Range Rover Sport Supercharged

• Mark MusutuWHEN the second generation Range Rover sport hit the market three years ago it was an instant success. Credit goes to its predecessor the first Range Rover Sport.

Introduced in 2003, the Sport was made because the bigger Range Rover seemed to be heading up the market as it got more popular, gaining traction after BMW and Ford stirred it out of troubled waters. As of today, the hitches Land Rover faced are a thing of the past and the Range Rover brand has got back its glory, in fact it stands better positioned today than ever.

The Sport’s older and larger sibling was built to be the best car on the planet, not merely the best SUV and the Sport is trailing just a few notches below by bearing a strong resemblance and also carrying into it many of its graces and abilities. The Range Rover Sport is a spillover of one of the world’s best cars, it’s high in calibre and many a time, disgraces its competitors.

I remember eagerly anticipating the current Sport and the Vogue, when Land Rover put forth the Evoque as a market tester. It got an overwhelming response and went on to build the current generation. This design direction has been a story of success and a perfect business model; timeless, so modern and so retro at the same time.

Boarding the Sport I was once again delighted to be in its command view cockpit. Range Rover is renowned for a cockpit and sitting position placed very high up on the car with long windows that gives it a feel of being in command or a command view, in design terminology this is called Green House design and thanks to its panoramic roof, you get a feeling of being in a convertible especially with the windows open. It’s clear that the Rover is keen on airiness.

As you look around, you will realise that the world’s best car claim is comely for the Range Rover brand as a whole, because this is one of the finest interiors a car can have. Quality goes without question and attention to detail is on point, leather is lush and sumptuous. I don’t know what Land Rover added to their leather but it’s rich. It has a reclined dash showing sporting intent and the gear lever similar to something straight out of ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Iron Man’. It’s neat and probably the simplest interior you can find, but you will be deceived if you judge its offerings by that. Every dial, instrumentation and cluster are high definition, indicating precision and attention to detail.

Features include: ambient lighting, 19 speaker 825W Meridian System, heated seats adjustable in 16 ways, active cruise control, panoramic roof, driver assistance, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, park assist, head up display, bird’s eye view camera and driving dynamics to name a few.

Its brutal acceleration is its most obvious quality and handling that literally defies the laws of physics. The steering and braking in particular are in another league. It’s also very composed and in charge in hard cornering. The Range Rover comes with adaptive dynamics. The suspension setting and electronic controls respond to road conditions which include a dynamic mode that impressively minimises body roll and increases grip. It’s got unmatched body control – very absorbent and stable in regular mode too.

Range Rover built their current generation SUVs from the bottom up – they first built the suspension, ride, off-road and handling, then they went on to make the body, making it a hardcore off-roader. Land Rover seems to jealously guard its legacy as the best off-roader in the world or the best 4×4 by far, as the legendary advert of the 80s states.

Engaging off-road terrain setting you can feel it rises as it gets more than 10 inches taller. This is for improved approach and departure angles and also to keep the belly from resting on rocks, mud, etc. I always liken it to someone changing into gum boots or someone folding their trousers from the bottom to knee level just before entering shallow waters or taking a muddy path.

The Sport has a 900mm river crossing capability (wading depth) and through it all, ride height will be adjusted according to speed and terrain. Twelve sensors are alert to your terrain and keep it in check, adjustments made in a matter of milliseconds. The Vogue is packed with all manner of safety and driver aids such as hill launch assist, hill descent control, active lean and intelligent cruise control.