Land Rover Range Rover (2002-) Review

Comfort and Equipment

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You can't help but feel cosseted in this car, the richly luxurious leather interior, the height of its seats and the airiness of the cabin creating a terrific sense of well-being that's only heightened by the cultured refinement of those V8s. And the mildly noisier diesel does little to damage this. Road noise and transmission whine, the bane of many an off-roader, are virtually absent. Also, Land Rover reacted to early complaints of wind noise by redesigning the A-pillar and relaxed conversation is now possible at 100mph or more.

The seats are exceptionally comfortable - Vogue models feature an upper backrest that can be angled relative to the lower section - and despite its height and bulk, the Range Rover does not throw its occupants about, unless it's being asked to demonstrate its extreme off-road capability. And that's fair enough. You won't want for room up front, and the sense of space is further heightened by the deep windscreen and lofty seating positions. In the rear, leg- and kneeroom are good - if not in the limo class - but taller occupants may have a brush with the roof, surprisingly. Cubbies for clutter include a big centre console box, large door bins, including a smaller pair in the rear, a sunglasses holder, two cup-holders up front, one accommodating kingsize drinks, and a pair in the rear. The glovebox is meanly dimensioned, though. The boot is wide, long and fairly deep - if not spectacularly impressive for a vehicle this size - and can be extended by dropping the rear seats, which fold neatly to form a bulkhead. It's accessed via the traditional two-piece Range Rover tailgate whose opening rear window aids loading in tight spaces, though the folding load area cover is fiddly, awkward and rather flimsy-feeling.

Despite its adventuresome demeanour, it's only the top-of-the-range Vogue that gets a wide-screen sat-nav system (it doubles as a TV) which is combined with a pumping 12-speaker stereo with digital sound-processing. The lesser SE and HSE do without navigation, but the HSE provides 11 speakers and a CD autochanger (mounted in the boot - no in-dash slot); the SE gets six speakers and a single CD slot. Land Rover also offers a neat option that works in conjunction with the TV screen - it looks like a flashlight but is actually a remote, wireless camera that allows occupants to observe what the wheels are doing in rough off-roading without leaving the vehicle. We can think of some even more interesting uses for such a device...