Land Rover Range Rover (2002-) Review

On the road

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The Range Rover's bulk may seem intimidating at first, but that commanding driving position - enhanced by multi-adjustable electric seats and an electric reach- and rake-adjustable wheel - fine forward visibility and its general effortlessness soon have you feeling at home. Its size may make parking a challenge, especially since rearward visibility isn't so hot - parking sensors are standard only on the pricier models - but the boxy shape and big side windows ease the task.

The basic controls are straightforward and demand little effort, although some may find the gearbox controls' explanatory graphics mildly baffling. Mastering the navigation system, the low-ratio gears (for off-roading) and the hill-descent control also requires application. This is no sports saloon, but the latest 4.4-litre Jaguar-derived V8 is a brisk machine that proves impressively easy to pilot at speed on twisty roads, and the supercharged 4.2-litre V8 is a revelation.

Recent improvements to the suspension and steering have delivered flatter handling and better steering feedback. Particularly impressive are its resistance to understeer and its body control.

The brakes could do with a little more bite - except for the supercharged version which gains bigger Brembo units - but certainly stop this heavy car effectively. The diesel is inevitably less sporting, but does not lack pace. Off-road, the Range Rover is extraordinary. It will hoist itself up amazing inclines with ease, and descend them, if necessary, at funereal pace, thanks to the hill-descent control. It will clamber over rocks, ford rivers, advance at dizzying angles and generally take you places you wouldn't dream of going in a £70,000 car. Few owners will ever venture anywhere near what it can do - which is a shame, because off road, it provides high entertainment.

The Range Rover is heavy - in its quest for solidity and a luxury specification, it has come close to being the weightiest car on sale - and at launch, its performance was mildly disappointing, at least compared with the luxury saloons with which Land Rover says it competes. That's all changed now, with the addition of the Jaguar derived supercharged 4.2-litre 400bhp V8, which will hustle the RR to 60mph in 7.1 seconds and on to 130mph. The naturally aspirated BMW V8 has been replaced, too, with a more powerful 'unblown' 4.4-litre version of Jaguar's V8. The 174bhp V6 turbodiesel engine, while not quite as livid as the V8s, still manages to move the RR along with convincing vigour.

The Range Rover is a great cruiser, stepping off from rest smartly and overtaking effortlessly thanks to a responsive and exceptionally smooth-shifting automatic gearbox.