2010 Range Rover Sport: Review

2010 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE

For the past 6 months that I've owned the all new Range Rover Sport, I've never done a review on it. So, I might as well do one now. The Range Rover has been known to be one of the best off-roading SUV's on the planet. With the combination of British engineering and some American fiddle-work, the Range Rover Sport delivers just the right amount of power with an exceptional value of luxury. There are a lot of gizmos and gadgets that have been added to this new model from the previous RR Sport, all of them tuned to make the SUV much more agile off-road and much more comfortable on road. But, does it work?

RR Sport Near the City

In one word, yes! Most trucks and SUVs of the Rover Sports' level have been tuned to be faster and more sportier, but have neglected the off-road capabilities, the main reason why they built them in the first place. But, with the Range Rover Sport, what Land Rover has done is they've managed to built a sportier more track-tuned Range Rover, but have kept it's keen significance: to go off-road. For example, I've tested the BMW X5M a while back thinking that it would be one seriously sweet SUV. I was wrong. Yes, it's fast and handles well, but as for the off-road part, it fails miserably. What BMW did was create an SUV that can go off-road, but fitted it with a bigger engine, massive street wheels and tires, and sportier suspension so that it can't go off-road anymore. Not to mention is it expensive: almost $90,000 for a completely bonkers SUV. But, this new Range Rover Sport has the sport tuned suspension, Brembo brakes, a new meatier 5.0-liter V8 engine that you can get Supercharged, 20-inch rims, and sport tuned exhaust. Land Rover managed to fit all this stuff in, but never neglected to make this car an ultimate off-roader. And I'm not kidding when I say ultimate.

Interior View

It handles supremely well off-road as well as on the road. Let's start with on the road. You definitely need to be in the driver's seat to experience just how comfortable this SUV really is. I nearly fell asleep driving one (don't worry! The car wasn't moving). The seats are made of a very rich leather and can be custom made to fit your style. For example, my seats are dark brown with a light brown stitching on the side. In some SUV's, only the front seats are heated. In the Rover Sport, you can have them all heated, so your kids can feel comfortable, especially with the cold weather we have now. Anyway, when cruising, the sport tuned suspension softens almost everything. All the bumps and cracks that you feel on the road, you barely notice them. It's like driving in a pool of chocolate cream. When it comes to handling, this car can smoke a Bugatti Veyron on a track day. It handles so well for a heavy SUV. It's nimble and quite fast. I have the HSE Range Rover Sport with the 385 horsepower V8 engine. On paper, 0 to 60 is reached in 7.2 seconds. I managed to do this in 6.8 seconds. Quite astonishing for an SUV that weighs just under 6000 lbs. Off the road, it's the same story. Land Rover have fitted a lot of mechanics and technology to make this SUV a true comfortable off-roader. For example, there's a dial in the center console with pictures of different terrains. When you turn this dial, it automatically adjusts the suspension and gear ratios in order to take on that terrain. You can do this sort of thing in the snow, since it's winter time. Just turn the dial over to the one with snowflakes, and put your foot on the gas. You'll soon realize just how much science and technology is put into this SUV. Also, for the serious off-roader, there's a button in the middle with a picture of the car going down a hill. This is Land Rover's coveted Hill Descent Control button. What it does is it literally slows the rotation of the wheels when going down a steep hill. For instance, say your climbing some steep hill, you make it, and now have to get back down. Just press the HSC button, take your hands off the wheel, and experience the magic. It's unbelievably astonishing! Technology aside, this is the world's best off-roader. It doesn't lag itself like other SUVs do. It attacks the dirt like a lion attacking a gazelle. This is very good SUV.

Supercharged Range Rover

Is this too much good information for you? I should point out that although this SUV has received the #1 Resale Value Award 4 years in a row, the Range Rover as a whole is notorious for being the most unreliable car in the world. I will honestly say that Land Rover have tried hard with this new Rover Sport, but after a while, there are some things that start to malfunction. For instance, in November, I was driving it, then I noticed while backing out of a parking space, the parking aids refused to work. That problem was fixed a while later. Then, this month, while I was driving it, an error showed up on the dash saying that my rear left terror was running low on tire pressure. When I checked it, it was fine. I plan to get that fixed. Other than these errors, everything else works just fine.

Gorgeous SUV

The Navigation System now allows you to input waypoints to go from one destination to another. The hydraulic system allows you to lower or raise your car whenever you feel like going off-road or doing some fancy cornering. You can get your Rover Sport with a Rear Entertainment System with two TV screens and a 6-DVD Changer so your kids won't be bored staring at the road for two hours during a road trip. The reverse camera comes standard to help with parking and other things. In fact, that's not the only camera on the Rover Sport. As an option, you can get your Rover Sport with 4 other cameras installed all around the car; 2 on the front bumper and one on each side mirror. With these camera, you can see the world around you from inside your Range Rover. This feature was originally put on the big Range Rover and has now become available for the 2010-2011 Rover Sport. That's a really awesome feature.

Rover in the Studio

So, to wrap this lengthy review up, the Range Rover Sport is a truly brilliant car. Even though there are some hardware errors Land Rover need to fix, from it's 4 years of being with us, the Range Rover Sport has truly paved a path of off-roading enlightenment. You can achieve this enlightenment, if you have a big wallet, because this SUV starts at $60,495. I got mine for $72,985, more than $10,000 more than it's base price. But, at that price, it won't matter. From the minute you test drive it, you'll fall in love with it.