structure which makes the new Sport 420kg lighter than the previous car. The supercharged Sport still weighs in at a portly 2,310kg, but the way it drives, you would think it weighs half that. It gets from standstill to 100 kmph in a blistering 5.3 seconds. And the accompanying soundtrack is brilliant as well with a deep, muted rumble which becomes a sharp growl as you push the engine harder. Another thing that adds to the excitement is the gear number in the instrument cluster display turning red when you near the redline, reminding you to upshift when you drive in manual mode.
And if it’s excitement you want, then all that needs to be done is set the Terrain Response 2 system to “Dynamic Mode". This setting adds more weight to the steering, sharpens the throttle response and holds on to the gears till you reach max revs before upshifting.
With minimal body roll and a quick and accurate steering, this 2.3-tonne SUV could give many sports cars a run for their money and it maintains composure over broken surfaces as well.
Venture off-road and this luxurious SUV feels right at home. The course we were on, hand-picked by Land Rover, included some extreme tracks in the famous Eastnor Castle facility in England. Again, the Terrain Response system can be adjusted to haul you across any surface, sometimes slopes that would make even a mountain goat giddy.
One of the best features on the new Sport is the Wade Sensing system that uses sonar-based sensors under the door mirrors and in the bumpers to measure the depth of the water the car is making its way through. A display on the large TFT (thin-film transistor) screen tells you when you reach the 85cm limit as you drive through a river.
The 3.0-litre V6 diesel version feels much more relaxing to drive, but it’s far from sluggish. In this latest configuration, the top-end diesel engine makes a healthy 288 bhp and 61.18 kgm of torque and you always feel there is more than enough power. The way the power is put down is impressive and combined with the smooth gearbox, speed builds up seamlessly.
In the Indian market, the diesel will be the mainstay in the Range Rover Sport line-up and it does the job incredibly well.
Another positive for the car here is that the Sport, for the first time, comes with a third row, a plus two arrangement, which folds down electrically, although you have to shell out a bit extra cash for it. The cabin is typically Range Rover, which means you get an elevated driving position and a low window line that gives you outstanding view out. The seats are superbly comfortable and the quality of materials is top-notch. The only issue, if at all, is the finish on the leather steering wheel which, if you look carefully, is distinctly uneven. Otherwise, the chunky switches work really well and the large touch-screen display, which does away with so many buttons, is easy to use.
The Range Rover Sport looks much sleeker than its larger Range Rover sibling that shares the same lightweight aluminium architecture, and the design seems inspired by the Evoque quite a bit.
Now, being a premium luxury offering, the new Range Rover Sport is quite pricey here. It starts at ₹ 1.07 crore for the base diesel and, with all the bells and whistles, can go up to ₹ 1.35 crore for the supercharged V8. But then, if it’s an unparalleled combination of luxury and off-road capability you want, all in a stylish package, it certainly is worth breaking the bank.
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