.It may be a pricey SUV with luxury cabin appointments, but the Range Rover Sport handles tough terrain better than most.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
A good sports car, such as the BMW M3, the Chevy Corvette, and the new Jaguar F-type, lets you commute to work every day, then drive it to the track on the weekend for some hot laps, no trailer required. With the 2014 Range Rover Sport, you can get to work all week in comfort, then take it out on the weekend for some serious off-road fun.
And, Land Rover would suggest, you could also take it to the track.
During a drive set up by Land Rover for the press, I got to test that first proposition, driving both the V-6 and V-8 versions of the Range Rover Sport on the freeway, twisty mountain roads, and a lengthy, tortuous off-road track.
Big brother, little brother
Although it's a completely different vehicle, Land Rover redesigned the Sport on the same principles as the new Range Rover. The Range Rover Sport benefits from aluminum unibody construction, shedding hundreds of pounds over the previous generation.
Although it's a completely different vehicle, Land Rover redesigned the Sport on the same principles as the new Range Rover. The Range Rover Sport benefits from aluminum unibody construction, shedding hundreds of pounds over the previous generation.
The untrained eye will mistake the Range Rover Sport for its big brother, noting the bulky body and Land Rover design cues such as the drilled grille. However, the Sport is smaller, 2 inches lower and 6 inches shorter, yet its wheelbase measures just slightly longer.
In a smart move toward manufacturing efficiency, parent company Tata Motors doles out engines in common between Land Rover and Jaguar. As such, the Range Rover Sport benefits from supercharged 5-liter V-8s and 3-liter V-6s as used in the Jaguar XJ and F-type.
2014 Range Rover Sport: Luxury and the beast (pictures)
thfirst leg of the drive, I was in a V-8 Range Rover Sport equipped with the Premium package, hitting a price around $85,000. The cabin struck me as showing the kind of big luxury seen in SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade during the 1990s. It felt like a big, roomy freeway cruiser, although the wide center console, a long-time Land Rover hallmark, ate into the space somewhat. Overhead, a two-paned panoramic sunroof lit the interior.
Eschewing the LCD instrument clusters gaining traction among newer-model vehicles, Land Rover went with two analog gauges supplemented by a small LCD showing trip and navigation information. The center dash held a touch-screen LCD with the usual navigation, stereo, and phone features. The center LCD would also play a crucial role later in the trip, portraying axle articulation, differential lock, and wheel turn.
Land Rover offers the Range Rover Sport in four different trim levels, and with a choice of supercharged V-6 or V-8 engines.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
For the cabin tech, Land Rover doesn't bother with options, making the navigation and touch screen standard in the Range Rover Sport.
When I shifted the eight-speed automatic transmission to drive, the supercharged V-8 effortlessly moved the 5,000-pound truck down the road, not t0o surprising considering its 510 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque. Land Rover's Terrain Response System, set to automatic, ostensibly adjusted the air suspension and vehicle stability program for driving on smooth asphalt. From the steering wheel, the Range Rover Sport drove like an easily maneuverable car.
The first note of excitement came when I took the opportunity of a freeway merge to floor it, eliciting a ticking growl from the engine. It would have been a surprisingly aggressive sound, except for the fact that I had heard something even stronger from the Jaguar F-type. It seems that one of the design briefs handed around the combined Jaguar-Land Rover offices is to make sure the cars are heard as well as seen.
During this drive, I didn't spend a lot of time trying out the cabin tech features, although I did note that the touch screen was much more responsive than past Land Rover efforts. Selecting music from an iPhone cabled to the car, I found no difficulty scrolling through lists of artists.
The car's speakers bore the Meridian logo, but that didn't tell me the audio system's specs. Land Rover is offering the Range Rover Sport with Meridian audio in three levels, the top sporting 23 speakers and 1,700 watts. I suspect the system in this Range Rover Sport was the lesser, 825-watt version. The sound stage seemed a little low, as if the music were centered around my waist level, but the clarity and bass response were all very good.
On the freeway, the stereo competed with the engine's constant bass rumble.
A dynamic driver
Carving the sinuous highways up in the Santa Cruz mountains, the Range Rover Sport earned the third part of its name. I set the Terrain Response dial to Dynamic, and the shifter to Sport, and this truck seemed to shed about half its weight. A vehicle of these proportions shouldn't be able to handle corners this well. Thank independent air suspension at each wheel, torque vectoring across the rear wheels, and a stiffened aluminum body for this kind of performance.
Carving the sinuous highways up in the Santa Cruz mountains, the Range Rover Sport earned the third part of its name. I set the Terrain Response dial to Dynamic, and the shifter to Sport, and this truck seemed to shed about half its weight. A vehicle of these proportions shouldn't be able to handle corners this well. Thank independent air suspension at each wheel, torque vectoring across the rear wheels, and a stiffened aluminum body for this kind of performance.
I was beginning to think the Range Rover Sport just didn't have any limits, or none that I was willing to explore on public roads, until my driving partner for the day went into a sharp turn carrying too much speed. The drama was minor, just a little drift before he got it back under control. I could see it would take more than simple recklessness to really discomfit the Range Rover Sport.
As for myself, I found the brake pedal had a bit more travel than I expected going into the first sharp turn, but that was a lesson easily learned.
