Range Rover Review

Now in its fourth generation, the Range Rover is one of the most sought after off-roaders on the market. Even though the design has stayed true to the Range Rover heritage, the tweaks are significant and many have been made underneath the body of the car to make it handle better when on road.

Weight saving has been vital and the engineers have reduced the car by up to 420kgs when compared with the outgoing V8 diesel model. Now that is some diet. 

The Range Rover will wow onlookers and buyers alike – this is a mesmerising car, on road it is so much better than previous iterations and in a straight line, it is quicker two.

Land Rover has opted for an engine line-up of three engines, two diesel units, a 3.0-litre V6 diesel, a 4.4-litre V8 diesel and a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol.

On the diesel front, the Range Rover comes with a choice of two units. The entry-level unit is a 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine produces 258bhp. It will reach 62mph from a standing start in a blistering 7.9 seconds and will go on to a top speed of 130mph.

The 4.4-litre V8 diesel produces 339bhp making straight-line performance superb. It will go from zero to 62mph in 6.9 seconds and has a top speed of 135mph.

You could, however, choose the only petrol car on the Range Rover line-up. It is the flagship 5.0-litre V8 Supercharged engine and this is a whopping bit of kit. Straight line performance is quite something for a car this big, it will take off from a standing start and reach 62mph in just 5.4 seconds and has a top speed of 155mph. This is an epic car, seeing is believing with this model.

Overtaking is child’s play in any one of the cars but the flagship model makes it so easy, the sheer acceleration is fantastic.

Range Rover has added a hybrid powertrain to the line-up combining the 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine with a battery-powered electric motor. This version produces 335bhp and will complete the benchmark sprint in 6.9 seconds, which again is really impressive. 

Regular range Rover buyers will be pleased to know that the latest iteration is a vast improvement on the old model. At speed it feels good, it seems to be much more nimble and agile when negotiating twisty road sections, that will surely have a lot to do with the lighter frame, it’ll be those 450kg we spoke of earlier that the new Range Rover has shed. There is less bodyroll than ever before which means passengers will have a much more pleasant experience. The feedback, however, from the steering could be better but it is direct which is good. All in all this is the best Range Rover yet but it still is lagging behind the Porsche Cayenne when it comes to driving enjoyment.

If you need to tackle the rough stuff, then the Range Rover is no toy, this is the real deal, regardless of what this car costs, if you take it off road it will conquer the majority of terrain that you can throw at it. This is no soft-roader aimed squarely at London’s Kings Road.

It comes fitted with Terrain Response 2 system. The updated kit has an automatic mode that works out the road/track conditions and selects the best setting for the car to use. If needs be, the ride height automatically rises to improve ground clearance. 

One of the best cars on the planet for outright comfort – the seats are well bolstered and have a good level of side supports. This latest model is plusher and even more comfy. The ride is first class while there is tons of interior space making every journey a pleasant experience. The Range Rover’s cabin is well sound proofed, however, there is a faint whirr of the turbo, a nice backing track. 

For a model that starts from £74k, you expect the best and to be honest you will not be disappointed. The cabin is a luxurious place to spend time in. The central console houses a new, larger eight-inch touch screen while there has been a de-cluttering of buttons – in fact the boffins from Range Rover told us that there are half the amount of buttons on the console and there’s also a new panoramic roof making the cabin even more airy.

Highlights on the entry-level Vogue trim include Terrain Response, a powered spilt rear tailgate, automatic windscreen wipers, front and rear parking sensors, front cooler compartment in the central console, eight-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth connection, DAB radio, digital TV, metallic paint and satnav.

Move up to Vogue SE and you’ll add Adaptive Cruise Control, Terrain Response 2, upgraded Meridan Audio system, touchscreen with dual view, soft door close, heated and cooling front seats and auto headlights with high beam assist.

Choose the flagship grade Autobiography and highlights include a panoramic sunroof with powered blind, choice of 21-inch or 22-inch alloys, massage function on front seats, heated steering wheel, powered lumbar adjustment for rear outer passenger seats, blind spot monitoring with reverse sensing and surround camera system and illuminated aluminium scuff plates.

The Range Rover has tons of practicality whether its on-road driving, off-roading or just using the car as a load lugger in standard use. Thanks to its Land Rover heritage, the Range Rover has that go anywhere ability, which is a useful tool to have.

Passengers have tons of room whether up front or in the rear. There are plenty of cubbyholes to store all your gadgets. There’s a spilt level glovebox, storage areas in the doors, a chiller in the central console and there’s USB and Aux connections, plus a tray to hold a couple of mobile phones.

If you want to use the Range rover to carry a bike or two, or four sets of golf clubs then the Range Rover will duly oblige, swallow all your kit and them some. With the seats in place, it has a load space of 909 litres and expands to a massive 2,030 litres when the rear bench is folded.

High-end shops such as Hermes and Chanel don’t need to put a price on their wares, the Range Rover is much the same, if you need to study the running costs to see if this car is for you, then you are probably in the wrong showroom. No, the Range Rover is not strictly an exclusive product, however, the majority will be driven by the rich and famous – be it celebrities, footballers and their WAGs or business tycoons.

So you know, the most frugal Range Rover on the line-up is the 3.0-litre TDV6 as it averages 44.1mpg and emits 182g/km of CO2 emissions. Not bad at all for the size of the vehicle.

Previously Land Rover has had its problems with reliability, however, this model has taken the Range Rover to a new level. The build quality has been vastly improved, while the engines are also much better. Land Rover has at last built the ultimate Range Rover. 

The Range Rover comes equipped with tons of safety systems. Highlights include curtain, thorax, passenger and driver airbags, cornering brake control, dynamic stability control, emergency brake assist, roll stability control, air suspension system with automatic load leveling, trailer stability control and a surround camera system. The Range Rover received a five-star Euro NCAP rating from the independent crash testers.