SPORT FOR ALL? (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

The third generation Range Rover Sport takes a best step forward in luxury and technology. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 64

The Range Rover Sport. The best of all worlds? You might think that Land Rover's flagship Range Rover model would be just about perfect if it was slightly more dynamically styled and slightly sharper to drive. That's just what the third generation Range Rover Sport aims to offer. It now feels like a six-figure SUV inside and out and there's nothing quite like it.

Backgroundword count: 192

Here's a car that claims to be able to do.... well, almost everything. It'll cruise on the autobahn at 130mph, ford rivers in the Serengeti, take a family on holiday and slip you down to the shops. It can be affordable to run, rewarding to drive and looks dynamic and stylish. There has to be a catch - doesn't there? Time to check out the third generation Range Rover Sport. Ah yes, the Range Rover Sport. A car that in its first generation guise was neither a 'Range Rover' or 'sporty'. In fact, it was based almost entirely on the brand's sensible Discovery model and, thanks to that car's practical ladder frame chassis, as about as dynamic to drive. Still, the smarter set of clothes did the trick and for most of its life between 2005 and 2012, the MK1 'Sport' was one of Solihull's best sellers. The second generation model, launched in 2013 and updated in 2017, satisfied them far more credibly, based this time on the underpinnings of the fourth generation Range Rover. This MK4 design also shares a Range Rover chassis and powertrain, which means it's very advanced indeed.

Driving Experienceword count: 266

You'd expect a sharper drive than a Range Rover, but engineering almost completely shared with it - and by and large, that's what you get. Spend enough and this car can be the most dynamically able Range Rover Sport yet - we'll get to that. A glance at the engine line-up reveals that Land Rover has no intention of abandoning diesel just yet and there are two MHEV mild hybrid options, the D300 (296bhp) and the D350 (345bhp). The rest the range is petrol-powered. The P400 (395bhp) has MHEV tech. The final option resides with a couple of Plug-in Hybrids, the P460e (460bhp) and the P550e (550bhp). These combine a 3.0-litre straight six petrol unit with a 105kW electric motor. They offer a 70 mile EAER-rated electric driving range - and if that's not enough, there's a full-EV version planned for 2024. Whichever variant you choose, it should feel sharper to drive than the previous generation model thanks to a body structure 35% stiffer than before, offering what Land Rover claims is 'sportscar levels of stiffness'. Plus the dual chamber air suspension has been designed to limit cornering body roll - and pitch under acceleration. An optional 'Stormer' handling pack adds 'Dynamic Response Pro anti-roll control', plus rear wheel steering, torque vectoring by braking and 'Adaptive Dynamics' adaptive damping with Bilstein monotube dampers. As before, the Range Rover Sport is unrivalled off road, with intelligently variable all-wheel drive and 'Terrain Response' with six settings. The air springs can offer a 135mm ride height increase, water up to 900mm deep can be forded and 45-degree gradients attempted.

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