It's a matter of some debate as to whether the Range Rover was the first luxury SUV. Jeep had the Grand Wagoneer and Ford had some snazzy Broncos over the years, but it was the Range Rover that defined the concept.

As the Range Rover starts its fifth decade, we figured it was a good time to see just how far it has progressed. Eastnor Castle, on the border between England and Wales, was used as a test facility for the original prototype. It's still used for validation work today and is the headquarters of Land Rover Experience, a global network of centers designed to teach customers the basics of off-road driving.

Land Rover Experience was founded by Roger Crathorne, the engineer and off-road expert who developed the original Range Rover and has had a hand in every model since. "Mr. Land Rover" is here today and has brought along an original Range Rover for us to test alongside its contemporary equivalent.

Birth of the Luxury SUV

The original Range Rover happened almost by accident. It was the brainchild of Spen King, Rover's engineering chief for new vehicle projects. The idea of the "Interim Station Wagon," as it was originally known, was to combine the on-road ability of a Rover car with the off-road ability of a Land Rover. It would be the choice for well-to-do builders, farmers and army captains who needed proper off-road ability. It would be a premium product but it wouldn't be luxurious.

One of the biggest challenges to the car's conception was internal. Land Rover's chief engineer, Tom Barton, openly opposed the project. King and Crathorne were outsiders and the Range Rover, with its coil-spring suspension, was an alien concept. The original leaf-sprung Land Rover that Barton had helped design was selling well, and the company was happy to rest on its laurels. Only when he tried the finished product was Barton in any way convinced.

The vehicle that emerged in 1970 was very utilitarian. Barton wanted the interior to represent traditional Land Rover values, so the seats were vinyl and the floor was rubber so owners could hose it out when it got muddy.

"Before long we put carpet on the transmission tunnel," says Crathorne, "but that was really there to deaden the whine from the transmission. Customers asked if there was carpet on there, why couldn't they have it on the floor, too? The reality was that none of them actually hosed out their cars." As soon as the Range Rover was launched, the company was already seeking to "up-spec" the interior — the age of the luxury SUV had arrived.