What’s hot?
- The exterior styling is clever, clean and an elegant update of classic Range Rover styling cues. It couldn’t be mistaken for anything else which is a good thing.
- Our Range Rover was powered by the 3.0-litre TDV6, which has a punchy 258bhp and thanks to its aluminium construction, despite its considerable size and weight, it is kind at the pumps with a 37.7mpg combined fuel figure.
- As capable as the legendary Land Rover badge would suggest, the Range Rover is impressively refined, comfortable and composed on the road.[contentblock id=10 img=gcb.png]
- This might not be the range-topping Autobiography, but our Vogue SE had a pleasing, hand made and high-quality feel to the leather upholstery and wood veneer interior trim.
- It does weigh about two-tonnes, but considering the Range Rover’s size and height, it is impressively agile. Yes, there is some bodyroll, but it never feels less than safe and the steering is surprisingly precise. Still, this isn’t a car to be driven hard – it’s a car to savour the soft, supple Limo-like ride in – even with the massive 19-inch wheels.
- Our test car might not have been the long-wheelbase version, but even in standard length, there’s a decent amount of rear legroom. Plus, the boot is still huge.
- A specification highlight of the Vogue SE has to be the 825watt Meridian surround system fitted. The sound quality has to be the best I’ve tried and worked particularly well with the optional (£1,900) rear seat entertainment system that my kids loved in particular.
What’s not?
- Although it has start/stop, with 182g/km CO2 and a 32% tax charge, running this Range Rover on the business is not going to be cheap.
- Only likely to bother the geeky, but the column stalks are shared with the smaller Evoque and the Jaguar F-Type sportscar. They work well enough, but take away from the special feel of the Range Rover’s cabin.
- The standard sat-nav is shared with other Jaguar and Land Rover models, although fitted with new features, it looks and feels dated, plus it is slow and complicated to operate.
- Some of the interior finishes aren’t up to the £77,000+list price.
- Yes it’s a Range Rover, yes I think it’s one of the world’s greatest SUVs, but over £77,000 is a lot to pay!
