It’s been exciting times at Land Rover of late. No sooner has the 250,000th Freelander 2 rolled off the production line at their plant in Halewood, than they’re unveiling a brand new Range Rover to the public.
The upcoming Evoque (more info here) is a confident step into relatively new territory, a smaller, lighter car with ultra low emissions and great fuel economy. It also has a price that starts at under 30k, something that may prove irresistible to those not quite ‘flush’ enough to afford the Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE we’ve just been trying out.
Driving the Range Rover Sport gives you an enormous sense of well being and this is definitely no ordinary run-of-the-mill car. Weighing in at hefty 2.5 tonnes and with a price tag of over £55,000, this car is ‘large’ in all areas, but it’s fair to say the price reflects what get for your hard earned money.
It’s a big car, but it doesn’t feel too big to drive and unlike many 4×4’s the steering is sporty and responsive, rather than loose and wobbly, this means handling is fantastic especially on narrow lanes.
It manages to be Sporty (hence the name), but still keep the visibility and comfort of a regular MPV. Again this is something not many cars manage to pull off.
Thanks to hydraulic rollbars lean is virtually nill and although I didn’t get much of a chance to test it fully on a weekend in very flat Norfolk, it’s torque and pulling capabilities are pretty much second to none. The new 3 litre Sport engine has 29 percent more power and 36 percent more torque than the previous 2.7-litre unit.
It can handle any terrain you throw at it, from mountains to snow, to mud, even the school run is a breeze in this car.
Inside the interior shouts quality and uncompromise, you can see design has come before cost in every corner, from the seats, to the dashboard controls, to the in-car entertainment system (bombastic!), to the mini fridge under the arm rest. Everything is top of the range and top quality.
You get a sense too that this car wants you to be happy whether you’re driving it or not.
[nggallery id=58]It has a top speed of 120mph, but it will do 80mph like Usain Bolt jogging around your local park, barely breaking a sweat.
It’s not the most economic car that has ever been made and official figures put Urban use to be 25.2mpg or 34.9mpg extra urban. It’s emissions are fairly high too 243 g/km.
If that stirs your conscience you can take solace in Land Rovers commitment to a green manufacturing ideology, offsetting their Co2 emissions by investing in environmental schemes.
This video explains it nicely.
I find it odd that some people still obsess over the noise a diesel makes, but for them this Range Rover 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel engine is very quiet even when called into action of the more demanding kind.
Overall this car is pretty much faultless, but then again for the price it should be really. If you add the Cruise Control, DVD/TV screens at the back, Sat Nav, Electric sunroof and all the other little extras you aren’t going to get much change from £60,000.
That is a lot of money for a car, but then again the Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE is a definitely a lot of car.