2010 Range Rover Sport TDV6 / 5.0 V8 – First Drives
Aug 18, 2009 | 09:34 AM
#1
2010 Range Rover Sport TDV6 / 5.0 V8 – First Drives 
Land Rover has revised its most road-focussed SUV ever, the Range Rover Sport. There’s now new petrol and diesel engines (shared with the new Discovery 4, XF and XJ), a thoroughly revised interior, and a more modern exterior to match the look of the recently facelifted Range Rover proper. Read on to find out exactly how the new £50,695 2010 Range Rover Sport TDV6 drives.
And if I cough up £50,695 for a new Range Rover Sport what exactly do I get?
Quite a lot in HSE spec. There’s climate control, cruise control, bi-xenon lights, 20-inch wheels, metallic paint, parking sensors and a rear-view camera, keyless entry and start, leather seats (deep breath), plus sat-nav and a nine-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system, DAB tuner, MP3 connection and Bluetooth.
That’s not to mention all the off-road gear, which includes air suspension, a low-ratio ‘box, hill descent control and Land Rover’s Terrain Response dial that lets you tweak all the electronic controls to suit the, err, terrain. So forget shifting levers like you do in a Defender – instead you press a button or twist a dial and the Range Sport will clamber up, over or through pretty much any landscape you put in front of it. And all on 20-inch road rubber.
Talk me though these exterior tweaks.
Land Rover is giving the Range Rover family a new hierarchy, so the original Rangie has a three-bar front grille, three bars in the side vents side and triple-strake front and rear indicators. The Sport has two of each of these, which leads you to presume the forthcoming LRX must make do with just one…
The lights are now LEDs front and rear, with a smoked-effect finish at the back and a subtle circle of daytime running lights on the nose. There’s also a new front bumper, new exhausts, and although the tweaks sound fairly restrained, they all combine to make the 2010 Range Sport look lower and sleeker.…
Range Rover Sport TDV6 (2010) CAR review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online
Aug 18, 2009 | 09:34 AM
#2
Autocar - First Drive: Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE
What is it?
Like its Discovery sister car, the 2010 Range Rover Sport gets a major makeover. The interior has been completely re-designed (with a big step-up in perceived quality) as has the front-end. The chassis has also been substantially re-worked. The most significant change is under the bonnet with the introduction of the new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel, which offers 29 percent more power and 36 percent more torque than the outgoing 2.7-litre unit. The overall aim, Land Rover says, is to make the car ‘More sporty and more sophisticated’. Aside from some of the more crass stylistic details, the company has achieved its aim.
What’s it like?
The new diesel unit is only just shy of delivering the same wall of torque as the new supercharged petrol V8 engine and it does it with tremendous refinement. Even though this car still weighs 2.5 tonnes unladen, it’s capable of pile-driving progress without disturbing the calm of the cockpit.
This is achieved not just by the sheer wallop of the motor, but also because the dynamic response system and active anti-roll bars do such an exceptional job of keeping this monster vehicle in check.
Usually, the side-forces built up when the driver accelerates around a bend result in a counter-reaction of body roll when the car straightens up.
Not here. There’s an uncanny delicacy in the way the chassis’ electronics can gather the Sport’s tall body and marshal the shifting weight when it’s driven briskly on winding B-roads. The new, variable ratio, steering also has a new found accuracy, biting immediate off the straight-ahead, making it easy to place the car on the narrowest of roads.
What really appeals is the car’s extraordinary breadth of ability. It will happily ford rivers and clamber up unwalkable mud tracks, then run straight out into the tarmac, to deliver a genuine luxury car experience. There’s a certain arrogance about the Range Rover Sport, but it has much to be arrogant about.
Should I buy one?
This is a polished update of an extraordinarily capable vehicle. Probably no other luxury car can touch the sense of wellbeing delivered from the front seat of the Range Rover Sport. Add to that the impressive ride and handling – thanks the air suspension and Dynamics Response system – and the very refined and punchy diesel and this has to be regarded as compelling luxury vehicle.
