2013 Range Rover reviewed

By Dan Tye

From £71,995

Verdict 5 out of 5

“It’s the best 4x4 in the world. The new 2013 model sheds the weight of four adults, can be thrown in and out of corners at speed more confidently and now swim its way through nearly a metre of water.”

Pros

Extremely smooth to drive

Incredible off-road ability

Deployable towbar

Cons

Its ability comes at a cost

 

1. Exterior

You can clearly see the heritage of past models in the 2013 Range Rover, but the exterior on this one makes it the most desirable yet. It retains its superyacht-like lines with the upswept tail but gains detailing pressed into the aluminum bodywork. The rear is styled differently to the previous model and the circular brake lights have now become square. The top of the taillight stacks also creep round the side of the bodywork – as do the headlights – and this is a key design change. The main headlights have a very distinctive daytime running light pattern. Better still, when you look up close, they look like SLR camera lenses.There’s a choice of alloys to pick from too, with ‘Style 5’ being my favourite. Wheels are available in 20”,21” and 22” but if you plan to drive off-road then avoid the 22-inchers as the super low profile tyres on these bad boys will puncture in no time.The split-tailgate has always been a signature design feature on the Rangie, and it’s now in its fourth generation. In 2013 it’s been re-proportioned and is electrically powered, so the best has just got better. To lower and raise the tailgate, there’s a button in the top lip of the lower gate. There’s also a brake light strip hidden up high on the rear of the car, only giving itself away when illuminated.Finally, there’s a redesigned grille, and the side vents on the old model have gone (replaced by funnels under the bonnet which let the engine breathe). You ‘ll see that side vent detailing has been kept in the bodywork on this to nod to their existence on the previous model. We can even choose the colour and finish of these side vents to Atlas or Dark Atlas to make them stand out against the bodywork colour we choose. 

Our rating: 5

 

2. Interior

It is immensely luxurious inside. A mix of leather, wood and metal, surrounds and reassures. While some cars use these materials as token sprinklings of decoration, the Range Rover uses them en-masse as part of the structure. Once you have sat in the command-driving position and felt the smooth-leather of the steering wheel (which can heat up to warm your hands) you know you’re going to be in for a majestic drive.Don’t be surprised when you see the traditional speedo and rev counter have been replaced by a digital screen; you soon get used to it. Look further to the left and there’s an eight-inch touchscreen where we can access all of the Rangie’s settings, camera views of the outside world, and of course, navigate. You can also control the suspension settings and the sound system from the steering wheel.It’s an automatic car, so there’s a single rotary dial in the chromed centre-console with the letters P, N, D, R and S on it. Simply rotate the dial to select the letter you want. Paddle shifts are on the steering wheel if you fancy changing gear manually. The words ‘Range Rover’ indented in the centre-console metal is a really nice touch.Fancy a cool drink while you’re ragging down the country lanes? Well, lift the centre-console lid, then the iPod tray, and there’s a chiller for the four 330ml cans of drink that can fit in there. Press the on/off switch and you hear a gentle stream of cool air rushing in. There’s also a double glovebox with an electric open/close button.Must-tick upgrades are the panoramic glass roof and the Signature Meridian sound system which Land Rover says is the best speaker system in a car in the world. We blasted out some Hans Zimmer and have to agree with them. 

Our rating: 4

 

3. Practicality

You’re going to easily carry four adults in luxurious comfort - and over every type of terrain too. The split tailgate is wonderfully practical but because it’s now electrically powered , it’s even more fun to use. Where the Range Rover really wins in practicality though is the deployable towbar. This, in my eyes, is the unsung feature of the new Rangie but you have to request it as an option. The car recently towed an Airstream caravan all the way to Morrocco to prove its ability for towing. And this is where is smashes its competitors too as this beast can lug 3,500kg along compared to the 450kg that the Porsche Cayenne can have a go at. The deployable tow bar is neatly stowed out of view in the rear bumper. Simply park the car up with the engine off, go to the boot, press the towbar button on the right hand wall and watch the bar as it swings down and rotates out like the undercarriage leg of an airliner. If an obstruction is detected, it automatically stows itself away again. But here’s where it gets really fun. To make reversing up to a trailer easier, there’s a Tow Assist button on the touchscreen, press this and the surround camera system (where fitted) shows yellow guide lines in the screen so you can see where you need to reverse to help you hook up. You can even choose what you’re towing, whether it’s a trailer, a caravan or a horsebox. There’s trailer stability control as standard as well.When it comes to off-roading, this has the same entry and exit angles and breakover heights as the previous model but we can drive this new one through even deeper water, almost a metre in depth (900mm) with the engines drawing air through Queen Mary funnels under the front of the bonnet instead of through the side vents. 

