Driving the Range Rover Sport in downtown Phoenix, I encountered a young guy in a full-size Range Rover that was all tarted up with chrome accessories and gigantic chrome spoke wheels shod with skinny swaths of tire. Obviously, the Range Rover's impressive off-road capabilities had been sacrificed for urban bling. Seems a shame that the pre-eminent boondocker should be turned into a hollow fashion statement. But so it goes, and more often than not, this is the treatment you'll see on Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. These pricey British SUVs are not likely to be driven in harsh terrain anyway, so I suppose they may as well relinquish the claim and go strictly for the eyeball. Which was why I was not surprised to find the test Sport wearing street tires rather than sturdy all-terrain rubber. They wouldn't last long on Arizona's rocky trails, but they provided a smooth ride and gripped the asphalt in turns. The Sport, based on the Land Rover LR3, is a surprisingly agile SUV that handles well and drives with solid confidence. Despite weighing close to 5,500 pounds, the stylish craft feels more like a well-sorted luxury car than a heavy truck. There's an extensive level of off-road features, including a console dial for choosing various types of terrain, such as muddy road or desert trail, as well as electronic settings for hill descent and low-range four-wheel drive. Land Rover products are renowned for their ability to go nearly anywh ...
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Driving the Range Rover Sport in downtown Phoenix, I encountered a young guy in a full-size Range Rover that was all tarted up with chrome accessories and gigantic chrome spoke wheels shod with skinny swaths of tire. Obviously, the Range Rover's impressive off-road capabilities had been sacrificed for urban bling. Seems a shame that the pre-eminent boondocker should be turned into a hollow fashion statement. But so it goes, and more often than not, this is the treatment you'll see on Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. These pricey British SUVs are not likely to be driven in harsh terrain anyway, so I suppose they may as well relinquish the claim and go strictly for the eyeball. Which was why I was not surprised to find the test Sport wearing street tires rather than sturdy all-terrain rubber. They wouldn't last long on Arizona's rocky trails, but they provided a smooth ride and gripped the asphalt in turns. The Sport, based on the Land Rover LR3, is a surprisingly agile SUV that handles well and drives with solid confidence. Despite weighing close to 5,500 pounds, the stylish craft feels more like a well-sorted luxury car than a heavy truck. There's an extensive level of off-road features, including a console dial for choosing various types of terrain, such as muddy road or desert trail, as well as electronic settings for hill descent and low-range four-wheel drive. Land Rover products are renowned for their ability to go nearly anywh ...