2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Review: All About Style
Will Sabel Courtney
Like a stone at the bottom of a rushing river, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport gets smoother with each passing year. When it first debuted in 2005, it looked as aerodynamic as a brick – all sharp edges, hard lines and straight shapes. The second generation, which arrived in 2013, was still angular, but the edges had been sanded down. By 2022, when the third-gen version launched, it looked as slippery as a worn-out bar from Dial.
That’s not the only change Land Rover has made, of course. The 2023 model is all-new, just like the full-size Range Rover that hit showrooms just a few months earlier. Under the hood are new powertrains, under the dash is a new computer system. Everything but the name makes it seem like a tall order – and a potentially worthy opponent in the always-competitive mid-size luxury SUV category, right? I took it for a spin to find out.
Advertising – Continue reading below
What is the difference between the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover?
The Range Rover line used to be simple: There was the Range Rover. Today there is a quartet of vehicles with this name in the Land Rover product range: the Range Rover Evoque, the Range Rover Velar, the Range Rover Sport and the top-of-the-range Range Rover.
The Evoque is the baby range – the smallest and cheapest, made for city dwellers and newcomers to the brand. The actual Range Rover is the all-out-do-everything flagship, designed to combine the true all-round capability of a Land Rover with the elevated luxury car driving experience, status and comfort of a Mercedes or even a Bentley. The Velar, on the other hand, is the sophisticated mid-size crossover for the fashion-conscious – capable of battling through any weather but offering suburban parents a glamorous alternative to the more benign, chic family SUVs.
The Range Rover Sport’s mission, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like: to offer a sportier version of the Range Rover experience, one that’s more engaging and dare I say fun to drive. There’s a reason the most famous version of the previous model was the 542hp supercharged SVR; It was arguably the variant that best represented what the Range Rover Sport aspired to be.
The Range Rover Sport is stylishly designed
Standing out from the crowd has long been part of the Range Rover’s appeal — both in the sense of “Unlike your Lexus, my fancy SUV can actually go off-road” and “Look at me, I’m good enough for one.” Area Rover, not just one country Rover.”
The Range Rover Sport certainly shines there, managing to build on the current Range Rover design language to give the impression of driving fast even when stationary. Think of the slender taper of the roof, which is further accentuated by the black colored A-pillars. The high flanks make the optional 23-inch wheels (yes, those are 23s) look positively proportional. The front end suffers somewhat from the need to fill in the generous space necessitated by its high waistline and purportedly more pedestrian-friendly, blunt nature, with not two but three horizontal grill structures stacked on top of each other and all clad in black thanks to an optional $750 design pack. (I imagine a white RR Sport would look something like a Triplex Oreo.)
But the interior of the Range Rover Sport is almost too quiet
Inside, the Sport offers another variation over the regular Range Rover. While the top-shelf version feels expansive and open, the Sport is more cocooned and cockpit-like — as if the inspiration were Porsche 911s, not Ford F-150s.
It’s certainly an attractive package inside, but it also feels like feature has played second fiddle in some ways. The only USB-C port I could find up front is tucked away in the compartment under the shifter and requires seriously awkward contortions to reach. (There’s also a wireless charger, but it’s just a little easier to get to and its location isn’t obvious. Plus, a wired connection always offers a more secure connection for data and power alike.) The 12-volt output is practically useless, hidden in the upper glove compartment; The door won’t close if anything is sticking out, making dash cams, speed camera detectors, Spotify Car Things, etc. basically impossible to use. Dubbed the ‘Pivi Pro’, Land Rover’s latest infotainment system is certainly a big improvement over the brand’s previous work, but it looks better than it performs; It requires a lot more pressure than you’d expect from a touchscreen, and the menus and submenus are hardly examples of intuitiveness.
And while this is an outrageously luxury product, some pieces just don’t feel worthy of the price. The steering wheel’s haptic touch-panel buttons feel cheap, and the glossy piano-lacquer trim that covers much of what’s not leather-trimmed feels more like something you’d find in an upscale Mazda, than like a $90,000 SUV.
On the road, the Range Rover Sport proves to be a solid companion
Unfortunately, during the time I spent doing it, I didn’t have an opportunity to take the sport off-road; The tri-state area where I live is frustratingly bereft of such things. (Of course, some of the roads in the New York metro area have enough potholes and bumps to practically qualify as an off-road trail, but that’s neither here nor there.)
Nevertheless, this is not as big a problem as with the normal Range Rover or, for example, with the Land Rover Defender. It might have short range and all sorts of driving modes for different types of terrain, but even if it can zip through the wilds, the Sport is more geared towards buyers who spend most of their time on the pavement – and therefore want more enjoyment around there available on your vehicle.
Under the hood of most new Sports lies a twin-turbo straight-six in varying states of tuning; For example, in my Dynamic SE trim test car, it made 395 hp and 365 lb-ft. (A plug-in hybrid version is coming soon.) It’s a far smoother engine than the supercharged V6s found in past-gen non-SVR sports; For example, while it’s the same unit used in the likes of the Defender, here it feels a lot more silky and impressive. Power is strong, not overwhelming; You have to wait for the inevitable next Range Rover Sport SVR for that. The same applies to the desire to cook around; While it’s planted and confident in corners, and feels a lot more buttoned up than the full-size Range Rover, Sport stays closer to the definition found in Sports-Commercial vehicle, no Sports Limousine.
Is the Range Rover Sport worth its price?
As with all luxury products – and perhaps luxury cars in particular – a large part of it comes down to perspective. If you’re simply looking for a sleek, sleek luxury SUV with a sporty (or at least quasi-sporty) appeal, there’s plenty to choose from. A Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class or a BMW X5 both make compelling choices at this price point; A Porsche Macan GTS is smaller but offers a lot more oomph, while a Cayenne E-Hybrid offers similar space and the flexibility of a PHEV – and both are more engaging on the tarmac.
But if you actually plan on using its off-road abilities — even if it’s just once a year, say for that trip to your parents’ house on vacation, your wedding anniversary ski trip, or an off-track car camping trip the Bande – then the sport makes a convincing argument for itself. Ultimately, it comes down to how badly you want (and need) that name — and what it represents.
2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Basic price / price as tested: $84,475 / $97,375
Drivetrain: 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six; eight-speed automatic; Full-time four-wheel drive
PS: 395
Torque: 369
EPA fuel consumption: 18mpg city, 26mpg highway
Seats: Five
LEARN MORE
The 33 electric cars we’re most excited about in the future
The next few years will be packed with new electric vehicles. These are the ones that jazzed us the most.
READ THE STORY
Advertising – Continue reading below