The new Range Rover’s outputs are impressive but with weight up by 220kg to 2440kg and a high 0.38 co-efficient of drag this car was never going to sparkle at the test track. Our 0-60mph time of 8.7sec cuts nearly half a second from Land Rover’s estimate but the X5 manages the same sprint in 7.1sec. Top speeds are almost identical – both just miss 130mph.
It is axiomatic that the vast majority of off-roaders will never attempt any serious mud-plugging. The off-road ability of a Range Rover may be central to its image but we have to give greater weight to its road manners. This emphasis would once have disadvantaged it. No longer; the chassis changes have transformed it. The handling is impressive, and the fingertip-light steering is accurate. For such a large, heavy car, body control is exceptional; the Range Rover will always struggle to match the ride of cars designed solely for road use but it gets very, very close.
You’ll only appreciate the achievement of Land Rover’s engineers, though, when you have seen what their chassis will do off-road. The increase in ground clearance and axle articulation render the Range Rover almost unstoppable; it’s limited only by the grip of its road-orientated tyres and skill of its driver.
