Land Rover Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE 5dr Pre-Model Car Review - February 2012

You get the choice of two engines; one petrol and one diesel. This TDV8 model gives 313 bhp and a torque figure of 516 lf-ft. This is by far the most popular engine getting the Rangey from 0-62 mph in 7.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 130 mph through an 8 speed automatic gearbox.

Its sheer size and a high centre of gravity mean handling is sometimes a problem for this car, especially when taking bends. Tighter corners in particular need to be taken at speeds below the limit and the car is most at home on long straights.

Steering is light and has the vague and sometimes lifeless characteristics that can be seen in pretty much all other off-road cars. The Range Rover excels in road grip however and manages to navigate difficult conditions, such as heavy snow, with ease. A rotary dial by the gear stick allows the driver to choose a road type or condition such as tarmac, snow and ice, mud ruts or sand and rock crawl and sets the vehicle to handle this terrain accordingly.

With the classic tall and boxy stance, the shape of the Range Rover has barely changed since the original model was released in 1970. Yet the traditional look is far from dated and the Range Rover manages to retain a timeless elegance when compared to other models. This new model benefits from a genuine luxury feel provided through the addition of gloss black trim around the head and tail lights and a choice of alloy wheels. A new popular design feature is the addition of colour-coded vents behind the front wheels there is a range of styling packs on offer with the car.

When it comes to the interior, the Range Rover offers one of the best on the market. The centre console has lots of buttons and features but feels intuitive and easy to use. The audio, navigation and Bluetooth connection are all controlled from the 7-inch touch screen which is a standard feature in the Range Rover. The screen also displays views for the rear park camera and the speedo and fuel gauge have been replaced by a 12-inch TFT screen which is very easy to read.

Kit wise you also get: hill descent control, adjustable air suspension, multi-function steering wheel, trip computer, climate control, rear view camera, 6-CD changer, 11 speakers, telephone integration with Bluetooth, automatic headlights and wipers, front and rear park sensors, heated windscreen, power/fold mirrors and bright bi-xenon headlamps.

Inside the car there is lots of space for occupants in both the front and rear. The car is quite tall, so getting into low level car parks may be tricky but the suspension can be lowered to help with this problem. The boot has a capacity of 994 litres with the seats up and a huge 2099 litres with the rear seats down and is accessed by a split tailgate, the lower part of which can double as a seat.

Despite being a car that is built to tackle any mountain or stream, the extreme use of the vehicle is somewhat limited and previous models have been subject to reliability issues. However, as the majority of drivers are unlikely to use the car for this purpose it should not act as a major deterrent to the average motorist and improvements to the model range mean problems should be few and far between.

In terms of overall safety, the Range Rover scored four stars in the NCAP crash test. 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.

Cars of the Range Rover’s size and ability are never cheap and with a price tag of £76,635 it is definitely an expensive purchase. With high emissions of 253g/km, road tax will be expensive (falling into band L) and running costs will be high as the Rangey will only return 30.1 mpg. Insurance premiums will also be high with the vehicle falling into insurance bracket 50.