DRIVEN New Range Rover Sport

FIRST VERDICT Racy premium SUV balances performance, quality, and refinement

- Sean Carson

FOLLOWING the recent reinvention of E Range Rover the electrice, it's now the turn of the full-fat model's more dynamic sibling, the Range Rover Sport, to be replaced with an all-new model as part of Jaguar Land Rover's 'Reimagine' plan.

In keeping with that 'Sport' tag, we're testing the P530 V8 model here, which is actually as fast as the old SVR but 17 percent more efficient than its predecessor.

Ironically, the source of this new-found ability is one of Land Rover's rivals, BMW. Its 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 replaces the old supercharged 5.0-litre unit. So has the new Range Rover Sport lost some character in this transition? No. Not at all.

While turbocharging can often suppress noise, there's still the right level of it here. In fact, this 4.4 V8 has never sounded so good. There's just enough bassy rumble in Dynamic mode to be present but not intrusive, adding to the experience under hard acceleration.

The motor packs a huge punch, and with 527bhp and 750Nm of torque, it propels the Sport from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds. We'd like the eight-speed automatic gearbox's shifts to be a little snappier, but the smoothness on offer as it shuffles between ratios adds to the refinement. Most of the time this will be a big positive, with the V8's note settling down to a burble on a cruise.