2018 Range Rover Sport Review
Car Tested: 2018 Range Rover Sport; Road Test No. 1001; Test Location: Mumbai
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 1.20 – 2.27 crores
The Range Rover Sport walks the fine line between luxury and driver involvement
Land Rover, under the ownership of Tata Motors is on a product onslaught, to the point where some cars have started to overlap in the company’s portfolio. The Range Rover lineup has been steadily increasing, now a four brand lineup with the flagship Range Rover and its sportier version, the Sport getting a mid-life facelift. In its latest avatar, the second generation Range Rover Sport looks even more appealing and gets updated with a host of features but is it still the sexiest Range Rover after the Velar’s launch?
The Range Rover Sport has sharp lines and sits tight when lowered
Exteriors – The Range Rover Sport is tightly packaged, looks splendid and the boxy design is carried out brilliantly. Massive 21-inch wheels adorn this beauty and with the ride height set to the lowest, it looks like a sports SUV from every angle. With revisions to the bumpers and the car getting updated LED lights, the higher variants getting full LED headlamps with Pixel LED adaptive beams (they can project up to half a km post 80 km/hr), this Range Rover does justify the Sport name in its appearance.
21-inch rims look gorgeous on this car, gloss black treatment is super cool
The Pixel LED headlights can project up to 500 metres, they are all LEDs
The LED lights are a party trick here, because they not only look splendid at night, they turn on one by one at first go, such a spectacle. Loads of gloss black finishing on the Range Rover Sport gives it that premium appearance, with the bumpers, pillars, rear spoiler and the roof too being finished in gloss black, the latter most results in the floating roof appearance. The rear features twin exhausts with a nice diffuser to reduce the visual bulk. At night, the outside rearview mirrors project the Range Rover Sport’s logo on the road, looks super cool.
The dashboard is sporty with easy reach for all controls
Interiors – This is an SUV with considerable height but you need not worry at all when getting inside the Range Rover Sport because it gets a feature called ‘Auto Access Height’ which lowers the ride height by 50 mm for easier ingress and egress. The cabin looks sporty with great attention to detail and the quality of materials used is also very good. The big highlight in the facelifted model is the InControl Touch Pro Duo system which are twin 10-inch screens which first made their debut in the Velar.
Land Rover has done away with buttons which is both a good and bad thing
The upper screen is for infotainment while the lower screen is for the climate, car settings and also seat heating (3 settings for the same with ventilated seats being optional). Talking about options, the car can be equipped with 22-way adjustable driver seat (with massage function) heated steering, screens at the rear, gesture control for closing the sunroof sunblind (it auto closes when you exit the car) and you can opt for 23-speakers for the superb sounding Meridian audio system (lower variants get 13 or 19 speakers). The touch-screen is fluid but the software isn’t the quickest and the menu isn’t the easiest to navigate, it also, that too shockingly, misses out on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
The rear seats of the Sport aren’t very spacious but offer enough room
Attention to detail is impressive, the cabin feels sporty with a ton of features
Some standout features in the Range Rover Sport include soft door close (for the last 6 mm), powered tail gate and a cooled box under the arm rest (cools till 5-degrees). The facelifted model also gets touch buttons which are super cool, they light up the function when in use and the same button is used for multiple functions as well. There are literally no buttons on the centre console except two rotary knobs for the AC and one for the volume control. The 4-zone climate control works really well and also gets a mode which ionises and reduces allergens and bacteria.
The boot could be larger but you do get a full-size spare wheel
The Range Rover Sport’s seats are extremely comfortable, the rear ones too and with the flat floor, it means 5 people can comfortably sit inside the car (one can also opt for optional third row seats, making this car a make shift 7-seater). The rear seats have decent legroom and kneeroom with good under-thigh support and above average headroom. The centre armrest is huge and folds down with the headrest (the centre headrest isn’t adjustable). The boot isn’t huge but the Range Rover Sport gets a full-sized spare wheel with an alloy, bravo! The car gets a digital instrument cluster with a host of information on offer, it’s loaded to the gill and is so well equipped that you never need an HUD (it’s available as option though)! However, we still find Audi’s Virtual Cockpit better in the crispness of the display and the ease of use.
The Range Rover Sport comes with a slew of engine options
Performance – The Range Rover Sport is available with a slew of engine options, with V6 and V8 engines available for both petrol and diesel, globally there is a 4-cylinder hybrid too. Our test car is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 diesel motor, generating 265 PS and 600 Nm which is a downer as the same engine powering other JLR cars outputs an impressive 300 PS and 700 Nm. 0-100 km/hr takes 7.7 seconds which although isn’t fast by any means, still feels decently quick owing to the nice surge in power once the Sport gets past the low-end lag.
