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By EWAN
KENNEDY in Scotland
28 September 2009
There's a mistaken perception that the Range Rover Sport is
somehow aimed at the person who wants style and speed, but who
never intends to use it in anything but soft off-road conditions.
Just how incorrect that the is was brought to our attention in a
big way as our Range Rover Sport crawled its way along a fast
flowing burn in the Scottish border country. A burn is what the
Aussies call a creek, and this particularly one was strewn with
rocks, sloped for our entire run and was less than two metres wide
in places. Walking up it would have been difficult, and if I had
done so I would have said it was impossible for any vehicle to
drive up it, no matter how competent.
Yet this sleek, sporting Rangie Sport was working its way upstream
at about one kilometre per hour and did so for hundreds of metres
as we marvelled at its competence. The engineers at Land Rover
have produced an even better ‘Rock Crawl’ function that
controls the torque to each wheel individually, it can also dab
the brakes on one wheel at a time if the electronics feel this is
necessary. That's all tied in with three differentials that are
controlled or locked as sensed by the computer. A computer that
has been programmed by people with long term expertise in the
needs of off-road traction.
It was an amazing experience and even the most experienced
journalists from specialist 4WD magazines were still raving about
the stunning drive in Scotland for days afterwards.
Five cameras mounted on the Sport – two in the front bumper, one
pointing down from each of the door mirrors, and one in the
tailgate – let you monitor road conditions that are otherwise
out of sight from the driving seat. Mind you we still prefer the
old-fashioned method of getting out ahead of the really tricky
stages and doing a close examination of the situation. And it's
always good to get out in the open air instead of remaining shut
in the vehicle. Of course, if the rain is pouring down and/or
you're in a hurry, the cameras come into their own.
Other handy features of the new electronic driving aids include a
launch control for taking off rapidly on sand – whatever will
they think of next!
On-road, of course, the Rangie Sport provides quiet, relaxed
cruising. Yet it has a good degree of sportiness in its makeup. No
vehicle with a relatively high centre of gravity and a mass
approaching three tonnes is going to feel like a sports sedan, yet
the Sport is close to car-like to drive unless you really push it
strongly at bends. Even then the electronic aids will help it
around safely with a minimum of fuss.
Interestingly, the revised Range Rover Sport is the only model in
the uprated Land Rover / Range Rover lineup to get the complete
range of new engines that the British company has been working on,
in conjunction with Jaguar, for the last three years. Thus the
Rangie is now offered with a V8 5.0-litre petrol engine in either
naturally aspirated format (276 kW), a supercharged version of the
same powerplant (with 375 kW) and a new design of turbo-diesel
with a V6 configuration, that produces 180 kW and torque that
peaks at a more than handy 600 Newton metres.
All engines not only deliver more power and torque than the ones
they replace, but have significantly lower fuel consumption and
produces fewer emissions.
A minor facelift on the outside of the Range Rover Sport, note the
clever design of the interlinked-circle shape of the daytime
running lights, and the new mesh radiator grille, is complemented
by a major makeover inside the cabin. The latter sees a simpler
layout of the centre stack that puts controls in a more logical
sequence and in easier to reach locations. We found it all
reasonably intuitive to use, though reading the owner’s manual
is still a worthwhile exercise when you take delivery of your new
Sport.
If you want a vehicle that has sporting looks, the prestige of an
upmarket British marque and the ability to go places that few
other vehicles dare to tread – it doesn't get much better than
the new Range Rover Sport.
The complete Range Rover Sport range, with prices (excluding
government and ealer charges) is:
3.0 TDV6: $99,900
3.6 TDV8: $120,500
3.6 TDV8 Luxury: $135,500
5.0 V8: $125,900
5.0 V8 Luxury: $138,900
5.0 V8 Supercharged: $159,900
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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