DRIVEN Five-starrating for fabulous new Range Rover
@stevefowler
IN over 50 years of the Range Rover, this new model is only the fifth iteration of the iconic 4x4. To put that into context, in roughly the same period of time, there have been 11 versions of the Honda Civic, while plenty of other legendary models – including many other 4x4s – have been and gone.
The original Range Rover was conceived as the ultimate lifestyle SUV; luxury came later. This new car is tasked with reinventing the genre yet again, with luxury, tech and design to the fore. And this is our first opportunity to get behind the wheel and give our verdict.
Look at the newcomer, from the front at least, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a design evolution. But stand it against the – still highly rated – old car and suddenly its predecessor looks dated and a bit fussy.
The new car’s beauty is in the detail, which is all about simplicity. There are fewer welds around the roof, for example, giving a cleaner look above the flush-fitting side glazing. Land Rover’s engineers must have rolled their eyes when the design team suggested it – but those very same engineers
