‘SUPER’ SUV EARNS ITS PRESTIGE
It lacks the hedonistic sumptuousness of its corporate cousin, the Bentley Bentayga. It isn’t quite as powerful as the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. But, Mamma Mia, make no mistake: Lamborghini claiming its new Urus is the world’s first “super” sport utility vehicle (SSUV) is the honest truth.
Yes, the most fanatical gearheads might feel justified in chastising Lamborghini for succumbing to the temptation of building a sport ute. Get over it! Almost every other automaker of note has also given in, and is now raking in big bucks and record sales. More to the point, the Urus not only has the proportions and sharply creased lines of something made by a company steeped in the tradition of constructing extreme sports cars with excessive amounts of power, it has the engineering to back it up. That’s thanks to liberal sharing — and subsequent tweaking — of technology from the assorted brands making up the Volkswagen Group. Among other things, it shares the MLBevo platform also used for the Bentayga, Audi Q7, Porsche’s Cayenne and others.
And the Urus is not just for the road, either. The company had us out on the 4.1-kilometre Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi, a race circuit outside Rome, to prove the Urus — typical of Lamborghini, the name is derived from the world of bulls — offers all the pleasure and performance of a true Lamborghini.
The starting point is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 — sorry, no V12 from the Aventador S or V10 from the Huracán to be found — blasting out a formidable 650 horsepower. So fitted, the Urus boasts the best weight-to-power ratio within the SUV segment, says Lamborghini. Acceleration to 100 km/h is achieved in 3.6 seconds, and zero to 200 in 12.8 seconds.
The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Together with a permanent four-wheel-drive system with active torque vectoring, the Urus is ready for action, no matter the situation. Torque is directed mainly to the rear axle, unless otherwise required.
The fun part is ripping around the circuit like your pants are on fire, and the only way to put them out is to go faster. If you thought nobody in their right mind is going to take a two-tonne, $232,000 (to start) sport ute to the track, you would not be alone. But the Urus not only takes off like a rocket, the sound from the exhaust a rich, tenor-like snarl, and it attacks corners with otherworldly grip. Something so big shouldn’t be so agile. For that one can thank a long list of state-of-the-art vehicle dynamics technology, everything from the fourwheel drive with active rear torque vectoring and fourwheel steering to adaptive air suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes.
Then there’s the ANIMA (Adaptive Network Intelligent Management) selector, which is the key behind the Urus’s driving dynamics. It allows the SSUV to adapt according to the driving mode selected. There are three on-road modes: Strada for regular use, Sport for more responsiveness, and Corsa for maximum performance.
Should you find yourself pounding down a track straightaway at something close to 200 km/h, know two things: in Corsa mode each upshift comes with a solid thunk, and the massive ceramic brakes scrub speed like nothing else — just 33.7 metres to stop from 100 km/h. As for the Urus’s claimed top speed of 305 km/h: not at Vallelunga and certainly not by me!
In addition, AMIMA provides three off-road modes, just in case you want to show off the Lamborghini at your favourite fishing lodge or ski resort. There’s Neve for general slippery conditions, Terra for off-road duties and Sabbia for sandy surfaces. Finally, Ego mode allows the driver to personalize vehicle dynamics in terms of steering, suspension and traction.
And to prove the Urus is no tarmac dilettante, Lamborghini set up a dirt offroad course. It was great fun turning off most of the traction nannies and manhandling the big bull around tight turns, kicking up huge plumes of dust in lurid slides and jabbing the throttle to get the back end to swing out. All the times I practised doughnuts in snow-filled parking lots as a teenage hooligan came in handy.
On the road, the Urus is a docile beast, traversing the countryside’s bumpy back roads with just a little firmness to the ride, the full-sized SSUV’s width the only cause for concern, given the roads’ narrow width, the amount of Sunday traffic and the abundant cyclists out burning off a few million calories.
The interior layout of the Urus combines aeronautic design (especially the jetlike centre-console controls) with the requisite Italian craftsmanship. The stitched leather is soft to the touch and looks rich. Trim bits include wood, aluminum or carbon-fibre. There are three TFT screens: one for the instrumentation, one for infotainment and one for comfort functions, including a virtual keyboard feature with handwriting recognition.
The front sport seats are super-comfy and supportive (ventilation and massage function are available). A bench seat is standard for rear passengers with an optional two-seat layout available. The rear bench folds to substantially increase trunk capacity to 1,596 L from 616.
Is the Urus a good-looking rig? Yes, if you have a thing for past Lamborghinis. The profile as well as the complicated patterns and creases in its sheet metal show touches of Aventador, Countach, Miura, and even the quasi-military LM002 (a.k.a. the Rambo Lambo, the company’s first SUV). Truly, though, Lamborghini doesn’t do pretty. Its cars are edgy, extreme, in your face. The Urus is the sort of vehicle Batman or Darth Vader would own.
If you don’t dig its vibe, there are plenty of other people who do; the SSUV is expected to double Lamborghini’s annual sales to more than 7,000. The 2018 model is already sold out. If you want one, you’ll have to wait for the 2019 version, coming this fall.