Our rating: 4.5

 

4. Ride and handling

The Rangie has effortless power as soon as you touch the accelerator. Both the V6 and the V8 engines are beautiful to listen to, at any rpm, as I found out when pulling out of the Costowld House Hotel in Chipping Camden on the UK press launch. In actual fact, it felt more like I was setting sail in a superyacht. This floating sensation is thanks to the variable dampers and air suspension. I then drove the Rangie on narrow Cotswold country roads to Daylesford Farm (run by the wife of JCB’s owner) for lunch. It was the week when the UK was dumped in snow but the Rangie made me grin and feel safe even when driving on the most snow-covered and ice-frosted backroads I could find. The version I drove had plenty of poke too. It was a grey 4.4-litre SDV8 Autobiography version registered OV62 VUM – and has 334bhp and 516lbft. It’s an automatic but it crisply changed up through eight gears as I put the power on and off. The steering wheel paddle shifts respond sharply too. After bangers and mash at lunchtime, I swapped into a champagne-coloured 3.0-litre TDV6 Vogue version registered OV62 OBD. The TDV6 version will make up the majority of UK’s sales. In OBD, I zoomed across to Eastnor Castle, home of the Land Rover Experience off-road course. By this time it was dark and time to put the Terrain Response 2 to the test. This now has a new automatic mode, so the car will actually sense what kind of terrain it’s on and then adjust things all by itself. Best of all, if you’re not an off-road legend, it will sense if you’re trying to drive up something too tricky for the automatic mode and tell you that you should actually be pressing the low-range button. Selecting low range is easy. Put her into Neutral, press ‘Extra features’ on the screen, then press ‘4x4i’ and press and hold the low range button which is on the centre console and has a mountain range icon on it. Watch the bonnet and you’ll see it rise up – that’s the air suspension increasing the ride height. I spend the next two hours driving through the snow-encrusted woodland on the hill at Eastnor, in the dark. It was minus five degrees outside but inside my backside and my hands were cosy warm as I drove (correction, as the Rangie’s TerrainResponse2 drove me) through the deepest icy water I’ve ever seen. You’re helped in your off-roading dramatically by seeing an image of what the front wheels are doing in the touchscreen display. There’s no guesswork as to which position your wheels are in anymore.After an hour of climbing, descending and experiencing large lean angles over steep mud ruts and deep puddles, we drove back on the main roads to the Cotswolds House Hotel for dinner. The 3.0-litre version still shifts along beautifully, just as nicely as the 4.4-litre in fact. It’s not a light car but it’s nearly half a ton lighter than the old model because the chassis is completely made out of aluminium. This has had lots of attention in the media, but for me, the real headline is the suspension system, which should and ought to win awards for its engineering brilliance. What’s more, you can now accelerate out of a roundabout and throw the Rangie into the corner of the exit road; you couldn’t do that in the previous model with quite as much confidence. The A-pillars are thin too, and you can position the bonnet exactly where you want it, just like a fighter jet.Back in Chipping Camden, I park up, clamber out and smile satisfied that the Rangie is muddier than when I jumped in, but I was still as dry, warm and clean as I was at the start of the day. Once you've done a day of driving like this, you’re under no illusion that the Rangie’s looks are completely and utterly matched by its off-road ability. Most impressive.

Our rating: 4

 

5. Performance

Three Rangies are on offer. There’s the 3.0-litre TDV6 which can get to 62mph in 7.9 seconds. Next up is the gruntier 4.4-litre SDV8 which is 1.4 seconds faster, doing it in 6.5 seconds. Finally, if you want to get to 62mph in just 5.4 seconds, then you should buy the 5.0-litre V8 Supercharged petrol – it booms out a whopping 503bhp. I want the 4.4-litre V8 though. This version gives great acceleration while maintaining a reasonable economy (we got about 23.7mpg). I wouldn’t dismiss the TDV6 though, as it only feels marginally slower than the SDV8 and it gives much better fuel economy, the best I recorded being an average of 26.7mpg – and that was with me being heavy on the pedal too.On all models, the front brake discs are ventilated and 380mm in diameter (an average family car has discs with a 220mm diameter) so there’s no concerns over the stopping power available either. Off-road – nothing else can compete, so it’s top performance there too. 

