Range Rover Sport 2013 Review - International

Land Rover Range Rover Sport SDV6 & V8 Supercharged

What we liked:
>> Evoque big-brother styling
>> Uncanny, unrivalled blend of on and offroad ability
>> V8’s soundtrack and power

Bettering Discovery in outright volume worldwide, and outselling its ‘parent’ variant (most of the time at a ratio approaching ten to one), the Sport is the British off-road brand’s cash cow -- both locally and internationally. So it’s easy to imagine there was plenty of gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands when it came to signing off the L494-series second-generation car.

For the change has been massive. In its second incarnation, the Range Rover Sport is now available as a seven-seater (5+2) for the first time. It now features a lighter all-aluminium monocoque chassis that is the equivalent of five adults light than the outgoing model -- up to 420kg dependent on model! And it’s a far better drive on-road, yet, Land Rover promises, has lost none of its “breadth of capability”.

The good news for Land Rover, the Range Rover brand and Sport fans in particular is that the new car is a cracker. Faster, more frugal, more comfortable, almost supernaturally capable and, best of all, much more involving… Already the order bank is out to three months ex-factory and by the time it launches internationally in September, Land Rover and Jaguar global sales boss Phil Popham says the waitlist will double.

If Land Rover can shake its reputation for less than perfect reliability (especially in Aussie buyers’ minds), it clearly has an Evoque-style sell-out success on its hands.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
>> More of everything
The first local Range Rover Sports arrive in dealers from the end of November. And there’ll be no shortage of variants from which to choose -- Land Rover will offer four engine options across three spec levels at launch.

Pricing starts at $102,800 for the 190kW/600Nm turbo-diesel V6 SE model and runs through to $182,400 for the 375kW/625 Nm supercharged petrol V8 Autobiography Dynamic. A full run down of the model range is below.

Land Rover is playing up the added value of the new Range Rover Sport. More kit, better, more frugal yet still muscular powertrains, and a higher level of cabin fit and finish than ever before. There’s also a wider range of colours (including Evoque style contrast roof colours), interior trims and other personalisation options.

It’s the $102,800 TDV6 SE turbo-diesel that kicks off proceedings with a spec sheet that is frankly a little sparse given its six-figure starting price.

Halogen lamps with DRLs are standard, as are 19-inch alloy wheels, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera, automatic headlights and wipers.

Inside you’ll plant your derriere on grained leather seats and be heated or cooled via dual-zone climate control. The centre 8.0-inch touchscreen sat nav and infotainment system looks familiar. Voice control and Bluetooth audio/phone connectivity is standard and the eight-speaker 380W audio system can be fed via any of the three USB ports.

The tailgate is powered and other standard features include intelligent idle start-stop but not keyless entry. An electric parking brake, automatic load-levelling air suspension, cornering brake control, stability control, trailer stability control are all standard, but so too is only Land Rover’s basic single-range all-wheel drive system. Gearshift paddles are a $460 option.

You must step up to the 215kW $113,600 SDV6 SE to get Land Rover’s updated Terrain Response II dual-range adaptive four-wheel drive system. No option of drivetrain upgrade is given at TDV6 level.

Another step up, the $125,800 HSE variant adds a not inconsiderable level of kit -- more in line with the Range Rover badge. Xenon headlamps with LED signature, part-TFT instrument panel, powered-adjustable steering wheel, keyless entry, front parking assist and heated folding exterior mirrors.

Wheels go up to 20-inches and inside the leather is upgraded to perforated ‘Oxford’. Various trim items are upgraded inside and out, but like all Sports you’ll pay (dearly) for metallic or premium paint.

For the first time Range Rover Sport will be offered with JLR’s supercharged V6 petrol engine The single-variant 250kW/450Nm HSE, a pre-production example of which motoring.com.au sampled in a recent Sydney-Melbourne prototype drive, is priced at $123,100 and is quietly tipped to rival its diesel counterparts as Sport’s top-seller Down Under.

The V6 Supercharged petrol closely echoes its HSE diesel counterpart, save for the all-wheel drive system. Standard is the same simpler single-speed transfer as the TDV6, but in the petrol V6 you’re able to option up to Terrain Response II adaptive dual range running gear for an additional $3680.

Next step up the equipment ladder is the $161,600 petrol V8 Supercharged HSE Dynamic which features Land Rover’s first on-road dynamic pack, the focus of which is a unique all-wheel drive system setting and a clever torque vectoring rear locking ‘e-Diff’. This HSE variant also echoes its SDV6 counterpart but adds trim tweaks and rolls on 21-inch wheels.

At the top of the Range Rover Sport tree is the Autobiography -- offered in both $145,500 SDV6 and $182,400 V8 Supercharged Dynamic petrol versions. There’s plenty of kit to position these variants as range-toppers, although a couple of omissions do bear pointing out…

A panoramic sunroof is a$4000 option, even on the Autobiography, as is privacy glass, third-row seating ($3700-$6000) and any climate control set-up over dual-zone (three-zone: $1800; four-zone $3200). A TV tuner will cost you more, but the impressive full TFT instrument panel is standard on the range-toppers.