At base a five-passenger SUV, Land Rover offers a power-folding third row as an option.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
Swapping the V-8 Range Rover Sport for one with the supercharged V-6 about halfway through the day, I was reminded of the Jaguar F-type. Although these vehicles have nothing in common on the surface, I found in both the Range Rover Sport and the F-type that the V-6 was perfectly adequate, but the V-8 was just that much more satisfying.
In the Range Rover Sport, the V-6 option generates 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, and gains about 2 mpg on the average. Putting the hammer down in that one, the engine sounded like it was struggling just a little, but I found its soundtrack more satisfying than the V-8's. Rather than being all exhaust note, the whoosh of supercharger induction came through on this car.
Setting up for more winding road action, I was dismayed to find no Dynamic setting on this Range Rover Sports drive mode dial, although the transmission, also an eight-speed, had a Sport position. Among the Range Rover Sport's options, lacking on this particular model, are a few features that will give it better road performance.
Where the V-8 I had driven offered torque vectoring, smartly moving torque across the rear axle to aid in handling, this V-6 made do with selective braking, somewhat mimicking the higher-end system. The air suspension also didn't have the same level of performance capability.
As a result, cornering wasn't as steady as with the V-8 version. I was still impressed by the handling, but this model leaned a bit more in the turns, so was not able to carry as much speed. Given the daunting size of the Range Rover Sport, I can't imagine too many owners really exploring the on-road limits of the vehicle, or finding the V-6 version in any way underpowered.
Land Rover's Terrain Response System offers a variety of off-road modes, and, optionally, a Dynamic mode for road performance.
(Credit: Land Rover)
There is also the idea that anyone buying a luxury SUV in a price range from $61,000 to $93,000 is never going to take it onto the kinds of trails inhabited by Jeeps and more dedicated four-wheelers. While that may be the case, I was suitably impressed during an off-road drive that the Range Rover Sport can handle as much as the most capable production vehicle.
Using the very same Range Rover Sport, the V-6 model, that I had just driven over paved twisty mountain roads, the folks at Land Rover sent me off on a challenging 2-hour drive along occasionally very steep trails covered in mostly soft, powdery dirt. Without even a change of tires to something designed for dirt, the only concession to the changed terrain was an off-road driving expert sitting in the passenger seat.
Repeatedly throughout the afternoon, I turned to the aforementioned expert and said, "You want me to drive down that?" He merely set the Terrain Response System to its Mud/Ruts mode and advised me to keep the wheels straight as much as possible. "Take quick turns and get the wheels back straight" was the day's mantra.
Taking the first big descent of the route, dubbed KTM hill when a couple of the Land Rover off-road instructors climbed it, barely, on KTM motorcycles, I chose the Descent Control feature and put the transmission in first gear. Keeping my feet off the pedals, I only had to steer as the Range Rover Sport worked its way down the sandy hill. I could hear the wheels alternatively doing their traction control thing, a little rumble from either side when the Terrain Response System sensed the need to apply brakes or let a wheel turn.
This off-road view on the center LCD shows the suspension stretching to accommodate undulating terrain.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
Climbing steep hills, the Land Rover expert told me to put the transmission in Drive, as the Range Rover Sport could determine the best gear, sometimes choosing second so as to lessen torque at the wheels in order to get better grip in powdery dirt.
Over some parts of the trail, steep, alternating dips led to big axle articulation, a front wheel's suspension at complete compression while the opposite rear wheel might be at maximum extension. At some points, I could feel that one of the truck's wheels lost contact with the ground entirely, and hung in space while the other three soldiered on, until we made it to a more level spot.
You can't go fast on this kind of trail-driving; we probably averaged 5 mph at most. But it was incredible taking this shiny new SUV along a path that very, very few vehicles could handle, especially in stock condition. Watching the off-road display on the center LCD, I could see how much the axles moved and when this system decided it needed to lock the center differential. The Range Rover Sport's off-road capability is as much a testament to Land Rover's engineering prowess as it is to modern road-holding technology.
Few miles per gallon
Less than impressive is the model's fuel economy. With the supercharged V-8 engine, the Range Rover Sport sits firmly at under 20 mpg, with EPA numbers of 14 mpg city and 19 mpg highway. Land Rover improves fuel efficiency a little with an idle-stop feature, but, as can be seen from the numbers, it doesn't make a huge difference.
Less than impressive is the model's fuel economy. With the supercharged V-8 engine, the Range Rover Sport sits firmly at under 20 mpg, with EPA numbers of 14 mpg city and 19 mpg highway. Land Rover improves fuel efficiency a little with an idle-stop feature, but, as can be seen from the numbers, it doesn't make a huge difference.
The V-6 makes its case with fuel economy of 17 mpg city and 23 mpg highway, which will prove a little less painful at the pump.
We tend not to trust the durability of the shiny and expensive. We expect the 6-foot-4, gym-fit scion of a wealthy family to break down in tears when faced with real, honest physical work. But the 2014 Range Rover Sport falls under none of these stereotypes. Land Rover not only has proven off-road engineering, it applied all of that knowledge and a good dose of modern technology to making the Range Rover Sport a vehicle that can handle extremes of performance.
It can grind its way up and down tough terrain and, likewise, should handle the more common situations of snow and ice very well. At the same time, the cabin gives passengers a leather-wrapped and air-conditioned sanctuary from the vicissitudes of the rugged outdoors. Suitably equipped, the Range Rover Sport can also do quite a number on twisty, paved roads.
After a day in the dry dirt, the Range Rover Sport acquires a good coating of dust.
0 comments:
Post a Comment