The diesel motor is not only refined but sounds good too past 3000 RPM
Step on the gas and there is a long surge in power, it simply pulls effortlessly
The motor is very refined and has a punchy mid-range but doesn’t redline high enough, just restricting itself to 4500 RPM. However, the oil burner does sound nice, specially past 3000 RPM. Matched to this engine is an 8-speed gearbox which is smooth shifting but not the fastest with shifts, however, one can take manual control of cogs using the gearlever (no rotary knob here like the Range Rover but a proper lever) or the plastic steering mounted paddles. This motor returns a mileage of 9-11 km/l. If you really want to enjoy the Sport in this Range Rover, you should consider the 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 mill that outputs a ludicrous 575 PS in the SVR, that is pure performance.
Even with a monocoque chassis, the Sport is still a heavy car
Driving Dynamics – The Range Rover Sport is underpinned by an all-aluminium monocoque platform which makes it 400 kgs lighter than its predecessor. Still, this is a heavy car at 2.1 tonnes which robs away the agility you would expect from a car which is touted to be the most Dynamic Range Rover ever. The SUV has air suspension but the springs are set up on the stiffer side, that and the big sized wheels makes the ride quality far from the best, although it does settle into its rhythm at higher speeds. Slew of electronic aids help matters drastically, like the torque vectoring by braking which applies brakes to the inside wheel to ensure optimal traction around corners, then there is an electronic differential too! Sadly though, Dynamic mode is restricted to the V8 powered Range Rover Sport which alters the engine, gearbox, steering and also the suspension.
Ride and handling balance is good with a lot of tech helping the dynamics
The Range Rover Sport might not be as agile as a BMW X5 but is surefooted
Once you turn, there is some roll but thanks to torque vectoring, it settles quite quickly around a corner with great grip from the chassis as well as tyres. The steering is responsive but not very quick, still agile for a car of this size. The Adaptive Dynamics monitors vehicle movements up to 500 times per second and adjusts the springs accordingly. The car also auto lowers by 15 mm once you cross 105 km/hr (65 mph) to reduce aerodynamic drag. The brakes on our test car weren’t reassuring. The car gets emergency braking assist which boosts brake pressure.
In spite of the Sport moniker, it’s still a very capable vehicle off-road
Off-Road – The Range Rover Sport is very capable off-road, it has a feature called low traction launch which ensures optimal grip on off road terrain. There there are 3 pure off-road modes and if you don’t want to choose between them, just rely on the Terrain Response System 2 which alters engine, gearbox, differentials and chassis basis the terrain. The Hill Descent control maintains engine speed when off-roading and applies brakes on individual wheels. The Range Rover Sport can do higher wading as well as wheel articulation than the Audi Q. All terrain progress control lets you just focus on steering the car between speeds of 1.8 km/hr and 30 km/hr.
The Range Rover Sport gets a slew of Radar based technologies
Service – The Range Rover Sport is a 5-star NCAP car and comes with a slew of airbags and electronic aids. It also gets radar based systems like adaptive cruise control (which automatically applies brakes when an obstacle is detected when cruising), collision warning and also gets lane-keep assist. There are a lot more systems which are available on the global model.
No longer the most road going Range Rover, that’s now the Velar
Verdict – The Range Rover Sport is no longer the most dynamic Range Rover (sure the SVR is but the lesser models aren’t) because the Velar is the new sporty one as it’s the Range Rover made for the road. Still, this SUV is hugely impressive, it’s fast, comfortable. luxurious and drives well too. While the pricing is on the higher side, one simply can’t get an alternative to a Range Rover if they crave for luxury and off-road ability in one package. The Sport is the best alternative to the more expensive Range Rover with a more sporty appeal for good measure.
Land Rover lovers are spoilt for choice with the Velar and Discovery 5
What’s Cool
* Gorgeous design, just turns heads with people shouting Range Rover
* Attention to detail is impressive, lot of thoughtful engineering here
* Engines are refined and offer good pulling power
* Loads of equipment on offer, plenty on the options list too
* Extremely capable off-road
What’s Not So Cool
* No hybrid variant for India
* Misses out on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity
* Brakes don’t offer the level of feel expected for a car of this size
* Price, quite expensive as it continues to come via the CBU route
Alternatives: BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne, Maserati Levante
The Range Rover Sport is still the most fun Range Rover if you consider the SVR
Further Reading
Range Rover Sport SVR Review
Range Rover Sport Review
Range Rover Sport vs Mercedes GL63 AMG
Range Rover Sport Off-Road Review
Testers’ Note:
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