Range Rover - Next Generation

The new engine is essentially the same supercharged five-litre V8 used in the Jaguar XFR and XKR and soon to be seen in the XJ. With 510bhp it has 29 percent more power than the outgoing supercharged motor yet improves consumption and emissions by 7.3 per cent to 14.8l/100km and 348g/km, thus making it marginally easier to justify spoiling yourself with one. But you’ll probably forget about any pretence at justification once you’ve tried it. The old engine sometimes left you wondering where all the power had gone; even 400bhp struggled to push that much mass and acreage along with a sense of urgency, and 7.1sec to 100kph and a top speed of 210kph were never very impressive stats. The new engine cuts the 100kph time to just 5.9sec, but it feels faster still. All the grunt is available with a flex of your right toe and it will sluice you down the road at a mildly alarming rate. It sounds better too, with a decent, deep V8 burble, but is still a little lacking in aural drama. The six-speed automatic gearbox has been tweaked for better economy, emissions and refinement, but still shifts slickly. The Brembo brakes are bigger still at 380 and 365mm front and rear. Despite their size their performance is only adequate but they have huge masses and forces to contain: you wonder how monstrously over-specified they’d have to be to match a car’s for response and effectiveness.
The Range Rover’s extraordinary span of ability is at the heart of its appeal; it rides like a Rolls- Royce but will drive across the Amazon if you need it to. Handling was never really part of that equation, but the new Adaptive Dynamics active damping system means the chassis does a far better job than before; it no longer feels like it’s about to fall over under hard cornering. The ride quality doesn’t seem to be affected, and it’s no less gob- smackingly capable than the old car off-road.
Styling is subjective, but for me the visual changes are just that; changes, rather than improvements. But there’s no question that the car’s dynamics and environmental performance have improved, and by enough to keep the Range Rover relevant until it’s replaced. It can now make a better case against other high- priced, high-performance SUVs. But there’s a big difference between high price and high class, and the Range Rover still has them all licked for the latter.