Test drive on the new 2010 Range Rover Sport (From Bournemouth Echo)

Test drive on the new 2010 Range Rover Sport

2:43pm Monday 22nd February 2010 in

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LAND ROVER has revised its most road-focused SUV (sports utility vehicle) and I have to say it’s improved.

Exterior tweaks include new front and rear bumpers, a new two-bar front grille and side vents which give a lower, less aggressive look than the previous model. There are also new front and rear lights – the front lights are a circle of LEDs which give a subtle and stylish look.

The new 3.0 diesel twin turbo engine comes from the Jaguar XF S, producing 242bhp at 4,000rpm and a whopping 443lb ft of torque at 2,000rpm. 29 per cent more powerful and 36 per cent more torque than its forebear.

The Sport weighs in at a smidge over 2,500kg and yet still manages zero to 60mph in 8.8 seconds and will continue up to a maximum speed of 120mph.

The new engine gives a far better fuel economy, now achieving 30.7mpg on the combined cycle. More importantly CO2 emissions have been reduced to 243g.

The interior has also been re-worked – the black plastics are gone making way for nice, luxurious-feeling, softtouch materials. Land Rover has also reduced the number of buttons by about half, thanks to the new fullcolour seven-inch TFT touch screen which shows most of the car’s features such as communication, navigation, vehicle settings and the fantastic sounding Harman Kardon surround sound system.

Driving the Sport is a pleasure; in fact I personally prefer the drive to the Range Rover. The Sport is compact, giving road-handling characteristics more like a saloon car, and a firmer ride, meaning less body roll which enables quicker cornering speeds.

The driving position is elevated, giving fantastic all round vision, and the seats are electronically adjustable in almost every possible way, ensuring you will find the most comfortable driving position.

That said, because the Sport is such a rewarding drive on road you would expect it to be a let down off road. Not the case at all. The Sport is just as at home off road as the Range Rover or even the Discovery.

I had the opportunity to drive the Sport off road at Land Rover’s West Country Experience near Honiton.

The day started at 9am with a 15- minute briefing, and then you are quickly in the car with the instructor at the wheel.

Very quickly you learn the basics of which “terrain response” setting to use in which situation. Choose from five different settings plus Hill Descent Control.

The best bit is I am in no way experienced at driving off road, yet within 30 minutes of instruction I had picked up the basics.

Quite simply the Sport is superb off road, even with standard road tyres and wheels. You would be hard pushed to get yourself stuck in a situation under normal off-road use.

The most important bit, though, is that this is a car you can use every day, to and from work (no matter whether it’s on the farm or in the office), at the weekend with the family or towing the horse box to the races.

When you think about it, yes the CO2 emissions may be a little higher than a standard saloon, but you would need two cars usually to complete such tasks, therefore you are effectively reducing costs – fewer cars on the road and less CO2.

The other thing to remember when buying a new Land Rover is that they offset the production of the car and CO2 emissions for the first 45,000 miles by funding renewable energy sources across the globe. (See landrover.co.uk).

There’s also a great spec, including climate control, cruise control, bixenon lights, 20-inch wheels, metallic paint, parking sensors and a rearview camera, keyless entry and start, leather seats, plus satellite navigation and the fantastic nine-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system which includes, DAB tuner, MP3 connection and Bluetooth.

Safety features include ABS, DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), RSC (Roll Stability Control), under-steer control, eight air bags including curtain bags for each seat row, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Advanced Emergency Brake Assist which uses radar to scan the road ahead 10 times a second. ACC will automatically match the pace of the vehicle ahead, slowing when it does.

To sum up, the best SUV just got better!