The suite of active electronic safety features such as active cruise control, blind spot monitor, wade sensing, surround camera system, auto parking and the like are all also an extra cost on every model. Soft closing door functionality is $1100 across the range

Tick a few boxes and there’s every chance your top-of-the-range Range Rover Sport will be well over $200,000.

PACKAGING
>> More Range Rover
The Sport’s interior has come in for significant attention -- not least of all in terms of the materials used. In the first-generation, the cabin was closer to Discovery in execution than Range Rover. Now, it’s very clearly from the same stable as the ‘big car’.

There’s a familial feel to the dash, centre stack and instrument panel. Everything is easy to access, except perhaps the start button which is high and out of the way to the left of the steering wheel.

The centre console is a hard and high divide between driver and passenger. Space is at a premium on the centre console itself thanks to the Terrain Response dial and ancillaries, but there’s storage enough for phones and the like. Under the wider centre armrest is a cooler in higher-spec variants.

Door pockets are generous, but could be hinged a la Audi and others.

In terms of dimensions, the Sport is closer than ever to the vehicle upon which it’s now based, the L405-series Range Rover. At 2923mm, the vehicle’s wheelbase is 178mm longer than the Discovery based L320-series Sport. Overall the car is 67mm longer.

It’s also 69mm wider (2073mm vs. 2004mm) but lower (1780mm vs. 1789mm). Track widths are up considerably front and rear. Though even the last generation had a solid look and stance, this car appears carved from a billet of aluminium with a wheel (almost literally) at every corner.

Land Rover has also increase static and dynamic ground clearance and says ramp-over and front and rear departure angles are improved -- and best in class.

In the changeover the cabin has grown. Special attention has been given to providing increased rear seat comfort, offering improved rear knee room (+24mm) and shoulder-room. There’s a choice of 60:40 or 40:20:40 split rear seats (the former is standard on all models) and the powered third-row occasional 5+2 “secret” seating is a first for the model.

The three-row variant was not on show at the RR Sport launch, so we’re unable to comment on its efficacy. Note, however, the fold away two-(small) person bench stows under the load area in the space that would normally be occupied by the spare tyre. If you opt for the third-row you cannot carry a spare tyre -- a tyre repair kit is supplied in lieu.

We sampled top of the range Autobiography variants only at the launch and there’s little doubt they pampered the front row occupants. Seat comfort was only ‘okay’ after a full day in the car, however. The seats appear more aggressively shaped than those of the Range Rover -- it is a Sport variant after all. They won’t suit every bottom.

For all that, there’s no doubting the quality of the cabin. Execution is classy (though some colour combos are ‘loud’) and there’s a uniquely Range Rover feel to the space. This is aided by large glass areas and good on-road sight lines. Offroad, the lower seating position of the Sport means it’s just that bit harder to see the exact corners of the car, but raising the driver’s seat will keep you out of trouble.

Suspension is independent all around and again is largely constructed using alloy. At the front double wishbones and the rear a multi-link set-up -- all suspended on air-springs with constantly variable damping and a system which decouples the antiroll bars when required to deliver what Land Rover claims is the greatest wheel articulation in its class.

Brakes are big powerful disc all around.

Engines should be familiar to those ‘across’ the Jaguar Land Rover portfolio. Introduced in the MY10 update of the first-gen Range Rover Sport, the powerplants have been optimised to match the new eight-speed ZF automatic transmission that is used across the line-up. All feature idle stop-start.

The petrol units are rated for 95 RON PULP, but will perform better on 98.

Entry-level 3.0-litre TDV6 engines are the most efficient in the range, using just 7.3L/100km, while generating enough power and torque (190kW/600Nm) to tow a 3.5 tonne trailer and reach 210km/h -- though, we’d suggest, not at the same time.

The more powerful SDV6 turbo-diesel 3.0-litre engine (215kW/600Nm) uses slightly more fuel at 7.5L/100km and has the same top speed and towing capability. Both turbo-diesel engines feature parallel sequential turbocharging which JLR claims improves response (via the smaller turbo) but not at the expense of top-end power (hence the larger blower).

It’s a good system but not fool proof. From a standing start on a couple of occasions our SDV6 Autobiography suffered a stutter and was reluctant to accelerate.

The sole 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine (250kW/450Nm) has the lowest torque output of the range but isn't slow, accelerating from 0-100km/h in 7.2 seconds. It’s rated at 11.3L/100km.

Topping the range is the 5.0-litre supercharged petrol V8 engine that cranks out a 375kW/625Nm, ensuring a sports car-like 0-100km/h sprint time of just 5.2 seconds. We measured a 0-100-0mph time of 16.8 seconds and achieved a 153mph run on the Kemble airfield thanks to one exercise on the launch agenda. Suffice it to say the V8 is not slow!

