LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER SPORT ESTATE SPECIAL EDITIONS 4.4 P635 V8 SV Celestial Edition 5dr Auto

The third generation Range Rover Sport takes a best step forward in luxury and technology. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Review

The Range Rover Sport. The best of all worlds? You might think that Land Rover's flagship Range Rover model would be just about perfect if it was slightly more dynamically styled and slightly sharper to drive. That's just what the third generation Range Rover Sport aims to offer. It now feels like a six-figure SUV inside and out and there's nothing quite like it.

Background

Here's a car that claims to be able to do.... well, almost everything. It'll cruise on the autobahn at 130mph, ford rivers in the Serengeti, take a family on holiday and slip you down to the shops. It can be affordable to run, rewarding to drive and looks dynamic and stylish. There has to be a catch - doesn't there? Time to check out the third generation Range Rover Sport. Ah yes, the Range Rover Sport. A car that in its first generation guise was neither a 'Range Rover' or 'sporty'. In fact, it was based almost entirely on the brand's sensible Discovery model and, thanks to that car's practical ladder frame chassis, as about as dynamic to drive. Still, the smarter set of clothes did the trick and for most of its life between 2005 and 2012, the MK1 'Sport' was one of Solihull's best sellers. The second generation model, launched in 2013 and updated in 2017, satisfied them far more credibly, based this time on the underpinnings of the fourth generation Range Rover. This MK4 design, which arrived in 2022, also shares a Range Rover chassis and powertrain, which means it's very advanced indeed.

Driving Experience

Even with the standard passive engineering spec we tried, there's lots to admire about the way this car tackles the turns. Land Rover reckons the body structure is 35% stiffer than before, offering what the brand claims is 'sportscar levels of stiffness'. Air suspension, a dual chamber system, is now standard and has been designed both to limit cornering body roll and pitch under acceleration. The result is certainly a very different experience from driving an ordinary Range Rover, as you oversee things from the more focused 'Command Driving position'. The news on engines (still all mated to 8-speed ZF auto transmission) isn't that much different to what it was before. A diesel still suits the car best and a vastly powerful petrol V8 is still a bit over-the-top. What has changed a bit is the Plug-in Hybrid offering, which was well worth avoiding with the previous generation car but which now offers a more sensible alternative to DERV - and perhaps also to the full-EV version, which hadn't yet been launched at the time of this test. That's mainly because the PHEV engine now has six rather than four cylinders and there's a vastly larger 38.2kWh battery. To give you some perspective, that's bigger than the battery fitted in some small full-EVs (!) and of course it enormously improves this car's EV range (quoted at 72.1 miles - think 50 in the real world). As usual with Land Rovers, the model names designate horsepower. The main 3.0-litre PHEV unit (which we tried and liked last month in a Range Rover) is badged 'P460e' and makes 62mph in 5.5s en route to 140mph. With plush spec, there's also a fractionally faster P550e version of the same unit. We mentioned diesel; well that's what we tried in the fastest of the various mild hybrid flavours in which the usual 3.0-litre six cylinder unit is now being offered. You can theoretically have a base D250 version, but most choose the mid-range D300, which significantly improves the 62mph sprint to 6.1s en route to 135mph. The top D350 variant enhances those figures further to 5.5s and 145mph, but you're probably more likely to want to choose it because of its artificially enhanced but rather pleasingly snarly engine note. Is there really any need to go faster than that in a Range Rover Sport? The few who think so are offered the stupidly expensive 'SV Edition Two' flagship performance model. Unlike the old SV 'Sport' (which had the classic old 5.0-litre supercharged JLR unit), this one uses a 4.4-litre petrol V8 borrowed from BMW and putting out 635hp. Rest to 62mph requires 3.7s en route to 180mph; why would you? Answers on a postcard please. Whatever your powertrain of choice, highway cruising is effortless, spoiled only by a bit of undue wind noise from the boxy body. Ride quality's probably about 90% as good as a Range Rover, which means it's very good indeed. As before, the Range Rover Sport is unrivalled off road, with intelligently variable all-wheel drive and 'Terrain Response' with six settings. The air springs can offer a 135mm ride height increase, water up to 900mm deep can be forded and 45-degree gradients attempted.

