Range Rover Vogue review (06/11/2013)
But, if you remove the narcissistic element from the Range Rover, you are still left with one of the most capable motor cars on the planet right now and one which can (and will) be used for a variety of useful purposes other than looking good. It is worth noting that Spen King, one of the designers of the original Range Rover, recently complained that he never
envisaged the car as a status symbol. But, despite his protestations, that’s exactly what it has become, despite the fact that it is capable of doing things and going places that most of its owners never envisaged.
The new Range Rover is undoubtedly a fantastic thing: not just to
behold, but also to drive. It is impressive not just because of its size, but also because the design team has built something which matches that bulk with an elegance uncharacteristic in the large SUV segment.
When you swing yourself into the cockpit — and believe me, you have to (the wife, bless her, practically needed a step ladder to get in to it) — you find yourself scanning the world from an imperious vantage point. It feels almost truck-like in its magnitude and when you realise that from the lofty driving position that you are now in control of a two-and-a-half ton behemoth, you fully comprehend its voluminosity.
What is hard to comprehend, however, is that even given its massive dimensions and weight, this thing still performs like a hot hatch; in fact, it is quicker than most such beasts, despite the fact its weighs considerably more than two of them put together. And what stretches credibility even further is that it achieves this and all the while handles with the precision and deftness of a Leopard zoning in on its dinner.
On top of all those incredible abilities it is also capable of fording substantial rivers, climbing minor Alps and generally treating off-road driving with a confidence you might only otherwise find in a combat tank.
And, even when you’ve factored in all those details you then realise it does these thing while cosseting you the driver and your passengers in the sort of luxury normally only found at the Rolls Royce end of the market. Certainly you will pay dearly for all these wonderful attributes, but it is worth every penny of it.
Getting away from all the gushing, the nuts and bolts of the Range Rover Vogue 3.0 litre TDV6 we tried show us that it has an all-aluminium monocoque chassis, and engine which outputs 190 kW (255 bhp) and a massive 600 Nm of torque from just 2,000 rpm. This in turn translates into a top speed of 209 kph and gives a 0-100 kph time just under eight seconds.
It is has to be said is the lesser of the engine variants on offer in the range, but for all that it is still refined, purposeful and very capable. It will deliver you to whatever destination of your choosing in a resolute, yet distinguished manner. And, with a modicum of right-foot lightness, will still return a 7.5 l/100 km consumption figure (that’s only just under 40 mpg). Impressive is too insignificant a word for it.
And then we come to the interior which, when you have climbed aboard, is nearly as fantastic as everything else about the car. The fully electrically-adjustable leather clad driver’s seat is a masterpiece. It can heat, cool, massage and a few other things, I’m sure, and is a portent of the sort of lavishness that’s on hand throughout.
Take stuff like the dual screen infotainment centre console which allows the driver peruse a variety of functions including sat. nav., while the front seat passenger looks at the television. One person cannot see what the other is seeing. Or the electronically controlled split-tailgate. Or the 3D instrumentation. Or the LED ambient lighting. Or the exterior lighting which comes on at night when you open the car and which casts a circle of light around the front door into which the Range Rover logo is emblazoned. I mean, how cool is that?
Everything about this machine is truly gob-smacking and even having had it for a week I was singularly unable to plumb its astonishing depths. From the way it drives to the manner in which it cossets and soothes its passengers, everything is completely amazing.
Many other SUVs have laid claim to being the king of the road down the years, but this thing always was and still is the daddy and only a fool would claim otherwise Yes it is expensive — bloody expensive — but it is also a seriously phenomenal machine. Is there better in this genre? I doubt it.
from 135,075 (157,927 as tested).
a three litre V6 turbodiesel that’s as refined as it is punchy and economical.
ridiculous.
Nothing comes close to matching it.
*****