Our rating: 5

 

6. Running costs

The fuel cost will be the main concern with the Range Rover. The TDV6 version emits under 200g/km of CO2 which means you won’t have to pay company car tax on it in 2013/2014 – which is great news. The brochure says the TDV6 can achieve 37.7mpg (engine stop-start is standard on this one) but on the press launch, we achieved an average of 26.7mpg with mixed driving. When we cruised at steady speed, we managed a much better 35.4mpg, which is close to the brochure figure. The fuel tank in the TDV6 is 85-litres so a full fill up will cost about £120 (the SDV8 and the V8 Supercharged have 105-litre fuel tanks so that’ll be £147 for a SDV8 fill up and £137 for a petrol V8 Supercharged one).The mpg on the SDV8 was similar to the TDV6, fluctuating from 33mpg to 35mpg, while cruising. But for average roving around, the best you’re going to see is about 23mpg to 25mpg. If you buy the V8 Supercharged, then the petrol-guzzle rate can scare. Official figures put the combined cycle consumption at 20.5mpg, but go heavy on the acceleration and it’ll easily drop down to 10mpg. You don’t need the V8 Supercharged to be pushed back in your seat though, as the performance of both the TDV6 and SDV8 is staggering, so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you don’t buy the biggest and baddest engine. You’re actually sensible to avoid the V8 Supercharged unless you really are that wealthy. The TDV6 costs £71,295. The equivalent turbo-diesel Porsche Cayenne costs £81,781 and the Audi Q7 costs £42,395. Yes the Audi looks nice and is cheaper but it just can’t compete off-road with the Rangie. Meanwhile, the top end V8 Supercharged Rangie will put you into £100K territory, while the SDV8 is priced somewhere between the two depending on what options you add, so expect a dealer to quote you between £80 to £85K.

Our rating: 4

 

7. Cargo area

The boot is square, with straight edges, which make it very easy to load up. What I mean is that there are no awkward shapes or round edges to ruin your Tetris-like-packing attempts. You get 909-litres of space which can grow to a massive 2030-litres when you push the rear seats down. Don’t forget you now have an electric split-tailgate which opens and closes with a button press, and is brilliant for standing on to watch an airshow or to change a baby's’ nappy...or eat from a wicker basket picnic. You can also buy an official cargo barrier, loadspace rails and D loops and a luggage retention kit. Most novel is a golf umbrella holder (for under the parcel shelf). If you’ve bought a Range Rover then chances are you’re an adventurous sort, so there are official Range Rover carriers for skis, snowboards and mountain bikes. The ski/snowboard holder holds four pairs of skis or two snowboards and is lockable. The bicycle carrier fits on the towbar. 

Our rating: 5

 

8. Safety

The Terrain Response2 and hill descent will keep you at safe speeds on every type of terrain you want to rover over. There’s also blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and if you’re towing, there’s trailer stability control to help prevent the trailer from fish tailing. Euro NCAP awarded the Rangie five stars in its crash tests. Worthy of note was its performance in the frontal and side impact tests.

Our rating: 5

 

9. Equipment

There are three trim levels starting with the Vogue, then there’s the Vogue SE and then the Autobiography. The V8 Supercharged comes only in the Autobiography trim.Vogue standard equipment consists of automatic wipers, parking sensors, Terrain Response, Bluetooth, DAB radio, digital TV and sat nav. Vogue SE adds Adaptive Cruise Control, automatic headlights, Terrain Response with the automatic mode, soft door close and electric rear seats.Autobiography adds a heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, 21-inch or 22-inch alloys and a dual view screen.

Our rating: 5

 

10. Why buy?

Because you want to drive the world's most capable car day after day. The more you drive it, get it dirty and use the tailgate, the more you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one. If you’re spending north of 70 grand on this Range Rover then shell out a few hundred quid extra and learn how to drive it off-road. It’s pointless having a car this capable and not knowing how to use it.”

Our rating: 5