OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TODAY TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND READERS IN LONDON-We hate to be the ones that have to break the bad news to the Cayenne, X5, ML and FX, but there is a new champ in this competitive space, and it's name is the new Range Rover Sport from Land Rover.
The Auto Spies 2006 SUV of the year.
Bottom line: The new sport is THE new 'IT' SUV for the image conscious 'glitterati' crowd and we predict it will be a huge hit for the Land Rover group.
We think it breaks ground with its fresh (interior and exterior) and what we believe will be a timeless design.
The X5 used to be the design champ but it has just taken two steps backward now that we've seen the Sport.
On road performance is at least on par with the best of breed in the category, but when you factor in and combine the Sport's superior off-road expertise, it raises the bar to a point that the others can't reach.
We don't know about reliability yet, but based on the massive improvement Land Rover made on 03 Range Rover's and newer, we're optimistic about the Sport.
We hope to get a long term tester to further evaluate the Sport.
We like the supercharged version in Black best.
RANGE ROVER SPORT
* SPORTS TOURER
New sports tourer SUV with inspiring and refined on-road performance, as well as outstanding breadth of capability
* NUMBER FIVE
A fifth nameplate for Land Rover, complementing the award-winning Range Rover
* POWER
Supercharged 287 kW [390 bhp SAE], 4.2-litre V8 top-of-the-range engine, plus high-technology V6 diesel and V8 normally aspirated engine options [diesel not available in North America]
* DYNAMIC RESPONSE
Land Rover’s new Dynamic Response suspension system and performance-tuned chassis help deliver responsive handling and comfortable ride
* TERRAIN RESPONSE
Acclaimed Terrain Response™ system for class-leading off-road capability, standard on all models
* DESIGN
Aerodynamic and muscular exterior design, with spacious, well-equipped interior and cockpit feel for the driver
The Range Rover Sport is the best-performing and best-handling vehicle that Land Rover has ever built. Designed to complement the renowned Range Rover – which continues as the company’s flagship – the Range Rover Sport is a completely new vehicle, a more compact, more agile and more performance-oriented SUV.
It combines invigorating dynamic ability with outstanding comfort and refinement. Land Rover calls it a ‘sports tourer’. This reflects its ability effortlessly to cover long journeys quickly and comfortably, and yet also to deliver sharp handling and exhilarating performance. Its on-road prowess is complemented by class-leading off-road capability.
The top-line version uses a 287 kW (390 bhp SAE) Jaguar-derived supercharged V8 engine and has a top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph), electronically limited. It is the fastest and best-accelerating vehicle that Land Rover has ever made. A normally aspirated V8 and advanced turbodiesel V6 are also available (diesel not available in North America and some other markets).
“The Range Rover Sport is an additional, fifth nameplate for the Land Rover brand,” says managing director Matthew Taylor. “It competes in the growing performance SUV market, but is different from all rivals.
“It is a sports tourer that offers the excitement of a performance car but with the versatility and go-anywhere ability of a Land Rover. Unlike rivals, its high performance doesn’t stop when the road gets rough - or runs out. It is an outstanding four-wheel-drive off-roader, as you’d expect from Land Rover. And on road, compared with its rivals, we believe it is less frenetic, more refined and more comfortable. It all adds up to the broadest range of capability in its class.
“It also perfectly complements the existing Range Rover – the most complete luxury SUV. It will be priced between the Discovery 3/LR3 and the Range Rover in the Land Rover product range.”
Refined, High-Performance Engines
The top Range Rover Sport model uses a 4.2-litre supercharged 287 kW(390 bhp SAE) V8 engine. Derived from the renowned engine used in Jaguar performance models, it has been specially developed for Land Rover needs. Maximum torque is 550 Nm (410 lb ft), and power and torque are fed, full-time, to all four wheels through a ZF six-speed ‘intelligent shift’ automatic gearbox. The transmission features sport programming and Land Rover’s Command Shift™, which offers manual control of gear changes. Low range is electronically selectable ‘on the move’, for tough off-roading.
Other engines offered are the Jaguar-derived 220 kW (300 bhp SAE) 4.4-litre normally aspirated V8 and the advanced new 2.7-litre 140 kW (190 bhp) turbodiesel V6, which produces a healthy 440 Nm of effortless torque. They use the same six-speed ZF automatic gearbox and the same full-time four-wheel-drive system as the supercharged model. Other high-technology features of the powertrain include an electronically controlled centre differential, which improves the vehicle’s handling both on-and off-road.
Tuned For On-Road Performance, But Class-Leading Off-Road
The new Range Rover Sport is the best “driver’s vehicle” that Land Rover has ever made. The company’s new and unique Integrated Body-frame™ structure, first seen on the Discovery 3/LR3, has been tailored for the Range Rover Sport. To reinforce the vehicle’s sporty character, and improve agility, the wheelbase is 14 cm (six inches) shorter. The fully independent, air-sprung suspension has also been tuned for exhilarating on-road performance. Minimum body-roll and maximum driver feedback were priorities. Double wishbone suspension front and rear – as typically featured on the world’s leading sports cars – is used.
A new Land Rover technology, Dynamic Response, further reduces roll and improves handling. This computer-controlled active anti-roll system senses cornering forces and then acts to reduce lean. It’s one of the key reasons why this powerful SUV has the agility and handling of a much smaller sporty vehicle. It is standard on the supercharged model, and optional on other versions.
In keeping with its “driver’s pedigree”, much work on the chassis tuning of the Range Rover Sport was undertaken at the Nürburgring race circuit in Germany, in addition to the extensive and rigorous on-road and off-road Land Rover development programme. On the supercharged version, four-piston race-bred Brembo front brakes help give superb braking ability.
In addition to its inspiring on-road performance, the Range Rover Sport is exceptionally competent across all terrains, from packed snow to boulders. Land Rover’s highly effective new Terrain Response™ system, which made its production debut on the new Discovery 3/LR3, is standard on all models. It allows the driver to choose one of five terrain settings via a pop-up rotary control on the centre console. Terrain Response then automatically selects (or guides the driver to select) the most appropriate settings for the vehicle’s many advanced electronic controls and traction aids – including ride height, engine torque response, Hill Descent Control, electronic traction control and transmission settings.
Click
here to view part two