Bosch European Motors
My dad's words hung in the air like the few stray puffs of exhaust trailing in my wake as I motored away from him following a nice dinner. His parting statement to me really summed up the experience of driving this Chile Red Range Rover Sport. This is a vehicle unlike anything else Land Rover has ever built - and it needs to be. The Sport has been the British marque's best-selling vehicle since it went on sale in 2005 - even in its predecessor's final full year of sales, 2012, it still netted a four-percent bump. That kind of staying power needs to be preserved. Doing that would be difficult, though, as Land Rover launched a pair of particularly notable products before it was time to redesign the Sport. By now, you have a fair idea of how Land Rover has done. Senior Editor Steven Ewing's initial foray witha right-hand-drive Sport in Wales was overwhelmingly positive in both on and off-road testing. Land Rover continues to offer its phenomenal 5.0-liter, supercharged V8 in the 2014 Range Rover Sport.
Like the previous model, Land Rover continues to offer its phenomenal 5.0-liter, supercharged V8 in the 2014 Range Rover Sport. A completely unnecessary but wholly gratifying 510 horsepower can be called up, along with 461 pound-feet of torque. Unlike the old Sport, whose engine was mated to a six-speed automatic, ZF's stellar eight-speed automatic distributes power. This paddle-shifted automatic doles out the grunt to all four wheels via a permanent four-wheel-drive system, which in my tester benefits from both an electronically locking center and rear differential. The two diffs can be locked and unlocked automagically, in turn, by Land Rover's second-generation Terrain Response system. This latter serves as the nerve center of the Rover's off-roading systems, and offers drivers seven preset modes in my Supercharged model: Auto, General, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl and Dynamic (the latter setting isn't available on V6 models). The default setting, Auto, is an overarching mode that completely removes the guesswork from managing the other settings. A week with the vehicle would prove that I don't much care for it, but I'm a control freak.
I've always liked the look of the first-gen Sport, but there's little denying that there was far more LR3/LR4design DNA in that vehicle than the Range Rover it purported to be. This new vehicle is clearly inspired by its Evoque kid brother, rather than the full-sized Range Rover, and there's none of the old LR3/LR4 left in either its appearance or beneath the skin. This is no bad thing. There's none of the old LR3/LR4 left in either its appearance or beneath the skin. This is no bad thing. As you can see, the Chile Red and black exterior theme on this tester has been thoroughly carried out. Not only is it equipped with a Santorini Black roof, but thanks to its optional Dynamic Package, the mirrors, grille and "Range Rover" badging are blacked out as well. That's kind of the idea, though, and the narrow, wraparound headlights and their LED accents help out.
The profile is accented by a sleeker version of Land Rover's typically upright greenhouse, thanks to the more aggressively raked windshield, along with the dramatic belt- and rooflines of the new Sport. A small side grille and a strongly styled side sill are the other main attractions of the Range Rover Sport's profile. In back, squarish, wraparound taillights look like they've been plucked and plumped from the Evoque. One of my primary criticisms of the old Sport was its cabin - a point of view not helped after sitting inside the spectacular new Range Rover. This new model, fortunately, is considerably better than the vehicle it replaces. Material quality is greatly improved, with a dash that's covered almost exclusively in leather, save for a strip of mesh that runs level with the instrument cluster and houses the push-button start, central air vents and glovebox release. The cabin overall is quite well laid out, with everything in easy reach. The center console, home to the shifter, climate control and Terrain Response system controls, is rendered in high-quality textured aluminum on my tester, though other finishes are available.
Weirdly, the knobs in the cabin have a real sense of solidity and quality to them, while the buttons - particularly those below the infotainment screen - feel comparatively cheap, both in terms of appearance and in action. The cabin is quite well laid out overall, with everything in easy reach. The steering wheel is finished in high-quality leather, and like the Evoque and fullsize model, it wears a "Range Rover" badge in the center. I wouldn't have minded a slightly smaller-diameter wheel, however, as it would have lent a bit of credence to the Sport's mission as a more driver-focused offering. Being a Range Rover, the Sport offers up quite a high seating position, which is a great aid to visibility all around. Those seats, meanwhile, are heated, cooled and offer 14-way adjustability, while being extremely supportive in nearly any situation. Ingress and egress are hampered only by the vehicle's high ride height, a factor that can be mitigated by lowering the air suspension. Even with incremental improvements, the infotainment still feels like a last-generation product.