The P440e Autobiography trim is a full PHEV plug-in hybrid, providing 434 horsepower.
Range RoverText size
The minds behind the 2023 Range Rover Sport know exactly what the vehicle must be. Its devotees and potential buyers want to drive the most luxurious vehicle that ever pushed through a river or plowed its way over a sand dune.
Fortunately for those loyalists, the latest build of this long-standing
ruler of luxury performance SUVs combines a new generation of off-road technology with the expected comfort worthy of the US$122,000 price tag the 2023 first edition Range Rover Sport demands.
For the uninitiated, the variations in the Land Rover and Range Rover family trees can prove confusing. Of course, Range Rover is a sibling creation of the Land Rover brand, both under Jaguar. While separate model lines, both realms of Rovers share the similar core DNA of proven luxury with
varying levels of off-road capability.
According to Simon Turner, Land Rover USA product manager, Range Rover is designed to deliver signature levels of luxury, refinement, and composure under all driving situations. It’s focused toward a buyer who prefer a stately, more majestic driving experience no matter where the tires point.
“By contrast Range Rover Sport is designed to deliver an overtly more sporting characteristic, while dynamic performance and agility are
key differentiators,” Turner says. “Elevated levels of refinement and luxury remain key, as well.”
The introductory 2023 Range Sport arrives with the option of a 4.4-liter, 523 horsepower V8.
Range RoverWhile all variations of Land Rover and Range Rover can tackle dirt, mud and snow to a serviceable extent, each line has its off-road chief. For Land Rover, that’s the Defender with its long history of carrying everyone from jungle researchers to the British military into the field. On the Range Rover side, the Sport carries that
mantle—separating it from the standard Range Rover (which also introduced a new design for 2023).
“While both Range Rover and Range Rover Sport offer reductive modern designs, innovative technology, and luxury refinements, each model has been designed to appeal to quite different stylistic preferences,” Turner says. “Range Rover is more stately and majestic, while Range Rover Sport is certainly more sporting.”
In keeping with that rugged pedigree, the introductory 2023
Range Sport arrives with the option of a 4.4-liter, 523 horsepower V8. Considering Land Rover intends to go all electric by 2030, true worshipers of genuine power and speed must share an appreciation for this wonderful, though doomed power plant. While the V8 is certainly thirsty, those buyers with a love of performance (and the financial resources) should consider snatching away the muscled up first edition before it and its engine go extinct.
Meanwhile, rumors persist that Range
Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations boffins over in Coventry, U.K., are planning a descendant to the performance-centric Range Sport SVR of years passed—pumping sports car technology into the SUV’s bloodstream. However, the automaker’s executives remain understandably cagey on details.
For now, the V8 first edition provides more than enough aggression and adrenaline for confident roadway performance. The adaptive air suspension and all-wheel steering that allows the rear tires to
turn slightly for better cornering allow the Range Rover Sport to handle an apex better than any other SUV on the market.
The 2023 Range Rover Sport takes the title as the automaker's most capable build.
Range RoverIn addition to the V8, the other engine trims include a base P360 SE with a turbocharged inline-six-cylinder and a 48-volt hybrid system producing 355 horsepower. The P400 SE Dynamic uses a similar setup tuned to churn out 395 horsepower. The P440e Autobiography trim is a full PHEV plug-in hybrid, providing 434 horsepower.
Equipped
with a complete suite of comfort, safety, and infotainment bells and whistles, all of the stately Range Rover Sport trims are poised and balanced on the road, providing maximum comfort and driving confidence—but the machine comes into its own where the pavement ends.
The adjustable onboard AI automatically analyzes the driving conditions to optimize the Sport’s traction control. The SUV’s smarts figure out which wheels have a grip and match traction to the specific terrain. The
operator can also select the driving mode to fit multiple off-road conditions such as mud, snow, ruts, etc.
A new addition from the Range Rover shop is the off-road cruise control system allowing the driver to set a speed for a given environment. The feature packs in a programmable comfort setting to enable the driver to maintain manageable progress, letting the less adventurous explorer to progress more slowly amidst the noise and haste.
While the previous Range Rover Sport
already had onboard cameras, fresh lenses can now capture a clear-sight ground view so drivers can see what’s directly ahead, alongside and under the vehicle while amidst more hazardous environs. Finally, hill descent control allows for precise speed management while moving down slopes of varied terrain without the driver needing to feather the brakes.
Put all of those capabilities together and the 2023 Range Rover Sport takes the title as the automaker’s most capable build.