THE HIGHLIGHTS
MSRP: $80,000 as tested
Motor: 3L supercharged V6 double overhead cam
Horsepower: 340 hp
Torque: 332 lb-ft
Gearbox: 8-speed auto
Layout: All-Wheel-Drive
Fuel economy: N/A
It is not often that you can say a new vehicle has personality, as so many of them are similar in styling and equipment. That is not the case with the Range Rover Sport HSE, which I tested as it has a host of little quirks that were annoying and things I really loved.
The Range Rover Sport is an all-new SUV from the ground up. To make it worthy of the Sport name, the inner shell of the vehicle is made of aluminium, which makes the Sport much lighter than most of its competition. In fact it is over 360kg lighter than last year’s model, which makes it very light compared to the competition.
My Sport HSE had the base engine, a 3L supercharged V6 with an 8-speed automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels all the time. Now, you might think of this as a waste of power but the grip this makes on and off the road is fantastic. Acceleration times with this engine are 0 to 100kph at about 7.2-seconds, which I have to say is right on as my test Sport was just that fast.
The onboard computer makes all kinds of calculations every second so no matter what surface I drove on, the grip was perfect. In the week I had the Sport I had rain, snow and extreme cold and I never experienced loss of grip during any of my testing. Wheels in this model were performance all-season 20 inch tires, which as I mentioned gripped very well in all weather conditions.
Inside my test Sport was a very nicely appointed leather interior with wood accents on the dash and console areas. Seating was typically Range Rover, which is fairly upright, and very comfortable, as the seats hug you nicely without making you feel glued in. As you might suspect, the seats were both heated and cooled, something you had to watch when turning them on. All the other controls were easy-to-find and the electronic items like GPS, sound system and heating and cooling systems were easy-to-learn.
Since this is a good sized SUV, storage space in the back is very generous and even better when the rear seats were folded. I managed to load two rolls of flooring and a week’s worth of groceries while shopping with my wife. Those with a big family might be interested in the two extra folding seats in the rear. These small units are basically for children as there is very little legroom.
The Range Rover Sport was not without fault as well. Getting in and out is sometimes difficult with the height of the vehicle especially for short or mobility problems. As for getting in and out, the doors were cut in such a way that if the seats were moved up, getting in meant twisting your neck and body. I was a little disappointed in the fact that the seats took a little while to warm up compared to Ford and Toyota vehicles, which I have tested, and this experience was a little annoying in cold days.
But for all of its little idiosyncrasies, I really did like the Sport. It was in actuality a fun vehicle to drive, very comfortable and it had all the great handling characteristics of a sports car with all the space you need for carrying people and all of your possessions. All this comes with a price though, as the starting price of the model I tested was about $80,000 and a lot more if you wanted all the fun stuff, and in my books well worth it.
By Glen Konorowski