Design and Build

You'd instantly identify this as a Range Rover Sport, though on closer inspection, this third generation model is a good deal more sophisticated to look at. It's now a fraction under five-metres long, with a silhouette featuring three defining lines. There's the roof, which slopes downwards into a bigger rear spoiler; a more angled waistline with flush fitting for the door handles and glass; and a lower line that sweeps upwards. Up-front, the grille is slimmer and the LED headlamps are the narrowest ever fitted to a Land Rover model. Out back, it's particularly striking, with a visor-like screen and tail lamps with smart red OLED embedded strips. Inside, there's a more focused and immersive cockpit design than you'd get in a full-fat Range Rover, though all the technology is much the same. You sit 20mm lower and the steering wheel is smaller. A high centre console flows into a curved 13.1-inch central infotainment touchscreen, complemented by a 13.7-inch digital instrument binnacle. There are some lovely touches too, like the way that the speakers for the Meridian sound system can be covered with textiles. More space for leg room has been freed up in the back thanks to a 75mm-longer wheelbase. And the cargo bay has risen in size to 647-litres (dry-rated) - 55-litres more than before. This time round, there's no seven-seat option. And unlike the Range Rover, there's no long wheelbase version either.

Market and Model

At the time of our test in Autumn 2024, Range Rover Sport pricing was starting from around £75,000, which gets you base 'S' trim, but you're probably not going to want that because it restricts you to the base D250 diesel engine. Most Range Rover Sport customers budget at around the £85,000 price point, for either 'SE' or 'Dynamic SE' trim, where the choice is between either the uprated D300 diesel or (for around £6,000 more) the P460e petrol Plug-in Hybrid. If you can stretch to nearly £100,000 for the plush 'Autobiography'-spec we tried, your engine choice further widens to also include an extra PHEV option, the rare P550e, or an alternative faster diesel, the D350 (which is what we tried, priced at the time of our test at just under £103,000). Think also in terms of needing a six-figure sum if you want the full-EV version, which hadn't yet been launched at the time of this review. The only other choice is the fearsomely expensive (to buy and run) 'SV Edition Two' flagship performance model, which uses a 4.4-litre petrol V8 putting out 635hp and, as we compiled this test, cost around £172,000. Even base 'SE'-spec gets you quite a lot; 20-inch wheels, LED headlights, a fixed glass panoramic roof, a heated windscreen and a year's subscription to a 'Secure Tracker Pro' system. Plus, like all Range Rover Sports, you get key engineering features like Dynamic air suspension and the best off road system in the business, 'Terrain Response 2'. Inside with 'SE'-spec, there's grained leather upholstery with 12-way powered front and rear adjustment, plus a heated steering wheel, a power-adjustable steering column, a 3D Surround Camera and a Meridian sound system.

