Road Test: Land Rover Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE

Price as tested: €80,710

+ Comfort, versatility, refinement, handling, beguiling character
– Some cheap cabin trim, poor rear seat space
= Forget the eco-cribbing, this is one of the finest cars around

Is it moral to introduce a moral dimension to a road test? After all, a piece of this nature is mostly about consumer advice, significantly about having a diverting read for your lunch hour and really, that’s about it. Road testers are not wont to go into the ethical rights and wrongs of buying a car but, when taking a new Range Rover out for a spin in 2012 Ireland, it’s kind of a hard dimension to escape. After all, with 450,000 people on the dole lines, sea levels and weather patterns going bananas, the question of whether it is right and proper to drive a car of this type has to be asked.

Well, is it right?

Oh for pete’s sake, of course it is. You want proof? How about the fact that this 2012 Range Rover sport comes with host of technical changes that include an updated 3.0 TDV6 diesel engine and the latest, slick-shifting eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox that actually drops the car out of the top band for VRT and road tax. That’s right; there are sports cars and turbocharged hatchbacks that emit more Co2 per km than this big, beefy Rangie.

Besides which, if you take the classic quote of one of Roger Moore’s adversaries in The Man With The Golden Gun (I appear to be channeling Alan Partridge here...) “Guns do not kill Mr Bond, it is the finger that pulls the trigger.” In other words, if you’re that concerned about the potential damage that a Range Rover can do to the environment, then don’t buy one. It’s your choice. But at least if someone is spending the €80k necessary to nab one of these almost-but-not-quote top-spec HSE models (Autobiography is one grade above, SE a grade below) then while they may be waving their wad in your face a touch, by driving a car as ostentatious , at least you can be assured that they’re spending lots of money on other things, generating employment and tax receipts. See? Range Rovers really can save the planet...

Right, moral dimension done with, let’s get back to the real business of driving the car.

As mentioned, for 2012, the RR Sport gets some subtle but very effective upgrades, the most significant of which are that new engine and gearbox. The 3.0-litre V6 twin turbo diesel now comes in two power outputs; 210bhp and 254bhp, but it’s only the 210bhp version that you’ll get in Ireland, thanks to that tax-dodging 224g/km Co2 output. That’s fine as in spite of a a 44bhp disadvantage, we honestly never noticed a lack of forward motion or thrust, thanks to a whacking great 520Nm of torque on tap from just 2,000rpm. The new gearbox, accessed by a Jaguar-style rotary controller on the centre console (not to everyone’s taste, but we liked it) does the usual ZF job of being so slick it’s almost like it’s not even there. You soon learn that the manual override paddle at the back of the steering wheel are entirely superfluous; all you will need to do is occasionally flick the gear selector into Sport to grab a more reactive kickdown.

Economy is surprisingly impressive. Land Rover claims an average of 8.5-litres per 100km, while we managed a still-decent 9.8l/100km overall. That should give you a touring range of around 800km on a full 80-litre tank, which seems decent enough.

The air suspension has been tweaked too, and the jarring edge of roughness and harshness that made the older Sport models an occasional chore has almost entirely gone. Yes, the Sport rides more firmly than either the big Range Rover (with which is shares almost no mechanical parts) or the Discovery (which which it is pretty much a twin under the skin) but now it’s just acceptably planted, rather than annoyingly hard.

The handling has remained virtually unchanged, thankfully, which means that the Sport still handles, net of a body roll and weight, like a big hot hatch on stilts. In extremis, we detected a slight reluctance to turn into a tightening apex that definitely wasn’t there before, but in fairness, if you’re looking for such handling nuances on a big 4x4, you’re already way off the beaten track. The beauty of the Range Rover’s chassis is that it displays a true multi-purpose nature. It’s refined and comfy on a long run, reactive and enjoyable on a twisty road and, surprisingly, agile and manouvreable in town; in spite of what you might perceive as bulk, thanks to excellent all-round visibility and surprisingly modest exterior dimensions, you can actually get the Sport in and out of tight car parks with ease.

The cabin is both the Sport’s trump card and its one Achilles heel. It all looks gorgeous and Land Rover’s ever-improving quality is palpable. The seats; massive and upholstered in beautiful leather upholstery the colour and consistency of butter are immensely comfortable and the full retinue of switches and dials makes you feel suitably well informed as to the car’s condition and your control of it.

