Land Rover Range Rover SUV (2021 - ) review

It’s expensive to buy and expensive to run given, the smallest diesel engine still has six cylinders, it weighs two tonnes, has complicated four-wheel drive and four-wheel steer systems … and has a poor reliability record. We’d be tempted to hang on for the pure electric model, which will at least save you a fortune in fuel. In the meantime the plug-in hybrid is good for up to 25 miles on electric power officially, but you’ll be lucky... However, it’s up against the Bentley Bentayga, BMW X7, Volvo XC90 and Mercedes-Benz GLS, none of which are going to be any easier on your wallet. Land Rover has worked on reducing weight and thereby improving fuel economy to 30mpg or so for the most frugal engine. It also thinks 75 per cent of plug-in hybrid owners will drive their cars in electric mode nearly all the time. In the end, value for money is a different thing from “cheap”, so is the Range Rover worth the eye-wateringly high costs? If you have the money, then as fans of British craftsmanship and unapologetic luxury, we’d say so.

Land Rover has a dreadful reliability record, with owners reporting a wealth of mechanical and software issues across its models and those of sister brand Jaguar over the past few years. It finished 22 out of 29 in the 2021 Driver Power survey and has finished bottom of the pile in the Warranty Direct Reliability survey in the past. It finished bottom of the list again last year in the What Car? reliability survey of 16,000 owners. Land Rover seems unable to grasp the nettle, but we live in hope because everyone loves the brand and wants to own one. We haven’t seen many gripes about the Range Rover, possibly simply because there aren’t so many of them about. The new electric platform in 2024 offers the best hope of reprise.

With one of the highest seating positions of all cars, that astonishing four-wheel drive, and a huge bonnet in front of you, the Range Rover feels, unsurprisingly, like a very safe car to drive. There’s a lot of safety kit built in as standard, including airbags all round, seatbelt warnings, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, and, given its off-roading capabilities, has astonishing levels of traction in the slippery stuff, as well as an incredible wading depth, if you happen to fall into a river. One safety feature you may not be used to seeing in a car is a Covid barrier. The new air purification system on the Range Rover prevents viruses and bacteria such as SARs and Covid-19 entering the cabin. It is apparently 99 per cent effective, and works by, um, something to do with nanoes and radicals.

Speakers in the headrests act as active noise cancellation to increase the sense of serenity in the new Range Rover. Wellbeing is high on the agenda here, with the normal massage functions now including a hot-stone setting. The doors are soft close from one trim level up, and the split tailgate is fully powered, so no one breaks a sweat. Even the seven-seat version comes with ambient lighting in the third row and bespoke storage for the sixth and seventh occupants. Air suspension comes as standard and creates much of the luxury vibe in this sumptuous SUV. One is never bothered by road-surface ructions or the clamour of other road users - you sail calmly on, in an ocean of serenity. Even off-roading in this beast leaves you unruffled. You just press a couple of buttons and let the car take care of the rest. Not that any Range Rover driver will take their pride and joy mud-plugging, but it should be part and parcel of ownership if only to recognise the engineering brilliance behind this machine.

Unsurprisingly, Land Rover’s pinnacle of engineering and design has a wealth of cool features, including an elegant, curved touch-screen with haptic feedback so it feels like you’re pressing buttons on it. There’s a TV alongside DAB radio (the second trim level up gives you a split screen so the passenger can watch it while the car is in motion), handsome sat-nav graphics in the brand’s signature neutral colour scheme and wireless smartphone integration. Alexa and Spotify are embedded in the car, and there’s wireless phone charging too. The Meridian signature sound system has 35 main speakers, including in the boot and headrests, for an incredible surround sound accompaniment. The rather jazzy sounding “tailgate event suite” features seats in the boot when the rear tailgate folds down, so you can view Johnny on his polo pony in comfort, with the boot floor rising to offer a back rest. There’s also remote parking to move the car out of a tight parking space before you get in. Land Rover has also explored new materials, so as well as leather and wood, there are wools and even ceramics to give a smooth matt finish in the doors and front of the car. There are 30 colours to choose from for your ambient lighting, and you can specify a touch-screen console for rear seat passengers, which those buying the long-wheelbase version will surely specify. There are individual cup holders, arm rests and charging ports for occupants, and you can choose to pay extra for a fridge up front, with space for four drinks cans, or a floating wood and chrome table in the back that glides between the seats.

The new Range Rover is nothing short of incredible to drive. Thanks to new four-wheel steering, it has the same turning circle as a Mini Countryman, which is a blessed relief in carparks and also if you hit a corner a little too fast, the car tucking in smartly. The steering is fingertip-light and even the 350D diesel version behaves like a rocketship off the line, with amazing acceleration. At the time of writing engine options comprise a three-litre diesel with three different power outputs, a three-litre petrol with two power offerings, a 4.4-litre V8 and a plug-in hybrid petrol with two different power figures. We haven’t tested the twin turbo V8 petrol version, but it is clearly ridiculously fast, albeit ridiculously thirsty, too. If shifting a heavy SUV away from the lights before anyone else is your bag, this is the one for you. But the suspension is perhaps the epitome of this car’s pleasure. It has a Rolls-Royce waftability about it, adusting to road conditions before you’ve noticed them, keeping you insulated from any kerfuffle but also giving you a sense of the surface you’re driving on. How they manage to let in some sensations while keeping others at bay is a mystery. And given the extreme off-roading capability of this car, the whole experience is quite an achievement.