The supercharged V8 has a combined figure of 13.8L/100km and even with plenty of spirited driving, our tester registered a not too bad 18.5L/100km at the end of our day onboard. This contrasts to 11.1L/100km for a (very) spirited 300km haul in the SDV6.

If there’s not an engine that floats your Range Rover Sport boat above, a 4.4-litre V8 turbo-diesel model will be coming in 2014 producing 250kW/700Nm. Later a diesel-hybrid Range Rover Sport is also on the cards.

Land Rover is also hinting that an entry-level four-cylinder Sport will be added to the range in due course. Both petrol and turbo-diesel variants are under consideration. Look for the fours to feature a longitudinal installation of the nine-speed auto featured in the update Evoque.

SAFETY
>> All road talent will save the day
It’s disappointing that smart safety systems that are standard on many cheaper vehicles are optional on the Range Rover Sport (see PRICE AND EQUIPMENT above). As a group, JLR is a touch behind the rest of the prestige brands -- a fact borne out by the driver aid line-up here.

That’s not to say, the Range Rover Sport is not a safe vehicle, it’s replete in terms of the most important safety of all -- active safety. Fantastic on-road manners, sportscar levels of grip and excellent chassis and brakes mean you will need to be a total dolt (or a total loonie) to get into trouble in a Sport in 99.99 per cent of conditions.

The Terrain Response system integrates the Sport’s stability control system and offers such task specific benefits as roll stability control and trailer stabilisation programs and the like.

And if the worse does happen, there’s no shortage of crash structure around you.

We’d also add the estate versions of most of the prestige large sedans and perhaps even the four-doors themselves.

Interestingly, Land Rover states its main benchmarks for the new Range Rover Sport were the current Range Rover, and the outgoing generation of the Range Rover Sport.

In dynamic terms the closest of the genre is the Porsche, but the offroad ability of the Range Rover Sport shades that of the Porsche. No, make that, eclipses…

ON THE ROAD
>> The world’s most versatile luxury car?
Indeed, it’s the sheer breadth of ability that sets the Range Rover Sport apart from the rest of the automotive world… Even its stablemate and namesake, the Range Rover. Simply, the writer cannot think of any other production car that offers the same cross-section of competency.

In the space of a few seconds, and the touch of one button, you can transform the Sport from a bahnstormer to offroad hero.

In the space of a few dozen kilometres our SDV6 Sport took in its stride: 160km/h highway cruising; some very serious, high-speed twisty tarmac; rough, fast, high-commitment derestricted rally roads; and an offroad course that had us hanging from our seatbelts, so steep were a couple of the descents. And though it may sound clichéd, the Sport more than took the challenges in its stride…

And this without so much as a pressure change, on low profile, road-orientated 21-inch Pirelli Skorpion Verde All-Season tyres.

All the time the SDV6 tiwn-turbo-diesel V6 proved itself muscular and willing. The only hiccup a couple of instances of significant turbo lag when pulling away from a standstill. (The instances were so pronounced we’re almost convinced it was a fly-by-wire throttle issue rather than a lack of eagerness from the powerplant.)

At 2000rpm in eighth gear, the SDV6 engined Sport is cruising at over 90mph (150km/h). There’s very little wind noise (that kicks in at well over the ton in the old money) and the engine is essentially inaudible. At lower speeds and wider throttle openings from inside the car the turbo-diesel has a wonderfully eager lilt to it. Roll the windows down (the buttons are high on the door tops, a position not at first intuitive) and there’s a very diesel rattle audible in town. It’s not offensive, but very clearly not a petrol soundtrack.

All will be forgiven when you hit the pump to refuel, however. Over approximately 300km of, at times, pretty heavy use, our SDV6 registered 11.1L/100km. In normal use this vehicle should easily achieve mileage in the 8.5L/100km-range, and perhaps much better. With over 100 litres tank capacity that should generate a real-world range of around 1150km.

In contrast the V8 Supercharged used 18.5L/100km over a 200km loop.

All is forgiven whenever you mash the throttle, however -- by crikey -- it’s fast.

Overtaking on quintessentially English narrow hedge-lined C-roads has never been easier. You can see a mile from the higher-than-a-sedan perch, there’s a weapons-grade V8 instantly at you’re beck and call, and the dynamics are such that you’re able to place what is after all a very large vehicle with the precision of a hot hatch.

The only blight on our V8 tester was an annoying ‘graunch’ from the front suspension that got worse as the day wore on. Land Rover’s techs believe the noise was a result of over-zealous cleaning of the air-springs (over the four-week period of the press launch, the cars’ undersides were jet-washed twice a day) causing the rubber air bladders to lose their lubrication and rub on the damper canisters.

Making a positive out of a negative, it’s an indication of the serenity of the Range Rover Sport’s cabin that this was so readily noticed.

This fault aside, perhaps the best measure of the Range Rover Sport’s competency is the fact that it’s just replaced at least two cars in this writer’s fantasy garage. As arguable the most versatile luxury car, there’s every chance it will do the same in a large number of real-world garages around the globe before very long…