The end of a glorious 20 000 km with Range Rover’s Sport V8 SC is now fast approaching. As a result, I’m in a bit of a bind.
You see, a few years ago you’d have struggled to convince me of this type of vehicle’s merits. But now I’m not sure how I will cope without it. I’ve learnt (the hard way) that needs and desires are a potent mixture especially when they’re two very different people’s needs and desires mixed in the pot that is family motoring…
My wife is extremely hard to please when it comes to cars. And it has nothing to do with status, looks, handling or performance. It is all about comfort and practicality, mixed with some bizarre quirks (cabin smell, trim colour and cabin “pressure”). Last-mentioned is undoubtedly a trait inherited from her mother, a woman who couldn’t stand my previous long-term Honda Accord as it gave her “unbearable headaches”.
Quite frankly, I thought my wife would hate the Range Rover Sport, as it is so flashy and so fast, two characteristics she finds “counter practical”. And yet, I was astounded the other day when she was trying to come up with possible reasons for holding on to it!
Her reasons are simple – the Rangey fits our current lifestyle perfectly. She likes us being able to throw a tent in the back, attach some bicycles to the rear bumper and drive up a mountain. I, on the other hand, like the fact that I’ve got one of my favourite engines (the supercharged 5,0-litre V8 that also does duty in the Jaguar XFR) under foot and a frankly unfathomable ride/handling balance that I can exploit when they’re not in the car. She and the little one can sit/sleep in the back or watch movies, while I can plug in the iPod in front. I’ve never had a long-term car that has made the entire household happy. Domestic bliss – and I think most people will back me up on this – is not an easily achievable state, especially so when the car is in the process of being packed for some questionable holiday destination. For the past year, however, it has simply not been an issue, and that alone makes this vehicle’s R1-million pricetag seem quite reasonable.
This Range Rover has been the first Land Rover product to go through CAR magazine’s long-term test routine for some time. We were very keen to find out whether the improvements in reliability and service claimed by the company were true. In our case, they certainly were. There have been no major surprises – in fact, the only thing that has gone wrong was the infotainment system “freezing” on two occasions. But you only need to switch the car off to reset the system, and then it was fine. Otherwise… smooth sailing.
Of course, the vehicle’s fuel thirst is alarming (though improving), but then again I guess if you can afford to spend R1 million on a vehicle such as this, fuel costs are not of concern. That said, these days I often find the average consumption indicator hovering around the 14,5 litres/100 km mark, which is good considering that it is mostly used in town.
I made an error in a recent update published in the May issue of the magazine, stating that the vehicle does not have standard Bluetooth. It does. So the only other two features that I think should be standard are heated/ventilated seats and a powered tailgate.
Considering the number of these vehicles on our roads (many, surprisingly), I have been surprised by the lack of feedback thus far. If you own one of these, I’d like to hear from you.
PS. Comrade Julius, you are excused. I understand you are currently a bit busy.