Cost of Ownership

The Range Rover Sport has come a long way since the days of the heavy, thirsty old first generation model. The second generation design adopted an all-aluminium body structure which cut kerb weight by a whopping 39%. And this MK3 model took another step forward with its MHEV mild hybrid diesel tech and improved PHEV Plug-in powerplants. As we compiled this review, there was also the promise of more to come, with a full-EV version being readied for imminent launch. All of these headlines rather mask the fact that the versions most customers will actually choose still lag a little behind less capable rivals when it comes to matters of efficiency. The base D250 MHEV diesel manages 39.4mpg on the combined cycle and 188g/km of CO2. For the D300 MHEV, it's 38.8mpg on the combined cycle and 191g/km of CO2. For this D350 MHEV, it's 38.1mpg and 194g/km. You'll need deep pockets of course to run the top 'SV Edition Two' 4.4-litre V8 petrol model, which only manages 23.6mpg and 272g/km. Your diesel alternative is the P460e, which returns the usual unrealistic fantasy-land three-figure fuel return common to all PHEVs (in this case 382.4mpg) and a tax-beating 17g/km of CO2 (putting the car in the 5% BiK bracket), while the 38.2kWh battery is supposed to manage up to 73.3miles of EV range. It's 362.2mpg, 18g/km and 71.5 miles for the faster P550e. Take those mileage figures with a pinch of salt by the way, as Land Rover admits via a caveat on their website stating that in real-world driving, you should expect up to 54 miles of range. What about PHEV battery replenishment? Well rapid charging capability of up to 50kW is now included, which means an 80% charge will occupy under an hour. Use a home wallbox and a full charge will take around five hours. It'd be a yawning 15 hours from a domestic plug. On the move in a 'Sport' PHEV, there's a choice of full-electric mode, plus a default Hybrid setting and a 'Save' option, which defers electric charge for when you might need it later in your trip.

Summary

With the fully fledged Range Rover being these days very much a plutocratic purchase, it's this 'Sport' model that for us, now most faithfully continues a model line stretching all the way back to the 1970 original. That very first Range Rover was a car you didn't have to be afraid to use as intended, on or off road. And nor is this one, usefully improved in this more sophisticated third generation form. It looks and feels a more luxurious, expensive product this time round, but it's still one that wouldn't mind getting its wheels dirty, should you ever have the opportunity to exploit quite astounding reserves of off road prowess. Previous generation Range Rover Sports had to pay for that with stodgy on-road handling, but this one has improved greatly in this regard, providing you tick the right expensive options boxes. It's taken Land Rover a long time to get this model exactly right; but try it for yourself and you may well feel that it's been worth the wait.

Body Glass

Electric windows with one touch open/close and anti trap

Heated rear window

Heated washer jets

Heated windscreen

Privacy glass

Rain sensing windscreen wipers

Rear wash/wipe

Remote window closing

Winter wiper park position

Brakes

Brake pre-fill technology

Cornering brake control (CBC)

DSC - Dynamic Stability Control

EBD - Electronic brakeforce distribution

Electric parking brake

Electronic traction control

Emergency braking

Hill descent control

Hill launch assist

Low traction launch

Chassis/Suspension

6D Dynamics

Adaptive dynamics

Adaptive off-road cruise control

Automatic access height

Communication

Android Auto

Apple car play

Remote

Wireless device charging

Driver Aids

Powered gesture tailgate/boot lid

Push button start

Driver Convenience

3D 360 degree surround camera with wade sensing

Adaptive cruise control with steering assist

All wheel steering

Blind spot assist

Configurable programs

Driver condition response

Eco mode

Electric power assisted steering (EPAS)

Front and rear parking aid

Lane departure warning system

Lane keep assist

Park assist

Rear collision monitor

Rear traffic monitor

Traffic sign recognition with adaptive speed limiter

Driver Information

13.1" Touchscreen

Head up Display

Interactive Driver display instrument cluster

Trip computer

Driving Mirrors

ClearSight interior rear view mirror

Electric heated/power fold memory door mirrors with approach lights and auto dimming driver side

Side repeater indicators in mirror

Entertainment

DAB Radio (Digital Audio Broadcasting)

Incontrol protect - SOS emergency call with automatic collision detection, optimised assistance call and Incontrol remote app essential

