Lamborghini Urus S 2022 Review

Australian deliveries of the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S are expected to commence in the second quarter of next year, with pricing kicking off at $409,744 plus on-road costs.

The Urus S will be up against opposition such as the Bentley Bentayga S (from $450,200 plus ORCs) and Aston Martin DBX707 (from $428,400).

It also stands as a more affordable option than the incoming new track-oriented Lamborghini Urus Performante, which is priced from $465,876 plus ORCs.

There’s a plethora of personalisation options on the menu, but the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S comes generously equipped in standard form.

Included in the price are leather seats with 12-way electric adjustment at the front, adaptive cruise control, LED headlights/tail-lights, performance exhaust, 8.6-inch infotainment screen, 10.1-inch touch-screen, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, voice interaction, USB and auxiliary ports and a 21-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound system.

The standard rims are 21-inchers shod with Pirelli P Zero tyres (285/45ZR21 at the front and 315/40ZR21 at the rear) but, for an extra outlay, you can opt for 22-inch ‘Nath’ rims with titanium matt and diamond polish finish or 23-inch ‘Taigete’ wheels in bronze and diamond polish.

The Urus S is distinguishable from its predecessor via a cleaner front-end whereby the hexagon and Ypsilon motifs incorporated in the front grille and air intakes have been ditched. Instead, the blackened grille and air intakes feature horizontal vanes, making for a sharper and less cluttered look.

There are new air curtains at the outer extremities of the air intakes, and these feed cooling air to the front brakes to keep temperatures in check during track use.

The grille/air intakes are framed from above by a new fascia panel that extends lower, while nestled below is a new matte black stainless-steel skid plate.

As per its Performante sibling, the Urus S sports a lightweight carbon-fibre bonnet with matte black air vents, although the latter can be specified in gloss black, body colour or glossy carbon-fibre if you prefer.

There’s also the option of a visible carbon-fibre roof.

The rear of the Urus S is recognisable via a reshaped bumper and diffuser, while the new quad-exhaust system is finished in brushed steel as standard, with the optional availability of matte, gloss black or Ad Personam bright chrome.

The 2022 Lamborghini Urus has not been crash-tested by Euro NCAP or ANCAP, but its on-paper safety credentials are sound.

It comes armed with front, side and curtain airbags, while active safety features include ABS, traction control, electronic stability control (ESC), roll stability control (RSC), forward collision mitigation, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, blind spot assist, tyre pressure monitoring, emergency SOS and front and rear parking sensors.

Although the basic recipe of the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S is largely as per the outgoing model, there have been tweaks made to the calibration of the chassis control systems, as well as to the drivetrain.

As before, the Urus S rides on dual-axle air suspension, while a 48-volt active roll stabilisation system helps keep the vehicle flat during hard cornering.

Four-wheel steer boosts manoeuvrability at low speeds, while enhancing stability at higher speeds.

A Torsen central self-locking differential splits torque in a 40/60 ratio to front and rear axles under normal conditions but can send up to 87 per cent to the rear or 70 per cent to the front if grip at either end is compromised.

In addition, the Urus S has a torque-vectoring rear differential, enabling the vehicle to launch out of slow corners with maximum efficiency.

While all the above hardware remains much the same as before, Lamborghini’s engineers have made a raft of calibration tweaks to subtly sharpen response and smoothen out ride quality.

Although it’s set to be the ‘base model’, the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S gains the same 490kW/850Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 as the Performante, albeit without the lightweight titanium Akrapovic exhaust system fitted to the range-topper.

Performance was hardly lacking in the outgoing Urus, but it’s now even more blindingly rapid than before, as the Urus S sprints from 0-100km/h in 3.5sec and dispatches the dash to 200km/h in just 12.5sec. Top speed is a largely academic 305km/h.

Lamborghini quotes a WLTP combined-cycle fuel consumption figure of 14.1L/100km for the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S.

In case this is a bit thirsty for your liking, you’ll have to hold out for the upcoming plug-in hybrid derivative, which will no doubt improve on this figure.

The outgoing Lamborghini Urus already served up an electrifying drive for a weighty, lofty SUV and that’s now even more the case – although the difference between old and new is only subtly discernible.

It’s still hard to fathom that a 2.2-tonne SUV could cover ground this quickly, regardless of whether the road is straight or strewn with corners.

The way the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S is able to hide its substantial mass seems little short of black magic.

In terms of sheer pace across all manner of roads – or gravel, for that matter – the only other SUVs in the same league are the Aston Martin DBX707 and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT.

There’s no questioning its rapidity, yet the big SUV also offers decent levels of comfort and utility, which means it’s a far better tool for cross-country trips than its Huracan or defunct Aventador siblings.

We covered some distinctly patchy Portuguese back roads – as well as a few gravel sections – during our maiden drive of the Urus S and emerged refreshed even after spending several hours traversing this terrain. It’s little surprise Urus owners cover four or five times the annual mileage that Huracan owners do.

The Urus S might not be the right tool to haul furniture in, but luggage capacity of 616 litres with all the seats in place still makes it a decently useable all-purpose SUV.

The cabin layout of the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S is largely as before, but there’s a new range of interior trim colours and materials on offer.

Among these is a new bi-colour scheme dubbed Sportivo, pairing black trim with a choice of either Blu Leandro and Verde Aura, alongside tan, cream and brown.

There’s also the availability of the same stitching pattern used in the Urus Performante.

The cabin’s ambience is suitably premium, and the seats are nicely contoured in both the front and rear compartments, so you’re unlikely to emerge with a backache even after several hours on the road.

Let’s face it, most of those who buy a Lamborghini Urus do so because they want one, not because they need one.

There are decently rapid luxury SUVs available for a much smaller outlay, but what makes the Urus – and now more so the Urus S – so appealing is the drama and pyrotechnics (both in terms of soundtrack and performance) that it brings to the table.

In this context, the 2022 Lamborghini Urus S builds on what was an already successful recipe, as clearly reflected by the sales charts.

There’s little doubt the newbie will continue to lure buyers with its beguiling blend of pace and wow factor.

2022 Lamborghini Urus S at a glance:
Price: $409,744 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Second quarter 2023
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol
Output: 490kW/850Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 14.1L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 320g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested