Range Rover Sport Review: Slightly Leaner For More Daily Usability

What we like:

Slightly more wieldy on Singapore roads versus the full-fat Rangie

A great deal cheaper with no lack of luxury

What we dislike:

A diesel engine might be a better beast of burden than the thirsty petrol I6

Usually, we’d test drive cars on the road before having the chance to drive them on the track.

With the Range Rover Sport, it happened the other way round. A couple of months ago, we were given an open track at Changi Exhibition Centre to bring the Range Rover Sport to its limits (for the full story, click here). Now it is time to drive the car in, arguably, conditions that are more suited for it.

To recap, the Range Rover is the full-sized go-anywhere have-everything flagship luxury SUV from Land Rover, and the one we tested even came in a long wheelbase. The Range Rover Sport, on the other hand, is built more with daily usability in mind, where its likely driver will be the owner himself/herself, and where the car may be used more on the road than off. To be realistic, most potential owners of the Range Rover will fit this profile, so the Range Rover Sport is definitely an important product in the portfolio for our market. The Sport is also some $180k cheaper than the standard Range Rover.

The good news is that the Range Rover Sport is in no way a downgrade in luxury at all versus the Rangie. Interior materials are just as good, while including some touches that differentiate it, like the cloth speaker covers that double up as door trimming, and the matte carbon fibre applied tastefully across the cabin. It’s as wonderful a place to be as in the Range Rover.

Like the Rangie, the Sport gives a commanding view of the road which is quite at odds with its Sport tag. Adjust one’s expectations please - this is in no way a sports car, or even one I’d call a sporty SUV. Imagine the Sport as just a lighter, more wieldy and smaller version of the Range Rover, and you’d get the remit. Viewed with that lens, the Sport is appreciably more enjoyable to drive, especially when one has to navigate multi storey car parks often or go for school runs scything through traffic. There is more body control and a slightly sharper helm, but the overall brief is still of overriding luxury and pampering. So the ride is still sublime for all passengers, one of the few truly comfortable SUVs across all conditions, speed and terrain.

The 3-litre Ingenium petrol engine left us wanting on the track, but on the road its meaty low and mid range made it ‘just enough’ for the Sport on the road. You won’t feel a power deficit, but it doesn’t quite give the effortless flow that the V8 easily metes out. It also sounds curiously silent from its exhaust pipes; I’d expected more drama and noise.

With the road test of the Range Rover Sport, I came away more impressed with it than driving it on the track. It feels more suited for our crowded little island, offering just that bit more sensibility and usability which is crucial if someone buys it to drive than just to be chauffeured in. Unless you plan on going off-road often with the Rangie, the Sport version is, for most intents and purposes, the one to buy for Singapore.

Photos by New Gen Marketing

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