SECTOR Large SUV PRICE €82,960-€114,500 FUEL 7.5-13.8l/100km CO2 196-322g/km

Is it possible to be British and not like a Land Rover product? In short, yes – I wouldn’t be first in the queue at my local dealer for an Evoque for instance. And for many years, Land Rover’s larger models – Discovery and Range Rover – have simply been too heavy. Discovery 4 was the first to go on a diet and the new Range Rover has also been shedding the kilograms.

It’s 420kg lighter than the outgoing model launched in 2002 – that’s the weight of a mature horse. Some of this is due to the fact that it is replacing an 11-year old model. A car with shorter model cycles would have shed weight in stages, but the Range Rover has gone straight to an aluminium monocoque, which is 39% lighter than the steel body of the outgoing model. Efficiency is boosted by a revised aerodynamic profile, making it the most aerodynamic Range Rover ever with a drag coefficient starting from 0.34Cd.

Range Rover gets a broader choice of engines too starting with the 3.0-litre 258hp TDV6 diesel. This supplements the 4.4-litre 339hp V8 diesel and a pair of petrol V8s, both 5.0-litres – a 375hp naturally aspirated and 510hp supercharged version. Later this year will see the launch of a diesel hybrid model. All engines drive through an 8-speed automatic transmission and two-speed transfer box to all four wheels.

Land Rover’s Terrain Response system has been through an upgrade for the new model too. There’s no need to select the surface as in the previous model. Terrain Response 2 will sense what is needed from the array of on-board sensors and the choice of high or low ratio in the transfer box.

Land Rover claims a 22% reduction in fuel consumption with 7.5l/100km and CO2 emissions of 196g/km for the TDV6. The diesel hybrid has a CO2 target of 169g/km.

The latest Range Rover is every bit as capable as its predecessor, yet its credentials as a luxury road car have also been improved with adaptive dynamics to improve the ride quality and over 118mm more rear legroom and rear two-seat executive class option for those who prefer to be driven.

Our drive coincided with an English snowfall and the gritted and cleared roads were nothing of a challenge for the “basic” Vogue TDV6. We also had a long drive session off road at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, UK, where Land Rover carries out some of its off-road development work. This involved driving on snow and ice, through water and on some of the slipperiest surfaces I have ever driven off-road in an Autobiography supercharged V8.

Such conditions are a challenge for any vehicle. But the Range Rover dealt with the conditions without drama. Descending a slippery, snow-covered grass slope was the most challenging moment, where speed control was crucial, but managed easily by the Hill Descent control braking individual wheels to ensure that the car stayed pointing in the right direction. It may be armchair off-roading in every sense, but it shows just how far technology has progressed in the 42 years since the first Range Rover made its appearance.

To demonstrate the rear seat space, I was driven back to our start point in the same car that we had used to negotiate the off-road course.

Verdict

The new Range Rover is a seriously impressive car, both on and off-road. If you have the budget, there is nothing else like it.