Range Rover Sport Review & Prices

If the Range Rover is the lord of the manor, the Range Rover Sport is the rebellious little brother. In and out of trouble, a bit of a cad, but secretly the old dowager’s favourite.

It’s a formula Land Rover has employed before. Preserve most of the regal luxury of the range-topping Range Rover but tune the suspension for B-road adventures as well as stately cruising. Today’s car is the third generation to follow this template.

If you like the sound of this recipe, there are a few other options you could consider, such as the excellent BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne.

Under the metal, the Sport shares much with the Range Rover. That’s a pretty good place to start, as the latest version is one of the best luxury SUVs you can buy.

Like its more respectable brother, the raffish Range Rover Sport is packed with technology, including a choice of high-tech mild and plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Topping the range is the sport SV, with its punchy V8 petrol engine.

Watch: Range Rover Sport SV review

If sir or madam prefers to travel in near silence, there are two plug-hybrids at either 440hp or 510hp. There’s a strong case to make for these models being the picks of the range. Tax breaks for plug-ins make them the default choice for company car drivers, and with a large battery they can travel up to 70 miles on electricity alone. That’s a lot further than most petrol-electric SUVs can manage before reverting to unleaded.

The Range Rover Sport will go further off road, too. With a maximum ride height of 281mm, a low-ratio gearbox, and lots of clever electronic driver aids, the Range Rover Sport will keep going long after an Audi Q7 or BMW X5 are stuck up to their axles in mud. And you can wash the dirt off in a convenient fast-flowing stream, thanks to an exceptional wading depth of 900mm.

Inside, the Range Rover Sport blends old-school luxury and modern technology like few other cars. You sit a little lower than the penthouse-suite position of the full-fat Range Rover, but still high enough to peer down upon most other cars. There’s lots of space, front and back, although this generation of Range Rover Sport no longer offers a third row of seats. If that’s essential, take a look at the Land Rover Discovery instead.

Without seats six and seven, Land Rover has been able to provide Range Rover Sport customers with an enormous boot. It really is a very practical car, with the boot measuring 835 litres. That's considerably better than a BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne, but slightly less than the Audi Q7.

It’s an expensive one, too, although what did you expect? Compared with the Range Rover, the Sport is significantly more affordable, but there are other 4x4s that will do a similar job for a lot less cash if tough times have pruned your hedge fund.

For the best price, check out Carwow's Range Rover Sport deals. You can also browse used Range Rover Sports as well as other used Land Rovers available through our network of trusted dealers. And when you’ve decided on your new model, you can sell your car online through Carwow too.

Nobody is going to pretend that the Range Rover Sport is anything other than an expensive luxury car. It costs more than a Porsche Cayenne, but it’s a lot less pricey than the flagship Range Rover.

The entry-level diesel is the model for a private buyer to choose if they want to keep the price half-sensible. You won’t be slumming it at all – this is still a well-equipped luxury express.

The plug-in hybrids cost a few grand more but the running costs will be lower so long as you plug-in regularly at home or work. The range-topping V8 will be the most expensive to buy and run.

Quick and comfortable, but despite the name there are sportier SUVs

In town 

The Range Rover Sport is a pleasure to drive around town. You sit up high, as you’d expect of a Range Rover, with an excellent view over the top of other traffic. Big door mirrors and the large rear window mean there’s a clear view behind you too.

Every Range Rover Sport is fitted with air suspension, and while it doesn’t flatten every bump with the authority of the big Range Rover, the Sport is a lot more comfortable around town than the likes of the Porsche Cayenne.

The automatic gearbox changes ratios smoothly, and every available engine has more punch than ever to leap into any gaps in traffic.

We’d choose one of the plug-in hybrids for town driving. The potential to run without exhaust emissions is a big plus, and the cabin is hushed while the petrol engine is held in reserve.

Whichever version you are driving, though, there’s no getting away from the Range Rover Sport’s sheer size. At just under five metres long, it takes up a lot of space on the road. A surround-view camera and front and rear parking sensors make squeezing into a tight parking spot that bit easier.

On the motorway

Long motorway journeys demand comfort, refinement, and performance – qualities the Range Rover Sport possesses in abundance.

The tautly controlled air suspension keeps things stable and comfortable at speed, and there’s little in the way of wind or road noise to disturb the peace. With supportive seats and a comfortable driving position big distances can be dispatched without an ache or twinge.

Whichever engine is chosen, the Range Rover Sport is somewhere between quick or blisteringly fast, but a more rapid response from the gearbox would help when accelerating into the outside lane.

If you have half an eye on economy, one of the diesels would be our choice to stretch a gallon further, although the plug-in hybrids are able to reach motorway speeds on electric power alone.

On a twisty road

The clue is in the name, or it seems to be. The Range Rover Sport is a sporty car, right?

Well, maybe ‘sportier’ would be a fairer description than ‘sport’. Even with the suspension in its dynamic setting and the gearbox turned to sport mode, the big Range Rover is a bit heavy on its feet compared with a Porsche Cayenne. On the other hand, it’s a lot more agile than the regular Range Rover.

It is not the sharpest SUV on a twisty road, but it is competent, capable, and quick. Is that enough? Perhaps it comes down to your expectations. This is no sports car on stilts, but it is a rewarding car to drive.

SUVs that are more comfortable than the Range Rover Sport are unlikely to handle as well, while SUVs that are sharper to drive won’t be as plush. For some of us, that means the sporty-ish Range Rover Sport hits the bullseye.

If you're committed to the Sport but want more cornering prowess, the SV is the model to go for. It's just as posh and refined inside, but has blistering performance and clever tech that makes it incredibly capable in the bends.