But there are just a few too many plastic sections to the cabin that look and feel a bit too scratchy and cheap. It’s not a problem unique to the Range Rover, but it is a problem at this lofty price level, especially in concert with the desperately cheap looking main dials in the instrument binnacle. The other issue is space in the back, or lack thereof. It’s adequate, nothing more and feels especially stingy when you consider how big a car this is.

While we’re on the critical list, there’s the new standard-fit electric tailgate. Now, in general we dislike these things (what’s the point when they’re slower than simply lifting it up and pushing it back down yourself?) and because it means the loss of the Sport’s useful opening tailgate glass section it’s doubly irritating.

Still, the Sport still has one ace up its sleeve and that is its off-road performance. We’ve driven Sports down impossibly steep ravines, along ricky river beds, through waist deep water and, during our week with this one, managed to traverse a tricky off-road section of The Curragh while wearing a suit. It is that ability to deal with the very worst terrain imaginable (aided by the clever and simple Terrain Response System) while remaining unruffled inside that separates the Range Rover from the horde of competitors. There are others as talented in individual disciplines; none that we can think of that offer precisely the same combination.

Quite apart from anything, there is the Range Rover’s natural charm. It’s a handsome, bluff-looking beast, one that beguiles you, makes you feel better about life when you’re behind its wheel. For that alone, we would love it. Taken in concert with its myriad other talents, well, there’ll be no moral dilemma on our minds if our six numbers ever come up...


Facts & Figures

Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE
Price: €80,710
Range price: €75,195 to €118,160
Capacity: 2,993cc
Power: 210bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Top speed: 193kmh
0-100kmh: 10.3sec
Economy: 8.5-100km (33.2mpg)
CO2 emissions: 224g/km
Tax Band: F. €1,129 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

Road Test: Land Rover Range Rover Evoque SD4 4x4 Pure

Price as tested: €40,975

In brief: Stunning to look at, excellent to drive and amazingly capable off-road. Hard to see it being anything other than a hit, but it’s not as affordable as it seems.


Well, this is odd. When your brain hears the words Range Rover it still expects to see a towering two-tonne hunk of metal, clambering over rocks and gorges before depositing its tuxedo-wearing occupants at the nearest five-star hotel. You expect big.

You do not expect to see something roughly Golf-sized (or Golf Plus at any rate), that fits neatly within the confines of a standard car parking space and whose roofline doesn’t extend above your eyeline.

But then the Range Rover Evoque is a very different kind of Range Rover, and truly is a turning point for Land Rover as a whole. Before Evoque, Land Rovers were are, obviously, directly descended from the go-anywhere Maurice Wilks original. Post Evoque, the brand is going to be more about watching its Co2 figures and keeping physical bloat well and truly under control.

The Evoque shares much, mechanically, with the current Land Rover Freelander and will be built in the same factory in Liverpool. But while it’s related, clearly there has been some serious re-engineering work going on under the skin. For a start, there’s the Co2 figure, surely the most important co2 rating that Land Rover will ever release. Pick our four-wheel-drive, 190bhp test car and you’ll emit 149g/km and pay €302 a year in road tax. Compared to the previous lowest Land Rover figure, the 158g/km emitted by the front-drive Freelander.

But wait, coming very soon is a 150bhp front-drive Evoque, whose Co2-figure will be good enough for a Band B, €156 road tax rating. Now that is a breakthrough for the Land Rover and Range Rover brands. Who can accuse the Evoque of being a Chelsea Tractor, even if you’ll need the reticence of a saint to match the claimed fuel consumption figure.

But while it might not be a gas-guzzler, is it still a proper Land Rover? Well, yes and no was what I assumed would be the predictably complicated answer. It looks the part. It might be small, but Gerry McGovern’s design team has succeeded in grafting on all of the appropriate Range Rover styling cues, especially the big, castellated bonnet. It also looks great, to these eyes anyway (better in five-door form than as a more-expensive coupe); a curiously enticing combination of bijou but battle-hardened. Like a Chihuahua with an assault rifle.

