Range Rover SWB

GOODBYE

£107,300 OTR/£122,480 as tested/£1,530 pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

Is the world’s most luxurious SUV actually the world’s best luxury car full stop?

DRIVER

Ollie Marriage

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE LIKE A RANGE ROVER. THAT’S WHAT THE PAST nine months have shown me I drove a Rolls Cullinan recently see page

but I came away thinking that if they were parked up side by side and I could only take one away to keep and use forever it would be this Then I wondered if you could slot anything else in the Royce’s place that I would choose over the Rangey I thought long and hard flicked through back issues of the mag but couldn’t come up with anything

And over a wide spread actually Not just SUVs from Bentley Porsche Mercedes etc but luxury cars as well I’ve said before that the current BMW iˆ is a masterpiece if you’re travelling in the back But only if you’re travelling in the back I wouldn’t want to own one

It’s about fitness for purpose The Range Rover understands what it’s for and how to do it better than anything else You see the same in other classes ‹ the Porsche ŒŽŽ springs to mind so too the BMW ‘’Series and until recently the VW Golf Cars that deliver on their promises so well and so consistently that there’s no point looking further

So here’s my advice If you want a Range Rover have one What’s that? What about all those issues with them being stolen or uninsurable? Let’s deal with that now The thefts mainly apply to pre’ –Ž— cars with keys vulnerable to relay attacks Land Rover has sorted a software patch so if you have one get it to your dealer now So far of the Ž —Ž– new shape Rangeys sold in the UK only ŽŽ have been pinched ‹ – –— per cent They’re immune to relay attacks and the more invasive CAN procedures that have had thieves cutting open the bodywork to get to the wiring loom

The knock’on effect of these thefts a legacy of the car’s desirability abroad our vulnerable open ports and parts demand from Russia after Land Rover stopped trading there is higher insurance Land Rover is working hard with the ABI Association of British Insurers to demonstrate the new car’s security and bring costs down A lot of it comes down to your postcode Where I live ‹ a market town in the Home Counties ‹ it would cost me ›Ž ‘—– a year to insure the diesel Rangey ›Ž œ—– for the hybrid Move to London and that becomes ›ž –––‹— ––– for the diesel and it’s very challenging to get anyone to quote on the hybrid Desirable parts see

Hence why Land Rover started its own insurance Which because it’s done in partnership with Liverpool Victoria has initially suffered exactly the same issues ‹ I tried to get a quote and the system said no Land Rover insists that the issue has been surmounted and that it was caught out by how quickly the scheme became very popular

Anyway back to the car because there are some pointers I want to give you Don’t have the extended wheelbase with the lounge seats as we ran before this unless you’re going to be travelling in the back It looks more ungainly and I reckon the ––mm stretch introduces a hint of shudder into the chassis The Rangey’s genius is that it can turn its hand to anything and you’d probably rather it turned its hand to practicality than chauffeuring

There’s no other car with a driving environment to match this It is beautifully minimalist the view out is lofty clear and open the seats are thick soft and enveloping Even the screens aren’t frustrating to

interact with There is no better car to do distance in Period That’s it Just let it do what it does so well relax you and consume distance

There’s an honesty to the diesel I quickly got used to its more vocal engine the extra vibrations but I did prefer the hybrid the silence and smoothness of the straight six the slick handovers Land Rover bangs on about modern luxury and the hybrid delivers it best Even if it does weigh  kg I mean come on Range Rover This profligacy is getting ridiculous You need to do better

For what it is I don’t think it’s expensive and it’s also the most reliable Land Rover product I’ve ever run Which isn’t saying much admittedly but after „ miles all I’ve had is a loose doorhandle cover and the hybrid needed its …„V system rebooting so it would remember to start in electric mode

It’s a big bear hug of a car a warm embrace on a filthy night a sophisticated companion for the urban trawl an inspiration off‰road It is the car that can do it all and do it with panache I’ve always said an RS‹ or a VW van would be the first thing into my dream three car garage Now I’m not so sure It’s the Range Rover It’s peerless Accept no substitute

FOR EXTENDED TG GARAGE REPORTS, AND TO EXPLORE THE ARCHIVE

hauling was put to work Range Rover seamlessly dirty work as logs. Handled motorway schlep as it did the