All New Range Rover Sport: Here's What Makes It Stand Out In The Crowd

Despite being an SUV, the Range Rover Sport does not carry bulky characteristics. The car also gets the latest styling language of the bigger RR, including a simple yet an all-rounded design.

The Range Rover Sport is imposing and tall, while having a sleeker look than the Range Rover.

Range Rover, a name that stands tall among luxury cars, remains one of the most popular choices for SUVs all over the world. While the Range Rover is the flagship brand, its younger sibling takes that into a more dynamic package. Called the Range Rover Sport, it mixes the luxury of the bigger Range Rover and adds in a more 'sportier' driving experience, hence the name.

Before we talk about that in detail, the design of the new Range Rover Sport must be mentioned. It is imposing and tall, while having a sleeker look than the Range Rover. Despite being an SUV, it does not carry bulky characteristics and looks sharp. The new Range Rover Sport also gets the latest styling language of the bigger RR, including a simple yet well-rounded design. There are fewer lines but sharper and slimmer with thinner lamps all around.

Then you see the plush door handles and the way the shut lines have been smoothed out. Elsewhere, the huge 22-inch wheels fill up those wheel arches nicely, too. In short, the new Range Rover Sport gets a lot of attention.

Open those huge doors and inside, there's a high-quality cabin much like its elder sibling, although the Sport gets a new steering wheel along with a lowered driving position. A massive 13.1-inch curved touchscreen is as good as it gets with crisp responses and a clean layout. Of course, even the digital instrument cluster is configurable.

You get a whole lot of features in the new Range Rover Sport and those include a digital rear-view mirror, air suspension, leather upholstery, a full glass roof, digital LED lights, soft close doors, a heads-up display, and heated/ventilated seats with massagers.

The back of the car is quite spacious but the seats lack the adjustability of the bigger Range Rover. But compared to immediate rivals, the seats are huge and comfortable.

The new generation Range Rover Sport immediately feels lighter to drive than its predecessor and more agile. In the city, you don't feel the size even though the towering stance is very much here like the bigger Range Rover. We drove the P400 with a turbo-charged 6-cylinder petrol engine, which develops 400ps and 550Nm via a mild hybrid system. The engine is excellent in terms of refinement and there is barely any noise at all. The steering, too, is light and you don't need any effort to drive this huge SUV in the city.

Take things up a notch and shift to 'S' mode and the noise is similar to a V8 with a sense of urgency along with a surprising sense of character. The engine and the quick response are a huge change for the new generation Range Rover Sport that does justice to the 'Sport' tag. Yes, at the end of the day, it is still a massive SUV with some roll, but it is way more fun to drive now. While the huge 22-inch wheels look cool, the ride results in being a bit firm with some of the edges filtering through.

Of course, being a Land Rover, it comes with the latest Terrain Response System. With this, the new Range Rover Sport can go further than some of its rivals with the air suspension pushing the ground clearance to nearly 300 mm. The water-wading ability is also 900mm. While it's not exactly a soft luxury SUV or a proper off-roader, it offers features from both worlds.

Priced at Rs 1.6 crore, the new Range Rover Sport might be more expensive than its rivals. However, it offers a more all-rounded luxury SUV experience with its looks, features, and fun-to-drive character, along with the off-roading capabilities.