Meridian Signature Sound system

Pivi pro connected

USB/aux input socket

Exterior Body Features

Illuminated metal treadplates with SV script

Integrated twin tailpipes

Metal load space scuff plates

Rear side wing doors

Standard roof

SV exterior badge

Exterior Lights

Adaptive brake lights

Automatic headlight levelling

Automatic headlights

Digital LED headlights with signature DRL and image projection

Follow me home lighting

Headlight power wash

LED 3rd brake light

LED tail lights

Rear animated directional indicators

Rear fog lights

Heating/Cooling/Ventilation

Air quality sensor

Automatic air recirculation system

Pollen filter

Two zone climate control

Interior Features

Bright metal foot pedals

Centre console with armrest

Customer configurable single point entry

Easy boot loading

Edge illuminated paddle shifters

Electric adjustable steering column

Front and rear cupholders

Front door storage space

Front stowage pocket

Front/rear passenger grab handles

Full non-leather upgrade

Gearshift paddles

Heated steering wheel

Loadspace cover

Loadspace Hook

Loadspace mounting provisions

Lockable glovebox

Luggage tie-downs in loadspace

Multifunction steering wheel

Perforated Ultrafabrics upholstery

Rear centre armrest

Soft close doors

SV bespoke ebony suedecloth headlining

Three 12V accessory power outlets

Upper secondary glovebox

Interior Lights

Configurable cabin lighting

Front map lights

Loadspace light

Packs

Online pack with data plan - Range Rover Sport

SV Forged Carbon Fibre Exterior pack - Range Rover Sport

Safety

3 point seatbelts on all seats

Configurable autolock

Front seatbelt pretensioners

Front side airbags

Height adjustable front seatbelts

Illuminated seat belt buckles

Occupant protection assist

Passenger seat occupant detector with front airbags

Power operated child locks

Seatbelt warning

TPMS (Tyre pressure monitoring system)

Seats

16 way electric heated and cooled performance front seats with massage and heated and ventilated power recline rear seats

3 seat bench in 2nd row

60:40 seats with power recline and loadthrough

Body and soul seat

Front and rear head restraints

Front seat back map pockets

Isofix child seat preparation

Rear ISOFIX

Single front passenger seat

SV Forged carbon fibre seatback

Security

Immobiliser

Intrusion sensor

Keyless entry

Locking wheel nuts

Perimetric and volumetric anti theft alarm

Remote locking

Towing

Trailer stability assist

Transmission

8 speed automatic transmission

All wheel drive system

Electronic active differential with brake torque vectoring

SV single speed transfer box (high range only)

