Land Rover Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autobiography 5dr Car Review - February 2012

This V8 model produces 510 bhp and torque figures of 461 lb-ft. The vehicle gets from 0-62 mph in 6.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 140 mph, and comes with an 8 speed automatic gearbox.

The car's size and a high centre of gravity means that bends often need to be taken carefully, however the car excels on straight roads. A rotary dial by the gear stick gives a choice of off-road modes such as ice, snow, gravel and rock crawl, allowing the driver to set the car up for purpose with ease.

This new model is genuinely luxurious, with gloss black trim around the head and tail lights and large alloy wheels.

Range Rover offers one of the best interiors on the market. The 'country bumpkin' feel of Range Rovers of old is gone, replaced with a leather and wood interior that is stylish and classy.

The audio, navigation and Bluetooth telephone are all controlled from the 7-inch touch screen which is fitted as a standard feature. The screen also displays views for the rear parking camera. The traditional speedometer and petrol gauges have also been replaced by a 12-inch TFT screen which is much more impressive, and easier to read.

The Range Rover comes loaded with kit including hill descent control, adjustable air suspension, multi-function steering wheel, 7-inch touch screen, trip computer, climate control, rear view camera, six-CD changer, 11 speakers, telephone integration with Bluetooth connectivity, automatic headlights and wipers, front and rear parking sensors, heated windscreen, power/fold mirrors and bright bi-xenon headlamps. This top spec model also comes with full leather upholstery for a more luxurious and elegant feel.

With the seats up the boot has an ample 994 litre capacity which expands to an impressive 2099 litres when the rear seats are folded. The boot is accessed by a split tailgate, the lower part of which is very useful as a place to sit.

The Range Rover has impressive off-road credentials but Land Rover certainly does not have an unblemished reputation when it comes to reliability. Having said this, Land Rover is improving its cars all the time and the high quality fit and finish of the car indicates that serious reliability problems may be a thing of the past.

The Range Rover scored four stars in the NCAP crash test and standard safety kit includes: all-terrain anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and brake assist; stability control with trailer compensation, driver, passenger front side and head airbags and additional airbags for the driver’s knee and rear passengers’ heads.

With a price tag of £86,345 it is expensive to buy and certainly more expensive than the Range Rover TDV8 which comes in at just £76,635. Despite the pricing, there is little difference between the models in terms of features.

Emissions are 348g/km so road tax will be expensive and 19 mpg fuel economy will mean expensive petrol bills.

However, the car's premium image and unrivalled quality will make the price totally justifiable in some buyers' eyes.