Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The Range Rover Sport was most recently redesigned for 2014, with the 2015 model year bringing a new top-performance variant, called the SVR. For 2016, the Range Rover Sport adds two new dimensions to its performance profile: a turbo diesel V-6 and a supercharged HST edition.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport is a five- or seven-seat SUV with a body constructed from aluminum. It's aimed at those who might think the bigger Range Rover is a bit too formal—hence its more stylish roofline.Its competition includes SUVs such as the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class, Porsche Cayenne, BMW's X5, as well as the Lexus GX 460.

For 2017, the premium SUV gains an updated infotainment system and includes a towing assistance mode for its standard stability control. The infotainment system represents a big upgrade over last year's model.

The latest Range Rover Sport arrived for the 2014 model year and has seen updates every year since. It shares its architecture with the bigger Range Rover, which was itself new in 2013. Both models now use aluminum extensively in their construction. As such, the Sport also achieves major weight loss with the resulting performance upgrade.

For the first time, the Sport offers a V-6 engine as its base powertrain; the 90-degree V-6 is supercharged, and with help from a smooth ZF 8-speed automatic it can rip a 0-60 mph trip in less than 7 seconds. The related supercharged V-8 spits out 510 hp in standard models and makes a glorious noise while running to 60 in under 5 seconds.

The new Sport's ride/handling blend tilts firmly to sport. Its air dampers and variable-ratio steering quicken up the utility's responses compared to the bigger Range Rover, and the V-8's Dynamic setting dials out much of the innate lean and scrub dictated by its height and weight. It's much closer now to the benchmarks set by the uber-utes from Germany. At the same time, it's an incredibly capable muckraker, with either the base Torsen four-wheel-drive setup, or the more advanced dual-range system, with its active rear locking differential. With more ground clearance than ever, the Sport can extract itself from almost anything the bigger Range Rover can, and its slight size advantage might let it squeeze through where the executive-class model can't.

The 2015 model year brought the craziest Range Rover Sport yet—the Range Rover Sport SVR. It's the first SVR model in the Range Rover lineup, and the first volume-model effort from Jaguar Land Rover's new Special Vehicle Operations group. Power comes from a high-output version of the company's supercharged 5.0-liter V-8, here putting out 550 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. The SVR is good for a 0-to-60-mph run of 4.5 seconds, going on to a top speed of 162 mph. Those are indeed serious numbers for an SUV, and indeed for vehicles half its size.

The arrival of this speed-freak Rover Sport suggests that there will be additional SVR Rovers in the future; the Evoque is a likely candidate, especially since Land Rover has already managed to extract some extra power from its turbocharged 4-cylinder.

Aside from the addition of the SVR model, there were few changes for the 2015 Range Rover Sport. Blind-spot monitors gained closing vehicle sensing and reverse traffic detection, and the puddle lamps were upgraded to project a silhouette of the vehicle, instead of an outline of the Range Rover Sport logo, when you approach. Land Rover's InControl suite of smartphone connectivity apps was made available.

For 2016, Land Rover offers a Range Rover Sport with a diesel engine here for the first time. The model is called Td6 and uses a 3.0-liter turbo diesel V-6 engine that makes 254 hp and 440 lb-ft of torque. Highway mileage tops out at 29 mpg. A new HST Limited Edition model will also be added in 2016, straddling the gap between the supercharged V-6 and supercharged V-8 models. It gets a 380-hp version of the V-6, unique chassis tuning, and some special design touches, borrowing some visual cues from the recently added SVR model.

The Range Rover Sport first came to America as a 2006 model, slotted just beneath the tried and true Range Rover in the brand lineup, distinct from the LR3 and LR2 "family" Rovers. Outfitted with either a naturally-aspirated 4.4-liter V-8 engine (which had its roots at BMW, which sold Land Rover to Ford) or a supercharged 4.2-liter V-8 that was shared with the Jaguar XF and XJ for a time. Both versions offered a 6-speed automatic transmission and a sophisticated off-road-worthy suspension with standard all-wheel drive. The "Terrain Response" system allowed drivers to select a four-wheel-drive mode based on conditions like snow, sand, or pavement, and tailored the Sport's traction and stability control to match. Elsewhere, the Sport brought touchscreen controls to the Land Rover tradition, with a big LCD screen incorporating navigation, climate and audio functions.

The Range Rover Sport was conceived to appeal to buyers of less traditional 'utes—it shares the Range Rover tag, but its styling is considerably less constrained. The look is based on a concept, the Range Stormer that came in two-door form to the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In the process of becoming a "junior" Range Rover suitable for production, the concept grew a pair of rear door, but kept the performance intent that makes it a competitor for the likes of the BMW X5 and X6, as well as the sporty Porsche Cayenne.

During the next three model years, the Range Rover Sport would change very little, as Ford sold the brand to Tata and as it was combined into a business unit with Jaguar. In 2010, however, Land Rover had completed work on an updated Range Rover Sport. The centerpiece to the model was a 5.0-liter V-8, offered in both normally aspirated and supercharged form. With the new power plants, this Sport offered either 375 hp or a stunning 510 hp, enough to hurtle the truck from 0 to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds. The automatic transmission received updates to handle the power, and the suspension's electronic controls were reprogrammed for quicker responses. Fuel economy was poor, at 12/17 mpg for the fastest Sport, but handling was as sharp as many luxury sedans—the equal of BMW's fine-handling X6—and off-road capability was as strong as necessary in such an expensive, attractive vehicle.