First Drive: 2011 Range Rover Vogue Autobiography
Is the Vogue Edition worth it? Without a doubt.
Words and photos by Karl Peskett – Teamspeed Contributing Editor

What is it?
A twin-turbo V8-powered Range Rover with 700Nm of torque and an eight-speed automatic.
Why do I care?
It’s the most luxurious off-road vehicle ever made and is just as brilliant on the blacktop as off it.
How much is it?
US$116,950 – a bargain.

Leather, as far as the eye can see.

On the pillars, the headlining, the seats, the dash-top, the centre-stack, the door-trims, and even the sun visors – there is leather everywhere.

But we’re not talking about a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley. This is one of the most impressive and hardcore four-wheel-drives on sale today – yes, it’s the 2011 Range Rover Vogue Autobiography.

Where there’s no leather, there’s metal. Shiny, chunky accents of it laden around the interior, like a smelting plant has splashed steel into the cabin in perfectly formed contours. And where there’s no metal, there’s wood or thick carpet. As far as build quality goes, the Autobiography is probably one of the best value interiors on the market today.

It gets better. The space is seriously impressive. There’s a massive boot, thanks to its box-like shape, which is just under 1000 liters in capacity. Put the rear seats down and that grows to a massive 2100 liters. The rear seats are wide and spacious with heaps of headroom and excellent leg-room. The front pews are electrically adjustable (would you expect any less?) in 14 different ways and have memory functions for several drivers.

There are captain-style armchairs for the front seats and the inside armrests are adjustable for height or can be completely stowed away. The seating position also allows the driver’s outside arm to rest either on the top of the door trim, or on the door pull – it’s a seriously well thought out seating position.

The center stack also houses the most brilliant piece of technology you’ll find this year. It’s called a Parallax Barrier touchscreen (imagine boring your passengers with that info) and it allows both driver and passenger to see two different images from the same screen. The idea is to keep the driver from being distracted, so while on the move, the driver can only see vehicle info whereas passengers can watch a movie or TV.

The same screen displays no less than five cameras, which give a near 360-degree view around the car, each of which can be magnified – so you should never scrape a bumper or wheel again.

Eschewing regular analogue instruments for the driver, Land Rover has fitted the Vogue with a 12-inch TFT-LCD screen with customizable virtual dials. It’s not just a gimmick, either. The screen displays just about any settings you can call to mind, including wheel articulation, angle and torque direction when you’re off-roading. It’ll even shift the dials around the screen so you can fit in more information.

Screens on the back of headrests, heated and cooled seats, a myriad of leather and wood choices, a fantastic Harman/Kardon Logic 7 stereo – it all adds up to one luxurious interior. No wonder the royal family uses these as daily drivers.

On the road, the Vogue Autobiography is impressive, too. You’d expect that with the aerodynamics of a brick, it would generate some wind noise – and you’d be right. But the cabin is so well sound-proofed that it’s kept to a minimum, and road noise is reasonably isolated as well.

Because it’s a four-wheel-drive – a proper one - it’s not the sharpest handler in the shed. If you want to attack twisty roads in an SUV, then be my guest and take along an X5 M or a Range Rover Sport Supercharged, but around here ride is king.

Admittedly the ride on these gorgeous looking big alloys isn’t quite as good as on the lower-specced Vogues (and the smaller wheels have more sidewall for better off-road use) but it’s never uncomfortable, it just gets a little ruffled if the road is quite rough. Funnily enough, gravel tracks are hardly felt.

It has a fantastic turning circle for its size (and there’s a heap of cameras to help you park, tow, and reverse) so it’s easier to wield than first impressions would suggest.

But its on road abilities are only part of the story. This is a Range Rover, which means it’s as good at crossing muddy swamps as cosseting its occupants. With its 2011 updates, further enhancements to its electronic brain means quicker detection of slip for each wheel and faster supply of torque for those which are gripping.

The Terrain Response system, a dial with which you choose the conditions you’re faced with, is effectively a point-and-shoot device. There’s no effort from the drivers seat. Simply dial up sand, snow, rocks, mud or tarmac and keep the wheels pointed in the right direction. It’s ludicrously easy, with suspension height, traction control and braking settings all taken care of.

Of course that means some of the fun is taken out of challenging terrains - those who enjoy an off-road challenge may be disappointed with how simple the Vogue makes it look. On the other hand, traversing the Wahiba Sands in your dinner jacket could now theoretically be a regular occurrence.

There’s something else which stands out: The headlights. These are the best road illuminators on sale today – they are quite literally brilliant.

Under the bonnet of our test car was Land Rover’s new 4.4-litre twin-turbo diesel V8 which makes a respectable 230kW but an earth-slowing 700Nm. At the same time, fuel consumption has dropped by 18.5 percent from the previous model, to 9.4-litres/100km. We settled on 12.0L/100km for our week’s worth of running around on virtually full throttle all the time – not bad for a 2.7-tonne V8.

Helping the fuel consumption is the new eight-speed automatic which is selected using the new rotary controller. Thankfully the Rangie has paddles, making it a cinch to pedal off road. And a nice touch: the positive and negative symbols are LED backlit on the paddles so you don’t get mixed up at night when wheeling.

Negatives? Well, as mentioned, on the larger wheels, the ride does get a bit unsettled. Also, the way the seat belt rests against the B-pillar makes it a little awkward to grab each time you jump in – but these are minor niggles.

The Range Rover Vogue Autobiography is the grand-daddy of four-wheel-drives. It’s as competent carting passengers around as it is scaling ridiculous heights, or crossing the desert while keeping its cargo icy cold.

If there was one car that actually did do it all, it’d be this one. Having a Vogue should definitely be in vogue.

 

My favourite SUV after the G55 AMG, boring spec for the RR Autobiography. I like the Black/red interior with black wood.

 

DAMN! That thing is SAWEEEET!!

 

I agree that the G55 AMG is still king though.

 

Maybe a stupid question, but what is that red little knob for? Just under the parking sensor button..

 

It's the aftermarket electric brake controller, for towing.

 

^ this.

Great read.

 

Great review, have one here for a daily! Well not the Autobiography but the SC and love it.

 

I love Range Rovers (not the sport), had a 99' 4.6 which I still miss and an 07' full size SC. They were great, no mechanical, electrical, or drivetrain issues. But many cosmetic issues. Now I have a 11' CTT that is tuned to over 600hp/tq, and the other day I went to test drive a new RRSC expecting to be impressed
The CTT ruined it for me, the rover seemed sluggish and was rolling all over the place around corners. I thought that since it was a full 2 sec faster to 60 then my previous SC that it would feel pretty fast, and that they made significant improvement to the handling to reduce body roll. These improvement were there (probably) but I could not feel them because my CTT has PDCC and takes corners like a 911. Then I tried out the very powerful new HK stereo they had and it sucks compared to the Burmester in my CTT.
I am not saying this to brag about my CTT, I seriously love rovers and want one again in the future. Of course the CTT will be better its much more expensive, it just sucks that it has ruined it for other cars that I want.
There is something so special about rovers that other SUVs do not have and that is why I will still desire them, its that little something that the CTT is not satisfying in me.
I am sick!

 

the int is very welcoming