Big and roomy, although there’s no longer a third row of seats

Land Rover would have needed to work hard to make a car this size impractical, so it’s no surprise that there’s plenty of room inside for people and their luggage.

Up front, you’ll find plenty of space for the driver and front-seat passenger. You sit up high, although the position is not quite as lofty as in the Range Rover. It’s still an imperious seating position, though. You can look down – literally and metaphorically – on lesser vehicles.

No version of the Range Rover Sport is badly equipped, so you get electric steering wheel adjustment even with the entry-level SE model, along with electric front seats. These adjust in 20 different ways – yes 20 – and have a memory function to store your position. That applies to the front-passenger seat as well as the driver’s.

Storage space is ample. There’s a double glovebox, as well as large door bins that are lined to stop items from rattling around. More space can be found tucked under the base of the centre console and beneath the driver’s armrest.

There are two cupholders between the front seats. They are unusually large, so can take a pair of thermos flasks – after all, you won’t find a Starbucks drive-through halfway up Ben Nevis.

Space in the back seats

Adults can stretch out in the back with room to spare. And despite the transmission tunnel there’s still plenty of room for three, thanks to the width of the car, and the rear seats recline if anyone needs a nap after a busy day of hunting, shooting and fishing.

There are air vents between the front seats to keep everyone supplied with chilled air, and an arm rest folds down from the central seat when it’s not occupied. The arm rest includes a couple of hidden cupholders.

As you’d expect, there are ISOFIX mounting points for child seats, and they’re easy to access rather than tucked away between the seat cushion and back.

Some owners of the previous Range Rover Sport will be disappointed that there’s no third row of seats, but otherwise there’s not much to complain about.

Boot space 

This is a big car with the boot space to match. The luggage capacity is 835 litres, so there’s more room for bags than you’ll find in many estate cars.

Usually, ease of loading is a benefit of choosing an estate over an SUV as they sit lower to the ground. The Range Rover Sport gets around this, thanks to its air suspension. You can lower the car’s height to make loading and unloading easier. It makes a big difference if you need to lift something heavy, like a holiday suitcase.

There’s more storage under the boot floor – or a spare wheel if you tick that option on the order form.

Traditional luxury meets high-tech in the Range Rover’s stylish cabin, but it's not the best system overall

Interior quality used to be an area in which Land Rovers were off the pace compared with premium Germans SUVs from Audi, BMW and Mercedes. That’s changed with the latest generation of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. Both cars have stunning cabins that live up to their elevated price tags.

Perhaps the finish in the flagship Range Rover is a cut above the Sport’s, but you could argue that’s how it should be given the extra money you must pay for the range-topping model. But we can’t see many owners being left cold by the Range Rover Sport’s upmarket ambience. You can find some surfaces and components that don’t seem expensive, but you have to make a point of looking for them.

The infotainment system plays a big part in that premium feel, something you wouldn’t have said of a Land Rover a few years ago. The latest system is called Pivi Pro. It has haptic feedback so you feel a click when you press an icon on the screen. The colours are bright and vivid and the design is crisp, and the huge 13.1-inch screen gives space to clearly present lots of information at once. There is a little bit of lag to the screen’s responses, which means it's not quite up there with the very best systems, and moving the climate controls to the screen makes it trickier to use on the move.

The screen is curved, which looks stylish but serves a practical purpose too – it reduces the number of reflections you get in strong sunlight.

Instead of traditional dials, there’s another digital display in front of the driver, and it also looks sharp and clear. There’s a useful degree of customisation, so you can arrange the information you want right in front of you.

If you are looking for respectable economy and low emissions, the plug-in hybrids should be at the top of your list. These emit just 18-20g/km of carbon dioxide, depending on the exact spec. That makes for low tax bills for company car drivers.

All-electric cars cost business users even less in tax, and a pure electric Range Rover Sport is due to arrive during 2024.

The PHEV models promise low running costs for private buyers too, so long as you can recharge regularly and most day-to-day journeys can be completed on electricity alone. Vehicle Excise Duty is cheapest for these versions, too.

If you rack up a lot of miles, especially if you don’t have somewhere convenient to recharge, the mild-hybrid diesels will rival the economy of the plug-in models in longer-run real-world conditions. Both the D300 and D350 return an official 36.7mpg or thereabouts, depending on the exact spec.

Go for the P400 mild-hybrid petrol, and fuel economy will be up to 29.6mpg, according to the official figures.

If performance is all that matters then go for the SV. It uses the same 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine found in the BMW M5 CS and makes a massive 635hp. Its 0-60mph time of 3.6 seconds is supercar-fast and entirely believable – we saw 3.7 seconds in the wet. Naturally running costs will be massive, as we saw just 17mpg during our time with the car.

The Range Rover Sport has a five-star rating from the safety gurus at Euro NCAP. The scores for both adult and child occupant protection are 85%, with a 69% rating for pedestrian protection and 82% for driver assistance systems.

There’s a long list of sophisticated aids for the driver, whichever model you choose, including Blind Spot Assist, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, and a Rear Collision Monitor.

Security features include a tracking system with a 12-month subscription. However, Land Rover has scored an own goal with the pop-out door handles. They always stick out when the car is unlocked and stationary, which does seem like an open invitation to passing thieves.

It’s too early to report on the reliability of the Range Rover Sport, but it’s no secret that Land Rover doesn’t have the best reputation for building trouble-free cars.

If you want a luxury SUV that’s unlikely to go wrong, we’d take a close look at a Lexus instead.

On the other hand, if the improved finish in the cabin is a sign of a deeper-running quality, then perhaps today’s Range Rover Sport will prove more reliable than its predecessors.