edamball
Member Since: 25 May 2013
Location: Oxfordshire
Posts: 89
 
|
| All-new Range Rover Sport ride and drive | |
So I spent Sunday morning at the Design and Engineering Centre as a guest of Land Rover to ride and drive the all-new Range Rover Sport. To be honest, I was not sure what to expect having never been up close and personal with the current car. I’ve always viewed it as the ultimate nouveau rich Chelsea tractor. At least, until the Evoque came along...
After arriving at the car park we were chauffeured in a 2103 Range Rover Autobiography through the site that prior to passing into civilian ownership was RAF Gaydon and home to V-bomber squadrons, and today contains the Heritage Motor Centre museum, the headquarters and factory of Aston Martin, and the Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre.
A welcoming cup of coffee and ten minutes to drool over parked Range Range Autobiography, Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-Type V8 S in the glorious sunshine and we were ushered inside to a dark and air-conditioned auditorium for an introduction and briefing.
The audio video system ran a short and exciting film clip with a thumping Propellerhead's soundtrack - perfectly whipping up anticipation as behind staggered screens rotating in opposite directions allowing only teasingly brief glimpses, the new Range Rover Sport was revealed.
We were told of the morning’s agenda - an unaccompanied 45 min on road drive, return to the D&E Centre to be split into two groups of four cars for accompanied track demonstration and then drives, and then unaccompanied drives through the off road section following a disembodied guide over radio leading in a Discovery 4.
With that we were led to our first car of the day, car #6 an HSE in Corris Grey.
I have my friend the first drive and settled into the comfortably hugging and supportive leather seats. We headed out, third in a convoy of eight RRS and wound our way through the Warwickshire countryside in the glorious sunshine.
We had been told that the design team had made the car more Range Rover and more sport and I would agree. Everything about the cabin oozed quality; the soft opening glovebox, the stitching detail, the trim around the Meridian loudspeakers and the light leather interior gave a feeling of upmarket luxury and a light, spacious environment.
We let traffic get slightly ahead of us on some long straights in order to put the car through some sprint paces. Wow. It responded immediately and eagerly to every touch of the pedal, smoothly progressing through the eight speed automatic gearbox.
After what felt the longest twenty minutes we arrived at the driver changeover way point and I got behind the wheel.
I loved the drivers position. The steering wheel felt nice to grip. I have never liked the FL2 steering wheel - it’s too thin and flimsy. The virtual display was really nice. Both the speedometer and tachometer change dynamically only showing the mph and rpm relevant, so at 50 mph you get an illuminated sector of 40 - 60. I liked this. At the bottom of display was a little graphic of an accelerator pedal with displaying a response to pressure applied according to driving style - a bit like those test-your-strength punch bags at the fairground. Got a few satisfying reds...
Was pleased to have got the return leg of the drive. The sat nav showed the route as being far more twisty turny so I was able to get real measure of the handling. It is great. There was barely a hint of body roll through corners, a real change from the wallowing I remember from my D3. The tuners have a done real good job here.
All too soon we were back at HQ and driving back through the compound, excitedly pointing out every camouflaged car we saw, wondering what they hid.
With no delay we were led into one of a fleet of waiting Dynamic Autobiography supercharged 5.0-litre V8’s with our guide, Ian at the wheel.
He started the car and it automatically blipped the throttle producing a grin inducing roar. Apparently this is programmed in order to quickly get oil around the system and not just to sound cool. Apparently...
Off we went to the proving track where the first of his demonstrations was the Elk Test. Developed by Volvo and undertaken by every car as part of NCAP ratings, this involves barreling toward an inflatable wall (no elks were harmed in this demo) at 50 mph before swerving at the last minute. 50 mph is to get NCAP rating. We would be doing it at 70 mph.
Off we leapt with the throaty roar filling our ears and seconds later were thrown right then left as we safely avoided our imaginary elk before gradually slowing down and turning around for Ian’s next party piece - the adaptive power steering under ABS braking.
Boom! We were off again heading at 100 mph toward another inflatable wall before Ian planted his foot on the brakes and we slowed and steered safely alongside the obstacle, stopping a full car length before another inflatable ahead of us in our new chosen lane. It’s one of those moments you hope will never happen in real life, looking up form updating your Facebook status to find your lane suddenly stationary but it’s reassuring to know the car is capable of looking after such an idiot.
Then it was our turn behind the wheel and a competition... Leave the starting cones as fast as possible, slam on the brakes at the next cones and stop in as shorter distance as possible.
We stuck the cars into Sport mode and grinned as the virtual display counters changed from gentle white to red. Red for danger!
Between us both we stopped from in excess of 70 mph in around 35 metres. Ian did it 20.
Then through a slalom of cones as fast as you dare. Here we achieved about 110 mph.
Then onto the track or unregulated four-lane motorway as Ian described it. Lane one is limited to 50 mph or less, the others unrestricted speed, with lanes three and four exclusively for overtaking.
We let at FFRR long wheel base pootle past and then went for it and like any good BMW driver, ignored the slow moving lane and out into lane two. We each got a lap with Ian cajoling us more speed, more speed until we hit 155 mph and then were begrudgingly asked to leave the track and head back to base with beaming grins where another group of dusty HSE’s were waiting for the off road section.
Our new guide AJ introduced himself and then jumped into his D4 and off we went playing follow the leader as he guided us over the radio.
We joined a rough track and after selecting the low-range gear box, explored the steep inclines, banks, rocky crawls and descents without having to do anything but point and go. The car has auto terrain response setting with constantly optimizes the car for the conditions you are silly enough to put it in. And with the hill descent you get that always slightly disconcerting experience of not having to press ANY pedals and just point down the hills and let the car effortlessly take the strain.
Having done a few LRE drives now, I never fail to be amazed and impressed at just what these cars are capable of.
Again a change over half way through and after 45 mins we were heading back to the reception area, thrilled, satisfied and hungry.
A very nice light lunch was served while we all shared our thoughts and highlights, and pitied the young guy with the astonishingly pretty girlfriend for being under 28 and so not allowed to drive the supercharged V8 - but hey, he gets to go home with the astonishingly pretty girlfriend so every cloud etc.
And that was it. A quick clamber over the F-type, RRS and RR Autobiography again, and we headed for a waiting D4 HSE Luxury and back to the car park and home.
In all it was an awesome morning and thanks to all at LR if they read this for their generous hospitality. I came away with my perception changed toward the all-new Range Rover Sport. If - and it’s a big if - I could ever stretch to one, I would not hesitate to buy one. It ticked all the the boxes for me. And although I would want the supercharged V8, with the SDV6 3.0 returning more mpg than my FL2, I would have more chance of getting this past my manager at work, if not my bank manager!
|
15th Jul 2013 8:42 pm
