Base Price: $63,495 to $79,995
Competitors: BMW X5, BMW X6, Infiniti FX50, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Mercedes-Benz M-class, Porsche Cayenne.
Powertrains: Supercharged 3.0-liter V-6, 340 hp, 332 lb-ft; supercharged 5.0-liter V-8, 510 hp, 461 lb-ft; 8-speed automatic, AWD
EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 17/23 (V-6), 14/19 (V-8)
What's New: Launched in 2004, the old Range Rover Sport was a bit of a misnomer. Based on the all-steel structure that also underpinned the previous year's Land Rover LR3 model (now the LR4), the Range Rover Sport was not really a Range Rover and was only borderline sporting. Under Tata Motors, the brand's current owner, Jaguar Land Rover has deployed a new generation of lightweight aluminum SUV structures, first seen on the Range Rover that debuted last year. The Sport derivative now gets the same underpinnings, along with a weight reduction of almost 800 pounds. That's some diet plan.
The weight saving is all the more impressive when you consider the expanded dimensions: The new Sport is 2.4 inches longer and 2.2 inches wider than before, with an additional seven inches in the wheelbase. In appearance, the Range Rover Sport is more balanced and subtle, without the garish bling of its predecessor's styling. Yet this is still unmistakably a Range Rover, with the classic clamshell hood and long roofline profile, though it's a shame you don't get a split tailgate of the full Range Rover, and the 28 cubic feet of cargo space is down 6 compared to the outgoing Sport model. There is a seven-seat option, which you don't get with the full Range Rover, but the electronically deployed perches are small.
Tech Tidbit: New Range Rover Sport's wading depth has been increased to 33.5 inches, largely thanks to a new air-intake system. This draws air via stacks (nicknamed "Queen Mary Stacks" by the development team after the Cunard White Star oceanliner now retired in Long Beach, Calif.) nestled under the hood on each side. As you can see from these pictures taken at Land Rover's off-road test tracks at Eastnor Castle in the U.K., they're effective. What's more, you can actually see how deep the water is if you choose the option of wade sensors, which display water depth on the screen.
Driving Character: Inside the new cabin, quality improvements are immediately apparent. The extra wheelbase has freed up more space, and the seats have been reorganized to prioritize seating comfort over luggage space. Materials and design are high quality, lovely to the touch, and thoughtfully designed. There are a lot of buttons, but they're logically laid out and well labeled, though the window switches on the doors seem like an afterthought. The seats are gorgeously comfortable and it all feels rather grand. Rear-seat accommodation is generous and the Range Rover provides loads of useful storage, including an optional cool box in the center console.
The driver is faced with Jaguar Land Rover's all-electronic dashboard, which feels dumpy compared to the rest of the interior, and we're still not fans of the touchscreen that controls the infotainment. On the road, ride comfort is excellent, with a supple approach to bumps, graduated roll control, and accurate and well-weighted steering. The Range Rover Sport cossets its occupants like no other, but without compromising the handling.
At higher speeds the Sport is better fun to drive than seems possible for an SUV that weighs 4727 pounds in V-6 trim and 5093 pounds with a V-8. There's not a huge amount of feedback to the major controls, but there's chassis fluency and a steering accuracy that make this a lovely vehicle for a winding road. Our main gripe is the failure of the rear suspension to settle at medium speeds on very smooth roads?in other words, when the chassis has nothing to do.
With the optional two-speed transfer case, this road-biased vehicle traversed everything that Land Rover's Eastnor test track could throw at it. You feel the electronics transferring torque to the wheel with the most grip, slackening off the suspension to allow the wheels to drop into potholes and keep moving. It won't even allow you to give the car full throttle at times, as it has figured out (correctly) that you'd merely dig yourself in. You can manually intervene, of course, but the Sport's automatic mode allows the vehicle to select the best compromise of driveline and suspension.
Favorite Detail: While the optional wading-depth indicator is a bit of gimmick, the all-around cameras that show the position of the wheels relative to the road are absolutely brilliant, whether you're trying to protect the tires from sharp rocks or Manhattan curbs.
Driver's Grievance: We experienced a "failure to proceed" twice on this test. Once, on the infamous Gearbox Hill at Eastnor Castle, where tree roots, slippery mud, and steep incline caused the wheels to spin us to a halt and we needed to reverse and run up again to clear the obstacle. Would the extra wheel articulation of the standard Range Rover have kept us going? The other occasion was in Powys, Wales, where a badly fastened turbo pipe caused the Range Rover Sport to splutter into limp-home mode. The redoubtable mechanics at Penybont Service Station got us going again (thanks lads) and a mortified Land Rover PR team assured us that a production bulletin has been issued about this fault. But with quality still an issue for Land Rover in some buyer's minds, this reflects poorly.
Bottom Line: Here we have a sports SUV that can match the best of the Germans on the road, but as soon as the pavement ends, the battle becomes very one-sided. The same is true, of course, about the Range Rover, but the Range Rover Sport starts at a price almost $20,000 lower and offers the extra two rows of seats. When it comes to the family hauling for rich moms and dads, the Range Rover Sport looks like a sure bet to be more successful than its predecessor (which was already Land Rover's best-selling model in the U.S.).
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