Vanity Mirrors

Sunvisors with illuminated vanity mirrors

Wheels - Spare

Tyre repair system

Emissions - ICE

HC+NOx: N

Particles: N

Standard Emissions: EURO 6

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb: 272

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb - TEH: 283

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb - TEL: 272

Engine and Drive Train

Camshaft: DOHC

Catalytic Convertor: No

CC: 4395

Compression Ratio: 10.5:1

Cylinder Layout: V8

Cylinders: 8

Cylinders - Bore (mm): 89

Cylinders - Stroke (mm): 88.3

Engine Layout: NORTH SOUTH

Fuel Delivery: TURBO DIRECT INJECTION

Gears: 8 SPEED

Number of Valves: 32

Transmission: SEMI-AUTO

Fuel Consumption - ICE

EC Directive 1999/100/EC Applies: 0

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb: 12

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb - TEH: 12.5

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb - TEL: 11.8

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Extra High - TEH: 11.5

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Extra High - TEL: 10.8

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - High - TEH: 10.4

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - High - TEL: 9.8

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Low - TEH: 20.3

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Low - TEL: 19.7

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Medium - TEH: 12.2

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Medium - TEL: 11.5

WLTP - MPG - Comb: 23.6

WLTP - MPG - Comb - TEH: 22.6

WLTP - MPG - Comb - TEL: 23.9

WLTP - MPG - Extra High - TEH: 24.5

WLTP - MPG - Extra High - TEL: 26.1

WLTP - MPG - High - TEH: 27.2

WLTP - MPG - High - TEL: 28.9

WLTP - MPG - Low - TEH: 13.9

WLTP - MPG - Low - TEL: 14.3

WLTP - MPG - Medium - TEH: 23.2

WLTP - MPG - Medium - TEL: 24.6

General

Alternative Fuel Qualifying: 0

Badge Engine CC: 4.4

Badge Power: 635

Based On ID: 100120

Coin Description: P635 V8

Coin Series: SV Celestial Edition

Did at least one aspect of this vehicle's safety give cause for concern?: 0

Generation Mark: 3

Insurance Group 1 - 50 Effective January 07: 50E

Manufacturers Corrosion Perforation Guarantee - Years: 6

Manufacturers Paintwork Guarantee - Years: 3

Service Interval Frequency - Months: 24

Service Interval Mileage: 21000

Special Edition: No

Special Order: 0

Standard manufacturers warranty - Mileage: 999999

Standard manufacturers warranty - Years: 3

Timing Belt Interval Frequency - Months: N

Timing Belt Interval Mileage: N

Vehicle Homologation Class: M1

Performance

0 to 60 mph (secs): No

0 to 62 mph (secs): 3.7

Engine Power - BHP: 635

Engine Power - KW: 467

Engine Power - PS: No

Engine Power - RPM: 6000

Engine Torque - LBS.FT: 553

Engine Torque - MKG: 76.5

Engine Torque - NM: 750

Engine Torque - RPM: 1800

Top Speed: 180

Test Cycles

Emissions Test Cycle: WLTP

RDE Certification Level: RDE 2

Tyres

Alloys?: No

Tyre Size Front: 285/40 R23

Tyre Size Rear: 285/40 R23

Tyre Size Spare: TYRE REPAIR KIT

Wheel Style: Style 1084

Wheel Type: 23" ALLOY

Vehicle Dimensions

Height: 1814

Height (including roof rails): N

Length: 4970

Wheelbase: 2998

Width: 2025

Width (including mirrors): 2209

Weight and Capacities

Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres): 90

Gross Vehicle Weight: 3250

Luggage Capacity (Seats Up): 647

Max. Loading Weight: 765

Max. Roof Load: 100

Max. Towing Weight - Braked: 3500

Max. Towing Weight - Unbraked: 750

Minimum Kerbweight: 2485

No. of Seats: 5

Turning Circle - Kerb to Kerb: 10.94

Packs

SV Gaea Curation Pack with PU Upholstery - Range Rover Sport

SV Gaea Curation Pack with Windsor Leather Upholstery - Range Rover Sport

SV Io Curation Pack - Range Rover Sport with Fabric/Leather upholstery in lunar - Range Rover Sport

SV Io Curation Pack - Range Rover Sport with Fabric/Leather upholstery in Rosewood - Range Rover Sport

SV Sol Curation Pack with Leather Upholstery - Range Rover Sport

SV Sol Curation Pack with PU Upholstery - Range Rover Sport

SV Theia Curation Pack with Windsor Leather Upholstery in ecru - Range Rover Sport

SV Theia Curation Pack with Windsor Leather Upholstery in pimento - Range Rover Sport

SV Vega Curation Pack with Leather Upholstery - Range Rover Sport

SV Vega Curation Pack with PU Upholstery - Range Rover Sport

Paint - Metallic

Metallic - Gloss aurora yellow

Metallic - Gloss cyllene

Metallic - Gloss verrier blue

Metallic - Ilmenite satin

Paint - Special

Matte - Terre

Trim - Leather

Leather - Ebony/Perlino

PU - Ebony with additional seat insert quilting nano yellow contrast stitch

PU - Ebony/cinder grey with additional seat insert quilting stitch

PU - Raven Blue/Ebony

Windsor leather - Caraway with additional seat insert quilting stitch

Windsor leather - Ebony/Ecru

Windsor leather - Ebony/Pimento

Windsor leather - Navy with additional seat insert quilting and light cloud contrast stitch

Trim - Part Leather

Leather/3D knit fabric - Ebony/Lunar

Leather/3D knit fabric - Ebony/Rosewood

Wheels - Alloy

23" Forged carbon alloy wheels