However, we could live without the blingy exterior details and have to acknowledge that it still weighs 2.5 tonnes. An aesthetically toned-down version would be welcome.
Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE - Road Test First Drive - Autocar.co.uk
What is it?
Like its Discovery sister car, the 2010 Range Rover Sport gets a major makeover. The interior has been completely re-designed (with a big step-up in perceived quality) as has the front-end. The chassis has also been substantially re-worked. The most significant change is under the bonnet with the introduction of the new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel, which offers 29 percent more power and 36 percent more torque than the outgoing 2.7-litre unit. The overall aim, Land Rover says, is to make the car ‘More sporty and more sophisticated’. Aside from some of the more crass stylistic details, the company has achieved its aim.
What’s it like?
The new diesel unit is only just shy of delivering the same wall of torque as the new supercharged petrol V8 engine and it does it with tremendous refinement. Even though this car still weighs 2.5 tonnes unladen, it’s capable of pile-driving progress without disturbing the calm of the cockpit.
This is achieved not just by the sheer wallop of the motor, but also because the dynamic response system and active anti-roll bars do such an exceptional job of keeping this monster vehicle in check.
Usually, the side-forces built up when the driver accelerates around a bend result in a counter-reaction of body roll when the car straightens up.
Not here. There’s an uncanny delicacy in the way the chassis’ electronics can gather the Sport’s tall body and marshal the shifting weight when it’s driven briskly on winding B-roads. The new, variable ratio, steering also has a new found accuracy, biting immediate off the straight-ahead, making it easy to place the car on the narrowest of roads.
What really appeals is the car’s extraordinary breadth of ability. It will happily ford rivers and clamber up unwalkable mud tracks, then run straight out into the tarmac, to deliver a genuine luxury car experience. There’s a certain arrogance about the Range Rover Sport, but it has much to be arrogant about.
Should I buy one?
This is a polished update of an extraordinarily capable vehicle. Probably no other luxury car can touch the sense of wellbeing delivered from the front seat of the Range Rover Sport. Add to that the impressive ride and handling – thanks the air suspension and Dynamics Response system – and the very refined and punchy diesel and this has to be regarded as compelling luxury vehicle.
However, we could live without the blingy exterior details and have to acknowledge that it still weighs 2.5 tonnes. An aesthetically toned-down version would be welcome.
Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE - Road Test First Drive - Autocar.co.uk
Last edited by Mpowerful; Aug 18, 2009 at 09:36 AM.
Sep 5, 2009 | 01:43 AM
#4
AMGFanatic
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 15,965
From: MonteCarlo
You know what bothers me with these cars, reliability have you ever seen a post facelift RR sport with the dashboard black colour vynl changing colour to a light grey it happens and I know two people with the same thing.
The RR Vogue non sport also has hydraulic issues.
The RR Vogue non sport also has hydraulic issues.
Sep 16, 2009 | 03:53 PM
#6
Teamspeed Pro
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,076
From: 51.933° N, 4.583° E
You know what bothers me with these cars, reliability have you ever seen a post facelift RR sport with the dashboard black colour vynl changing colour to a light grey it happens and I know two people with the same thing.
The RR Vogue non sport also has hydraulic issues.
The RR Vogue non sport also has hydraulic issues.
Sep 16, 2009 | 04:00 PM
#7
Teamspeed Pro
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,076
From: 51.933° N, 4.583° E
Just scanned through the comments at the Car website, good God it seems almost like their entire reader base consists of Guardian reading treehugging eco talibanists. Not a single positive remark in there. And the review is practically lyrical about the RRS...
Oct 10, 2009 | 03:59 PM
#10
AMGFanatic
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 15,965
From: MonteCarlo
You mean the vinyl that runs along the base of the windscreen? I assume the cars you're talking about are all Kuwaiti vehicles? Maybe it's due to the large amount of sun hours and heat? Although that shouldn't cause discoloration issues so soon, did the dealers replace the affected items?
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