Top 4 Range Rover Sport features that stand out from the competition

Land Rover’s bad boy

If ever a specific model could be termed the bad boy in the Land Rover family, it has to be the Range Rover Sport. A humorous amalgam of bonkers performance (in its V8 iterations), plush trimmings, surprisingly nimble handling (for its size and weight), and an exaggerated variation of traditional Range Rover styling themes makes it the joker in the pack, which, in itself, sets it apart from its competition.

 

Related: Read our review of a Range Rover Sport with the 3.0 V6 turbodiesel engine here.

 

But there’s deeper talent to the Range Rover Sport as well, because beneath that veneer of upper-class elegance is a very high-tech machine. Many years of continuous improvement has enabled the Sport to stand toe-to-toe with its opponents in the marketplace, in every aspect from interior gadgets to drivetrain technology. Highlights from this impressive spec list include:

 

1. Gesture controlled sunroof

Forget about expending the effort of pushing a button to open the sun shade under that vast panoramic roof, because in the Range Rover Sport, you merely need to wave vaguely in its direction. Different hand motions makes it do different things, which means that this might just be the first application where gesture control may actually save some effort. 

 

Related: Get more info on the Range Rover Sport’s previous updates here.

 

Marketing-speak aside, there is an actual benefit to this: sunroof control switches are usually located on the roof console, where they’re quite far away from the driver’s line of sight and usually infuriatingly small and poorly identified. Replacing those fiddly buttons with a waving hand will enable the driver to keep their attention on the road, instead of peering into the shadows to decipher where to poke. Besides, pushing buttons is só last century, because this car has other ideas...

 

2. InControl Touch Pro Duo

Its name is a mouthful, but so are its features. This is Land Rover’s top-spec (and optional) infotainment system, and presents two configurable high-resolution touchscreens on the centre console. This allows occupants to interact with different functions simultaneously – for instance, the system can display navigation instructions on the top screen and media on the lower screen at the same time, before effortlessly switching either screen to access a plethora of car control functions. 

That media will sound as good as it looks on that hi-res screen, too, especially if the buyer specifies the Meridian Signature sound system upgrade as well. This high-powered audio installation uses 28 speakers (including a dual channel subwoofer) and “Trifield 3D” technology (fancy digital signal manipulation) to produce perfect sound staging, and 1700 watts means that it could probably set off car alarms a block away.

 

Related: Range Rover Sport vs BMW X5 vs Mercedes-Benz GLE – here’s our winner!

 

3. Pixel LED headlights

Adaptive LED headlights aren’t really that new anymore, but the Range Rover Sport’s lighting system is one of the best. With 144 LEDs in front and an intelligent control system, these headlights can maintain a perfect spread of light, yet shadow four sections simultaneously to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. 

When the system deems it appropriate, it will activate the optional Laser supplementary high beam, for clear lighting up to 500 metres ahead. An honourable mention must also go to the sequential LED indicator elements front and rear, which emulate the light show pioneered by Audi a few years ago. It’s not quite up to Q8-levels of showmanship, but it’s not very far behind, either. In fact, when taken as a whole, the lighting system (right down to the cabin’s configurable ambient lighting) is among the most advanced in its class. 

 

Related: Range Rover Sport vs Audi Q8 vs Porsche Cayenne – here’s our winner!

 

4. A pretty potent hybrid

In recently-released P400e (plug-in hybrid) form, the Range Rover Sport can also boast of a cutting-edge drive system. Primary propulsion is courtesy of a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbopetrol engine, which contributes 221 kW and 400 Nm to the motive power. Coupled to the petrol engine is a 116 kW/275 Nm electric motor fed by a 13 kWh battery, for a combined system output of 297 kW and 640 Nm. This power is then sent into the normal Range Rover AWD system, complete with active torque distribution.

This gives the P400e a theoretical all-electric cruising range of up to 48 km (which will translate to about 30 km in the real world), and a claimed average fuel consumption of 2.8 ℓ/100 km... a number it’s highly unlikely to achieve in mixed-cycle usage. Still, realistic estimates of low-8 ℓ/100 km averages are very impressive for a vehicle of this heft and performance: the 0 – 100 km/h sprint is over in a claimed 6.7 seconds, and the top speed is limited to 220 km/h. 

 

Related: Which Range Rover Sport is better – petrol or diesel?

 

Conclusion

It’s unlikely that a buyer, who can afford to spend upwards of R1.1-million on a status symbol, would care much that most of these awesome features are optional. Sure, entry-level Range Rover Sports are reasonably priced (in base specification with a non-hybrid 4-cylinder engine of some description), but with so many tasty extras and potent engines on offer, the temptation to splurge on features could be irresistible. 

These nice extras may be expensive, but they also add a lot of value and “wow-factor” to an already-appealing car. It might look a lot like a 2013-model, but under the skin, there’s a technological marvel just waiting to be explored... provided the budget allows, of course.

 

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