Range Rover Review

Strength in composure

Our test vehicle almost blends in as it is lined up with various mid-size estate cars and SUVs in the car park at the company premises. With its nice, no-frills bodywork in dark Belgravia Green and despite all the Autobiography features, it does not stick out for having an old-fashioned size nor a flamboyant look. In fact, it has a somewhat understated style and stands out from so many of the competitors in its class as a refreshing change. These days, this is probably a very welcome side effect for most buyers.

But the main thing that makes the new Range Rover so sensational is this incomparable feeling of confidence that every driver has when they get behind the wheel. There is no better vehicle for long drives on the motorway, especially as it does not encourage fast driving. When driving it, knowing that you could speed off if you wanted to gives you a sense of total relaxation and serenity. To reach top speeds, it would not even need the maximum power of our test vehicle, which featured a modern mild hybrid eight-cylinder engine with an extremely generous 530 hp. Each of the three six-cylinder high-torque diesel engines with up to 350 hp available for the Range Rover provide enough power for a sublime driving experience. It can also easily consume less than 8 litres of diesel at mid- to long-range distances. If you often do shorter journeys or drive in city-centre traffic, the Range Rover is also available as a plug-in hybrid with a six-cylinder petrol engine and a range of more than 80 kilometres (50 miles) on electric alone, so it is definitely worth considering.

But there is one feature above all others that characterises the new Range Rover: the mesmerising perfection of its all-wheel and chassis technology. Not only does this come into play on solid ground, as is the case with most off-road test drives, but also in real-life situations out on hunting grounds. Anyone who has ever done off-roading knows that even slightly steep thoroughfares on wet, loam soil can soon test the limits of even the best four-by-fours. This makes it all the more astounding that the Range Rover actually delivers on this kind of terrain with its genius electronic drive and chassis control. Its all-wheel steering makes it so agile, even in the tightest spaces, that you actually have to experience it to believe it.

We were unexpectedly able to see for ourselves how excellent the new Range Rover’s overall concept is on a hot and humid day in late May. After a long stint on the motorway, we made it to the Allgäu region totally relaxed in the early evening. There was a heavy storm brewing on the horizon. As this was a good opportunity for spectacular photos, we took a spontaneous trip across the Adelegg mountains in the foothills of the Alps. However, after just a few kilometres up the mountains and through the forest, an extreme windstorm broke out, making it impossible for us to take any more photos. At this point, we were solely focused on getting out of the forest as quickly as possible. But the next six kilometres (four miles) on the narrow, winding road down to the valley became a real challenge. Heavy rain meant we had next-to-no visibility and we knew there was a risk the storm could uproot trees and throw them onto the road at any time. Just as we thought we were finally about to make it out of the forest, we were met with a beech tree lying across the road, physically blocking our path. Our only option was to make the dangerous return journey as quickly as we could. But after the first bend in the road, there was another tree. Fortunately, even though we were on a scarily steep incline, we managed to drive over the treetop of the fallen spruce and along the steep slope. We had to pass two more trees that had also come down in the storm in the exact same way. By now, the roadside ditches had become a torrent full of sand, mud, and gravel. I have to admit, I was no longer thinking about the vehicle’s expensive paintwork here. All I hoped was that the Range Rover would get us out of this difficult situation. And it did so with ease, automatically pulling out all the stops the all-wheel technology had to offer, even in places where the torrent had washed up lots of dauntingly slippery loam soil across the steep road.

So after a long drive on the motorway, we had inadvertently taken the new Range Rover on a genuine off-road adventure, with the danger of them situation making it a very impressive experience. The paintwork did not suffer any visible scratches. Our only regret is that we did not get any of these life-threatening moments of our spontaneous trip on film.