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Conspicuous
consumption is evident everywhere in this three ton SUV. Obviously built for
luxurious offroading with 11 inches of ground clearance, the HSE Range
Rover stands as living testimony that image sells. With a heritage of African
safaris, snorkeling across flooded rapids, and English royalty excursions the
Range Rover has a lot of appeal.
The huge,
slab sided Rover is done is such a way that its proportions are diminished
until you see if parked next to a suddenly small Nissan Patrol or Toyota Land
Cruiser.
Unfortunately, the styling does little for gas mileage as a premium of
imperial gallon gets you barely 14 miles of travel. The good news is that the
ride is going to be quite nice. Even the interior appointments and gauges are
well located and easy to master, except for the GPS. There is no question that
this is the best Range Rover ever. There is also no question that logic cannot
enter your buying decision. Large SUVs that cost $60,000 or less have more room,
more power, more practicality, more equipment, better customer quality survey
results, and more standard equipment are readily available. What they don’t
have is the heritage.
Young
working woman’s view: In this price category looks are everything. The boxy
Mercedes G with its series of locking differentials is much more capable
off-road, abeit without the ground clearance or self-leveling feature.
The
Porsche Cayenne S is quicker and more agile. And the BMW and Volkswagen
titans are more luxurious have more features, and are less expensive. So you
have to like the Range Rover’s shape and I do. It is somehow elegant and tough
at the same time. I just wish you did not have to climb in and out of it, as
the air suspension does not lower enough for lady like access. Would I want
one? No, I’m too practical for the whimsy this big guy represents, but if I
lived where the weather tended to the inclement, the roads flooded, zebras
grazed, and I didn’t have a long commute, this would be fun. But, as it now
stands, unless you must cross a pile of sand in the roadway there is little
value in such a sophisticated vehicle as a daily driver.
Dad’s view: You have a BMW powered vehicle that performs well for what it is. The
4.4-liter V8 makes 282 horsepower driving through a five-speed automatic. You
can tow 7,000 pounds with the unibody Range Rover thanks to permanent
four-wheel-drive system and a height-adjustable suspension. Since it is
designed as the ultimate off-road drive vehicle, and except for the Mercedes G
it is our favorite for high mountain travel, the Range Rover has permanent
four wheel drive, four wheel electronic traction control, a two speed
electronic transfer box with torque sensing center differential, shift on the
move capability, traction control, ABS, and hill descent control. Best of all,
it has great accelerator pedal control. In fact, the best we have ever tested.
You can almost feel your way over rocky terrain as the accelerator pedal
enables you to carefully select the fuel input into for the sequential multi
port injection to distribute.
The turning
radius isn’t bad for such a behemoth and visibility is good to the sides, but
very poor in back. The Rover does have front and rear sonar warning devises
and a ton, excuse the expression, of standard features such as 19-inch wheels,
high-intensity headlights, three-zone climate control, leather, lots of
airbags, and heated seats. There are many other features, but some notable
ones are missing. There isn’t a satellite radio option or cooled seats, and
voice activation is missing. I liked driving the Range Rover even though the weight
makes the brakes work very hard and diminishes acceleration after 70 km/h, but
most of all I liked the attention. Truly, this is a vehicle far more deserving
then to be driven to a shopping mall. The bottom line for me is that if the
quality has truly improved, and it feels that way, this is very much a fine
ride for those who don’t mind the philosophical implications of owning a
vehicle that smacks the cheeks of environmentalists and those who deplore
overt displays of consumption.
Mom’s view: The Range Rover has an appealing, understated interior with just a few quirks
to keep with its past history. The key is located in the center console, one
cupholder pops out of the passenger side dash area, and the center control
monitor is too small to read quickly. The rack-and-pinion steering system is
light, maybe a bit too light. All the seats are very adjustable and the whole
package feels well dressed. But, be warned, this SUV requires a lot of
strength.
The center console is hefty and heavy. The doors are difficult to
open due to their weight. Folding up the rear seats is only for the tall
and/or strong, and the clamshell opening rear hatch is a stretch to close not
to mention the very high lift over that makes loading groceries for those
wearing slacks only. You can ask the Rover to lower itself so you can get out
slightly easier, but its not worth the wait for the air suspension to respond.
The interior and night lighting are excellent, and the flat seats fairly
comfortable.
I got lots of looks from other SUV drivers and a lot of people
asked me about the Rover, so the image remains the main selling point in
metropolitan areas. For me this was too much car and those slab sides would
take a beating in the parking lots I frequent. However, this model is much
more user friendly than previous Range Rovers.
Overall, this is just too ponderous a
vehicle for me to drive daily and I question whether anyone of my stature
could even tolerate its off-road rugged quality over a long time period. It is
too big, too heavy, and too difficult to maneuver and park in tight
situations. Of course, if I lived in the wide-open spaces and had a bit more
muscle, this would be my first choice for off-roading.
Young working
man’s view: Heated rear seats, now that is worthy. In addition, this land
yacht had a 570-watt, 16-speaker Harman Kardon stereo with a glove box-mounted
six-disc CD changer. I am friendly to my native planet and driving any vehicle
of this magnitude that isn’t carrying construction equipment or food to an
impoverished nation is questionable to me. But at least it looked cool and to
some that’s the name of the game. Does anyone need such a large SUV with so
little storage space, undoubtedly no. But, as Mom said, if you reside in an
area where weather or terrain is a concern this is a great ride.
Family
conference: Next year the engine is going to be from Jaguar/Ford and be more
potent, have a six speed automatic transmission, and probably look less safari
like. Overall, this is a car that is over engineered, enormous in every
aspect, and probably is better off-road than any other vehicle outside of the
Mercedes Benz G. There is a special edition Range Rover with special paint and
bigger tires, and there are smaller Range Rovers available.
Written by
The Car Family |
