As an alternative to a BMW 7 series or a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the new Range Rover SDV8 Vogue has a great deal to offer an executive buyer as Robert Barry found out.
The Range Rover is billed as the ultimate luxury 4x4 which is equally at home cruising through the Autobahns of Germany as well as crossing the dirt roads and corrugations of the Outback in Australia, a reputation that continues to define this vehicle’s place as an alternative to luxury sedans.
Not many buyers may realise that the original Range Rover was not conceived initially as a luxury SUV by designer/engineer Charles Spencer (Spen) King in 1966, but rather a dual purpose 4x4 work horse for farmers, which could be used in the paddocks as well as being driven into town.
It had a basic utilitarian interior with a plastic dashboard and vinyl seats which were designed to be washed down with a hose!
Power steering, carpeted floors, air conditioning, cloth or leather upholstery, optional sunroof, electric windows, central locking, automatic transmission, and walnut dashboard trim, all came later as the Range Rover morphed from a 1970s farm vehicle into a luxury 4x4 SUV in the 1980s and 1990s, which didn’t sit well with Spen King.
In 2004 while being critical of urban SUV drivers, Spen King made the comment that the Range Rover he created was: “Never intended as a status symbol, but later incarnations of my design seem intended for that purpose.”
Despite becoming a status symbol, the essential ingredient which has not been lost in this fourth generation, all-aluminium bodied Range Rover SDV8 Vogue, is its prodigious capability to go off-road. This has been further enhanced through the use of all-new four corner air suspension technology as well as the electronic Terrain Response II system.
Where other luxury SUV brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are ditching low ratio transmissions and transfer cases from the standard vehicle on offer (making it an option), the Range Rover resolutely holds onto this technology as part of its off-road capability.
Terrain Response II simply programmes the engine, low-range transmission, all-wheel-drive system and suspension to respond to the road conditions, be that tarmac, ice and snow, grass, mud, rocks and sand.
Most drivers will simply leave the terrain response system in automatic mode and for more than 80 percent of most off-road work it will function perfectly, only in extreme circumstances will drivers find the need to select the mud ruts, rocky terrain or sand mode.
For hopping across rocky terrain the air suspension allows a driver to select an extended height mode, which does provides another 35mm of height clearance over its off-road height, allowing this 2.5 tonne vehicle to get through to places that other vehicles wouldn’t.
On road the SDV8 Vogue equally belies its size and weight with a response from the accelerator and steering that you would expect from a sporty hot hatchback, not a large luxury SUV.
This is due to the incredibly strong performance from the 250kW/700Nm 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 diesel engine (hence the SDV8 nomenclature) allied to an 8-speed automatic transmission. There is just absolutely no hesitancy from the engine from standstill or while on the move.
Thoughtfully the SDV8 Vogue provides a comfort suspension setting which uses an anti-lean dynamic to make sure passengers are more comfortable, when the driver is pressing on.
Rear passengers also benefit from more than 118mm more legroom, which allows the SDV8 Vogue to match the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the BMW 7-series as an executive proposition. The cabin is quite frankly opulent and cavernous, and there’s a raft of options to make it even more so.
As befitting an executive car that retails from $210,000 the SDV8 Vogue has no shortage of luxury and standard equipment includes keyless entry, soft door close with power latching, powered upper and lower tailgates, digital television, heated seats all round, a heated steering wheel, and four zone climate controlled air-conditioning. Naturally Bluetooth is fitted as well as voice activation control, and the Meridian surround sound music system will easily turn the vehicle into a mobile concert hall.
Our Orkney Grey test vehicle was also fitted with the blind spot monitoring system with reverse traffic detection ($1,200), panoramic sunroof ($3,700), and the touch screen with dual view ($1,600). In such a large vehicle the blind spot system is a godsend, as is the reversing camera and front parking sensors, it makes parking the vehicle a great deal easier.
In summary, it is still the ultimate luxury 4x4, and the SDV8 Vogue proves that the Range Rover is as equally relevant today, as it was when first conceived by Spen King in 1966.
Specifications:
Body type 5-door SUV
Drive Permanent all-wheel-drive
Engine type V8 twin turbo diesel
Engine capacity 4,367cc
Max power 250kW/3,500rpm
Max torque 700Nm/1,750rpm
Fuel consumption 8.7L/100km
C02 emission 229g/km
0 to 100km/h 6.9 sec
Airbag 8
ESP Yes
Air conditioning Four zone climate
Satellite navigation Yes
Cargo cover Yes
Boot capacity 909L/2013L
Wheel type 20 inch Alloy
Spare tyre Full size
Price $210,000
