Land Rover - Range Rover Sport - Adding a little more zip to the traditional sturdy off-roader
By Paul Borden

In 1947, British brothers Spencer and Maurice Wilks came up with the idea for a vehicle based on the U.S. Army’s popular wartime jeep, which Maurice had been using for farm work on his 250-acre estate.

According to Land Rover historians, they presented their idea to the board of directors of the Rover Car Company, which at the time had a problem. It had acquired a large factory in Solihull, but could manage only limited production because wartime restrictions were still in effect on the supply of steel. The company needed some sort of car that would be cheap to produce and use as little steel as possible until those restrictions were lifted.

Thus, the directors gave their approval, and the brothers began work on their project in the spring. By summer, they had produced a prototype that featured four-wheel drive, a canvas roof, and optional doors. It was rugged enough to handle chores in the field, functioning as a tractor and hauler, but was capable of being driven comfortably on public roads as well.

A production run of 25 vehicles followed, and on April 30, 1948, the Land Rover made its debut at the Amsterdam Motor Show. Its simple construction and versatility made it an immediate hit. Suddenly, the Land Rover became the Rover Company’s No. 1 product, not just a stopgap until production of its saloon cars could be ratcheted up.

The Rover Motor Company has gone through ownership changes over the years, the most recent of which occurred earlier this year when Tata Motors, India’s leading automaker, took control of Land Rover (and Jaguar) from Ford.

And the Land Rover product itself has also come a long way from the crude, but functional and solid, vehicle that started the whole thing. Its flagship model, Range Rover, introduced in 1981 and unveiled to U.S. buyers six years later, has become an icon in the industry and reportedly is the choice of Queen Elizabeth II for jaunts about the countryside.

Range Rover badging appears on four Land Rovers, but our interest here is in the Range Rover Sport. It represents an attempt by the company to add a little more zip to the traditional sturdy off-roader for more lively on-road performance, like the way you add Tabasco sauce to a Bloody Mary.

Technically, the Range Rover Sport is not a Range Rover at all. It is built on the LR3 platform and at 188.8 inches long and 75.9 inches wide is about seven inches shorter and an inch narrower than the full-size Range Rover. Maximum cargo space in the Sport is 71 cubic feet, a bit less than the Range Rover’s 74 cubic feet.

However, pretty much all the things that make a Land Rover a Land Rover — the two-speed transfer case (for on- and off-roading), the hill descent control (a company innovation since copied by others) that aids in navigating steep off-road declines, and the adjustable suspension suspends to adapt to five different conditions (general, grass/gravel/snow, mud/ruts, sand, and rock crawl) — are found on the Sport.

Two engine choices are offered. The HSE trim comes with a 4.4-liter V8 rated at 300 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque. The Supercharged version gets a 4.2-liter V8 with 390 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque. There is no difference in fuel consumption — EPA ratings are 12 miles-per-gallon city, 18 highway with premium required — but there is about a second difference in zero-to-sixty times with the Supercharged version, naturally, quicker at 7.2 seconds.

Both engines are mated with a six-speed automatic transmission with the capability of manual gear selection.

With its smaller size, the Range Rover Sport is more nimble than the full-size Range Rover in driving characteristics, but at the same time, you pay for that with slightly less passenger space. Land Rover lists seating capacity for the Sport as five passengers, but it could get rather snug with three adults in the back seat. The driver and front passenger certainly have plenty of room, however, and the eight-way adjustable seats, which have dual folding arm rests, are supportive and comfortable on extended trips.

A big plus are the controls for the audio and climate control systems. You turn on the radio and adjust volume and change stations by turning knobs, and you switch from AM to FM or CD player by pushing a clearly marked button. You adjust the blower and temperature for the air-conditioner also by turning knobs, or you push the blower knob to set the A/C on automatic. Ah, simplicity at its finest.

The center console is nice and wide and encompasses the gearshift lever, two large cupholders with insets to accommodate different size containers, the button that operates the parking brake, and controls for the suspension settings, ride height, hill descent, and transfer case.

One nit to pick is with the screen for the navigation system — which is standard equipment, by the way. It’s a bit on the small side, and with its location at the top of the center stack, it can sometimes be hard to see because of the glare from the sun.

Other standard equipment includes: antilock brakes with electronic brake assist, dynamic stability control, traction control, a slew of airbags, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, a 550-watt harman/kardon LOGIC 7 surround stereo system with 14 speakers and an auxiliary audio jack for MP3 capability, Bluetooth hands-free cell phone system, and Active Roll Mitigation to help stabilize the vehicle in potentially hazardous conditions.

Among other upgrades, the Supercharged Sport comes with 20-inch wheels (instead of the 19-inchers found on the HSE), gets more-powerful Brembo brakes up front, and adds satellite radio to the audio package for no extra cost. A rear-seat DVD entertainment system is among the options for both trims on the Range Rover Sport.

Pricing for the Range Rover Sport Supercharged version starts at $72,450, which approaches the starting price of the full-size Range Rover HSE ($77,675). But the naturally aspirated Range Rover Sport HSE is more than $15,000 less at $57,000 (including the $775 destination and delivery charge).

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