Not Necessarily Interesting News

A friend and I got to test drive the new Land Rover Range Rover Sports offroad this morning. There was an event put on by the local dealers at a ranch outside town. Chris got to test the HSE while I got lucky and got the fully loaded Supercharged version. Not that you can tell from the pics but I was driving the lighter silver Sport while my friend Chris was driving the darker one.

First impressions:

• Buttons. Lots of buttons. Traction control buttons. Hi-lo buttons. Buttons to tell you what buttons do. Total visual overload.
• Comfy seats compared to my stock D90 seats. Of course, a wooden bench is more comfortable than my seats.
• Shiny.
• The engine is quiet and smooth.
• Two screens for the DVD system in the headrests for the backseat. Life’s rough.

Likes:

• Comfy and quiet.
• Power. As much as you need when you need it. Very responsive. I didn’t get to really wind it up as it was an offroad course but you could tell there was a beast under the hood wanting to be let loose.
• Traction control was spot on. I got it high-cornered and it had no problem walking off the hill on two wheels. When lifting a wheel off the ground you don’t even realize it. It sends the power to the other wheels.
• On board display was neat. Seeing exactly how much you were stuffing wheels on a little screen in the dash was interesting and informative. A lot of data is presented in a fashion that doesn’t overload you.
• It felt very sturdy in the twisty bits of the trails.
• Three words. Adaptive Cruise Control. Prayers have been answered with that one.
• Fridge in the armrest. No more digging around in the backseat looking for another ‘bottled water’.

Dislikes:

• Too many buttons. Of course, my 90 has exactly 1 button, for the emergency flashers, so I may have an different perspective than most.
• Hill Descent Control was annoying as hell and I turned it off. I know exactly how fast I want to go down this hill. Stop hitting the damn brakes for me. If I need to go slow I’ll down-shift.
• I felt way too disconnected from the trail. I want to feel at least a bit of the trail.
• I want a real parking brake. Not another damn button. And to release the parking brake you just drive off? WTF is up with that?

Overall, it’s a very well put together vehicle. If I had the means and already had a 90, 110, and 101 in the garage I’d seriously think about it. It is great for driving around town but is still very capable offroad. I think, with a competent driver, it’d have no problem with most of the 3 diamond trails I’ve been on around here. The interior was easily on par with the Jag XJ-12 our family just sold. It would make a very nice touring car with the capability to go offroad when you got to where you’re headed.