ON TOP OF THE WORLD. AND BACK.
It is the apotheosis of exaggeration, but it is precisely the fact of knowing how unstoppable it is everywhere that justifies its price. In the meantime, I keep climbing where you wouldn’t think possible to find a 510 horsepower €150,000 SUV.
Words Andrea Albertazzi / Photos Jay Tomei
When certain new models arrive, I am always attacked by a mixture of excitement and fear. The first because it is the evolution of something that – regardless of the segment – represents a reference for the market, the second feeling because it takes very little to ruin something great. This is not the case with Land Rover, which unveils the new Range Rover Sport, the luxurious and gargantuan SUV that winks at sport and performance thanks to a more dynamic look than the one you get with the traditional Range. If there is a flaw in this giant on wheels it is that it makes the outgoing model look old. Let’s be clear, it’s not a problem, at least not for those who are ready to put a brand new one in the garage.
The dimensions are becoming more and more imposing and although the Sport version is 10 cm shorter than the classic one, the work carried out by the designers proves capable of guiding the observer’s look to very specific points, which accentuate an on road presence to say the least threatening. We have new headlights, new bumpers and sharp square lines that shape the bodywork. And there’s a lot of bodywork: 5 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1.87 meters high with suspension in normal mode. The lights are then the icing on the cake: the front ones are LED and make use of as many as 1.3 million micromirrors, while the rear ones develop horizontally are immersed in a black band, giving rise to the most characteristic detail of the Sport variant.
The sample of our test is the best in terms of hybrid – above this we only have the 530-hp 4.4 V8 BMW-sourced – a Plug-In Hybrid which includes a 3-litre supercharged inline 6-cylinder and an electric unit with 31.3 kWh battery. If you have a fairly spacious living room you can then recharge your new Range Sport while binge watching Netflix, convenient right? Of course, it will take its time (around 14 hours from a 2.3 kW domestic socket), but if you want to optimize the charging phase you can always make use of a wall-box or charging stations scattered along the roads. The hybrid compartment is not an end in itself and if the electrons alone allow you to move for a maximum of around 80 km, you will notice that off-roading, the reactivity of the electric counterpart is one of the skills that makes the Range Rover Sport even more effective, where not everyone will bring an SUV costing around €150,000.
Personally, I had no doubts and, having devoured the motorway in the complete comfort offered by seats that I would gladly place at home, I decided to put the dynamic sister of the cousin of the best 4X4 ever (the Defender, ed.) to the test. Family connections aside, the Range Rover Sport raises every one of its features to the highest level, fitting 22-inch SV Bespoke wheels and making them coexist with a set-up that makes use of the latest generation Terrain Response, which can be used by choosing from a thousand programs, or leaving let the car to manage everything on its own. In any case, every dirt path seems like a child’s play. Of course, in the narrowest passages you have to deal with dimensions that are certainly not similar to those of a Suzuki, but between sensors and cameras scattered here and there – combined with a seat from which you control the surrounding environment – extricating yourself between a rock wall and the cliff is easier than you might think.
I advance slowly, on a more impervious road surface than expected and with sharp stones that make no concessions to the enormous tyres. In the meantime, cuddled as if in a bubble isolated from the outside world, I’m not even tossed from side to side before I’m already starting to be able to admire the valley from a privileged position. And I mean it for real. The new Range Rover Sport is as effective as it is technological: the large 13.1″ central display is complete with every possible information and although it has shown some small and occasional slowdowns, it is a further step forward compared to the one before. What can we say about the beige leather interior of this model, a perfect match with the exterior of the Giola Green body. You perceive a much higher luxury feel than before, we are more in Bentley territory than BMW and this consequently has an impact on a higher entry price, but we’ll talk about this later.
I manage the parameters of the driving modes via the rotor located on the large central tunnel and enjoy Land Rover effectiveness at its maximum expression. If I think that the kilometers spent on asphalt have shown how the new Sport is perfectly capable of grinding paved road at high speeds, I am literally amazed at how, now, it is able to excel in something totally different. Yes, because the 3-litre here has some serious power: 510 horsepower and 700 Nm of torque already available at just 1,500 rpm. You know what that means right? With the slightest pressure on the throttle you are pushed to the seat and as the nose points upwards, the volume increases and you are already at your destination. And it doesn’t matter if the road then becomes a path, because nothing seems capable of stopping us today.
Perhaps only a consumption which at high speeds reflects a weight of 2,810 kg, a truly substantial mass which on the other hand makes the dynamic precision with which the RR Sport slips through the curves in Dynamic mode even more incredible. I don’t think it needs to be reiterated that traction is all-wheel drive, while a few words about the gearbox deserve to be said. In fact, we have an electronically controlled automatic transmission with 8 speeds that will make you forget about using the paddles on the steering wheel, thanks to a truly surprising precision and this is one of the many pluses that are also reflected in off-road situations, where you can only concentrate where to place the wheels.
The climb continues and while the path tends to open up, the dangers do not stop at the dizziness caused by the view a few centimeters to the side, but rather at an extremely stony surface that alternates with a humpback section (much worse), which forces us to increase the suspension run to the max. After becoming familiar with the various settings it becomes almost a game and it is surprising how with road tyres, the Range Sport is not put into crisis even when I do my worst to feel it skidding in the middle of a twist on a mixture of gravel and mud. Incredible. Let alone having the knowledge that I’m climbing towards altitude with a €147,000 and 510 horsepower SUV. It is the apotheosis of exaggeration, but it is precisely the fact of knowing how unstoppable it is everywhere that justifies its price. Then add the fact that Range Rover has always been a status symbol, a lifestyle or even better a statement and you have given the answer to any question that may come to mind.
It’s true, it will affect your dear savings with a starting price (for the diesel hybrid) set at least at €97,000, and then rises above one hundred thousand simply by adding a key fob, but once again the Range Rover Sport proves itself to be the best SUV of them all and this is because it is essentially the only one that fully embodies its description, that is, the ability to excel – I repeat, excel – on road and off-road. Of course, on a dynamic/performance level there are alternatives that are superior on asphalt, but we are not talking about a sports-focused SUV, but rather a very elegant apartment on wheels which on balance rises into a higher category than other brands. It already did it before, but now it does it even better. And as I turn off the engine, close the door and enjoy the view at the foot of the gigantic cross that tickles the sky, I am aware that almost no 510 horsepower SUV would have arrived up here without the help of a helicopter. The wind pops saying hi, it’s cold and for me it’s a good excuse to get back on board.
RANGE ROVER 3.0 PHEV AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Engine In-Line6 cylinder Supercharged, 2.996 cc Power 510 hp @ 5.500 rpm Torque 700 Nm @ 1.500 rpm
Traction All-Wheel-Drive Transmission 8-Speed Automatic Gearbox Weight 2.810 kg
0-100 kph 5,5 sec Top Speed 242 kph Price from€142.000 (€147.186 as tested)