Land Rover Range Rover Sport (Land Rover)
Land Rover is one of those brands that sits on a unique slot.
It did not always work in her favor when she appealed for decades to "those in the know" and less to the general public.
But it changed, and changed significantly in recent years - with all the new money flowing in the world, more and more people realized that buying another German luxury brand is fine and dandy, but not really special - Land Rover offered them not only luxury, tradition and uniqueness - but also an aristocratic aura of "understand".
The Range Rover Sport is one of the critical components in the model structure of this manufacturer.
The Range Sport that came to us for the test is the Dynamic in the HSE trim level.
Dynamic is the sporty performance and HSE is the highest in the finishing levels.
The price tag: 758 thousand shekels.
Black, on black with a little black is the new black (Photo: Kenan Cohen)
The exterior appearance of the test car in black on black sits firmly on the "I'm the wild son in the royal family" attitude.
With the big rims (22 inches), the matte finish for the logo and the tinted windows it's one of those vehicles that you can park wherever you want, for as long as you want and no one will have the intention of telling you that it's wrong out loud.
What works less?
The plastic "decorations" with a copper finish on the hood and the front wings - it doesn't fit, it looks cheap, so really you'll leave the additions on the express roof to the customers to choose whether to put.
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Quality of materials and choice of textures and colors that infuse a luxury lounge atmosphere (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
The passenger cabin shows a very high quality of materials and finish, the combination of textures and colors creates a mature and not flashy look.
A detailed and rich display dashboard together with an elite display presents the important information.
The audio system and the multitude of other vehicle systems are controlled from the large multimedia screen.
It is still not as fast as a Mercedes, for example, but shows a tremendous improvement over the previous generation.
The rest of the cabin has lots of storage spaces.
The seats are comfortable even for hundreds of kilometers of driving and the driving position is very high.
Lots of space in the back, without compromising on the level of materials (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
The HSE finish level invites a lot of accessories, you can spend quite a lot of time exploring all the functions of the car.
The atmosphere here is that they did not skimp on accessories.
From soft closing of the doors, air dampers, the wonderful sound system of Meridian to everything, the multitude of cameras includes the simulation of what happens under the car during off-road driving and more.
What she lacks is not visible to the eye but is very much lacking, we will talk about it later.
The safety specification is complete: automatic braking even in reverse, adaptive cruise control, vehicle detection in "dead space".
The addition of size to the passenger cabin results in a very spacious rear seat, the view out is also good and the passengers here also enjoy excellent quality of materials and finish, air conditioning and electricity outlets.
The trunk is very large, accessible thanks to the possibility to significantly lower the chassis, it also has a useful plastic partition to divide the compartment between the dirty hiking shoes and the rest of the space.
Under the floor is a temporary spare wheel.
A place for all the family's golf clubs, luggage and riding saddles (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
The drive in the test car is by a diesel engine, 6 cylinders in a row with a power of 300 hp. The drive is double and the gearbox is automatic with 8 transfer ratios. The combination of a high-torque diesel engine with a configuration of 6 cylinders in a row produces a vehicle with a lot of thrust between rpm Idle at 700 rpm to redline at 4,000 rpm.
6.6 seconds per hundred is a nice number, but one that doesn't tell the story of how smooth the whole business is.
And you know what?
It's been many years since I said about a diesel engine "Wow, it sounds good".
In their normal state, the air shocks provide a very good ride comfort, but there is a limit to how much 22-inch rims can be helped on small bumps.
Of course, when the chassis is raised to a height, it becomes stiff and vibrates on rutted paths.
The noise insulation is also excellent, with the exception of wind noise here and there.
Without a space package, you mainly have to trust its controls (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
As a Land Rover, cross-country was required.
We came out of it very surprised by the controls' ability to deal with grip challenges, with a feeling of confidence to go a little further into the trail thanks to the suspension of the chassis up to 28.1 cm. But without a power transmission and in the absence of it, even without a rock crawling mode in the off-road controls - it is completely on the milky side of the brand. Will its customers really do the tough turns of the Golan Heights with it? Absolutely not, but relative to what it is capable of doing, it is a significantly reduced version.
Tough and restrained appearance (photo: Keinan Cohen)
As a sport, passing on the winding road was also required.
Well, it is more dynamic than the outgoing generation.
It's actually the best Land Rover on the road I've driven (barring that crazy SVR version).
But come on, a Porsche Cayenne would really be offended by trying to compare the two in this aspect.
It's too wobbly, too disconnected, its controls are too hysterical, the gearbox isn't quick enough and its electromechanical brakes are good most of the time, but terrible when you need them for fast, precise driving.
Those who would have significantly improved its capabilities on the field and on the road would have been a limited slip differential, stabilizer bars, rear steering and power transmission - all these are options with an extra charge that easily increase its price to more than NIS 800,000.
In this respect, the Range Sport in this version is disappointing - it doesn't do off-road like a Land Rover should, it doesn't do a road like a car with the name "Sport" in its name should.
A useful partition in the trunk (photo: Keinan Cohen)
Summary
In the end, this vehicle is less of a "Land Rover" when it comes to terrain, and it is not really a "sport" on the road.
But in one thing he is absolutely right - Range, compared to the previous generations where the gap between the Range Sport and Range Rover was very large, here is a very high quality product, which is very close to the level presented by the senior brother.
There are two types of customers who will come to Land Rover Range Rover Sport, what they both have in common is that they are interested in spending a lot of money on a very luxurious crossover, one that is a business card and a statement of wealth that invites the authorities to review the tax affidavits.
Both will come to it because it is impressive, because they like the image, both will also find it a very comfortable vehicle for everyday use, with excellent performance, space, very good comfort equipment and even a surprising fuel consumption of 10.9 km per liter.
But, here they diverge, one type will go on to the emotional purchase of the Range Sport.
For those who go with their heads, they may find better alternatives than it for those looking for the sports experience and cheaper than it in BMW in the form of the X5 or in Porsche with the Cayenne.
The connection between the "Land Rover" and the "Sport" is less convincing (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
On the technical side: Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Engine, drive:
diesel, double
volume:
2,997 cc
power/rpm:
4,000/300
torque/rpm:
1,500/66.3
gearbox:
automatic, 8 gears
Dimensions:
length (m):
4.9
width (m '):
2.2
Height (m):
1.8
Wheelbase (m):
3
Trunk (liters):
647
Performance:
Acceleration 0-100 (seconds):
6.6
Maximum speed (km/h):
218
Fuel consumption (test) ):
10.9 km per liter
Competitors:
BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, Mercedes GLE, Genesis GV80
Price:
NIS 758,000 (test)
vehicle
Vehicle tests
Tags
land Rover
The East Company
Range Rover Sport
Range Rover
Area
4x4