Inside, it marks the best Land Rover cabin since the 2002 Range Rover. Gone are the too-cheap main dials of the Discovery and Range Rover Sport, and gone too are the acres of tinny grey plastic that blight the Freelander. However much was down to the involvement of Victoria Beckham (hired by Land Rover as a ‘design consultant’ for the Evoque’s cabin) is debatable, but it’s a success in here. Excellent cabin quality is backed up by understatedly fashionable design and a surprising (given that sloping roofline) amount of space. Love the sculpted leather seats (best seen in a natural tan finish) and the main dials that glow cherry red in Dynamic mode. Love too the surround camera system (whose front cameras dip beneath the waves when wading through standing water) and the simple, clear control layout. Hate (well, maybe hate is slightly too strong) the fiddly, annoying touch-screen infotainment system. A big override button would be useful here, Land Rover. Still, it’s a very impressive cabin that doesn’t sacrifice practicality on the altar of  style. Thanks, Posh.

To drive, you won’t be surprised if I tell you it feels much like a Freelander (no bad thing) but better. The steering is surprisingly light, and while the Evoque can be hustled very satisfyingly down a twisting road, you are always aware of a slight numbness to the steering (even in Dynamic mode, with the optional adaptive suspension set to firm) and it makes the already broad-shouldered Evoque feel wider still. There’s also a slight sense of disconnect between the sportily firm ride quality and that finger-light steering. So, while you can feel the hand of Jaguar’s legendary chassis engineer, Mike Cross, as you drive (in fact, it feels surprisingly like the original Toyota RAV4; agile, chuckable, fun) there is an unmissable sense that the Evoque’s dynamic ability has been compromised by the need for fuel-saving electric power steering. In that sense, it isn’t the first, it won’t be the last and it’s certainly not the worst.

Actually, it felt much better in the last version we got to try. In order, we drove a 2.0 turbo petrol Coupe automatic, a 190bhp diesel coupe automatic and, finally, a 190bhp diesel manual five-door. Perhaps it’s down to the weight distribution, or possibly the fact that you’re more in command of the drivetrain, but the manual diesel felt the best balanced of the three.

But can it off-road? Oh buy, can it. Land Rover was doubtlessly carefully controlling the loose surfaces and off-road sections we got to drive the Evoque on, but it climbed and crossed incredibly tough terrain. It will doubtless be stymied by the sort of deep mud and jagged rocks that a bigger Defender or Discovery would surmount, but that is hardly a shame for a car that can trace its chassis roots to the Ford Mondeo. It is in fact startling capable (assuming that you select a four-wheel drive model, of course), even shrugging off the accidental removal of some under-bumper trim on a too-enthusiastically tackled stretch. Ahem.

In town, it feels most at home and that is hardly surprising. SUVs are most commonly used in town, and the substantially female audience that Land Rover is looking to attract with the Evoque is predominantly urbanite. But even in town, in the middle of Liverpool (the Evoque’s home; it’s built in Land Rover’s Halewood plant just outside the Scouse City) Land Rover couldn’t resist demonstrating the Evoque’s urban assault capability. And so, we nosed the Evoque ito a foot-and-a-half of murky brown water inside a 3km disused railway tunnel that runs under the city. It was full of water, mud, slime, rubble and dirt and yet the pretty, urbane, concept-car-look Evoque pushed effortlessly through it all. Perhaps city councils could consider it as a potential congestion-saving measure and open up such tunnels for intra-urban commuting. Land Rovers only allowed.

However, we do have one or two issues and the first is with the pricing structure. €40k for a 150bhp 4WD ‘Pure’ model sounds good, but it’s pretty bare of decent equipment. True, the front-drive model will be cheaper still, but effectively the Evoque is going to be a €50k car if you want yours to have Range Rover appropriate equipment levels. And that is going to make life hard for the Evoque, as it pushes the price above that of an equivalent (but larger) BMW X3, BMW 5 Series Touring, Audi Q5, Mercedes E-Class Estate and many, many more. The Range Rover connection means that, even at €50k, it’s still a bargain compared to full-size RR models, but this is a pricey trinket, be in no doubt.

But a proper Land Rover? Yes, it is, just not as we know it thus far. It’s not a Defender descendant. It’s the start of something entirely new.


Facts & Figures

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque TD4 190 4x4 Pure 5-door
Price as tested: €40,975
Price range: €TBA to €66,920
Capacity: 2,179cc
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Top speed: 200kmh
0-100kmh: 10.0sec
Economy: 5.7l-100km (49.6mpg)
CO2 emissions: 149g/km
Road Tax Band: C €302
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested