You buy a Range Rover because your typical luxury saloon just isn’t sufficient. You still want all the features that these luxury cars offer, but with the added knowledge that you can go anywhere, to do anything.

Of course, this recipe combines traits that aren’t necessarily optimal for any kind of handling prowess. But what did you expect? A high-riding vehicle stuffed to the gills with luxurious trimmings will never be an ultra-capable B-road carver.

In all fairness, JLR’s attempt has been extremely impressive.

The Unforgotten Middle Child

There are four distinct Range Rover models on sale in Singapore today. At the low end (if you can even call it that), you have the Evoque and the Velar. The undisputed top dog of the line-up is the Range Rover. You order yours with either a 523 bhp 4.4 litre V8, or a 434 bhp 3.0 litre plug-in hybrid Inline-6 powertrain.

The Sport sits in between the former pair and the Range Rover. And whilst they may all look very similar, delving into the spec sheets will reveal very little overlap between each of the four models. The starkest of contrast though, is with the Sport, as it appeals to a very different target audience than the other cars.

It is the sportiest-looking car in its family. A front lip has sprouted out of the otherwise familiar-looking front fascia. Round the back, a pair of large exhaust tip finishers complement the faux-diffuser. Other design touches also hint at its sporty pedigree, such as its slim tail lights and bronze contrast trim pieces. 

The idea of a sporty SUV may seem oxymoronic, but this isn’t the British marque’s first go at building the ‘Sport’. It is now in its third generation, and it is clear that the JLR designers have mastered the art of adding sporty flair to an off-roader. This latest iteration is by far the most refined and well-executed version of the Range Rover Sport.

Luxurious Cabin

Everything that you’d expect to find on the inside of a luxury saloon is present in a Range Rover Sport. Material quality is top notch, and you’d not be able to find a single exposed plastic panel anywhere in the cabin. The switchgear in the cabin isn’t luxurious in the traditional sense – the engineers traded the usual tactility for proper damping and weight.

As part of the First Edition package that our test car has been fitted with, several interior panels were finished in matt forged carbon. There’s even an etching of the ‘First Edition’ emblem onto the centre cup holder cover.

The car comes kitted out with ventilated front seats with massage functionality. Toggle the level of ventilation via the same knobs that you’d use for your air-conditioning. The massage function can be controlled through the car’s 13.1-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen. It also comes with all of the modern connectivity options (Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), and plays all of your tunes through its 34 speaker Meridian Signature Sound system.

Being a Range Rover, space is excellent all round. At no point did any passenger complain about a lack of head or knee room, and the cabin is then further kept airy with its full-length moonroof. All the seats offer excellent overall support, and fatigue was never an issue even if you find yourself having to drive from West to East during a rainy rush hour.

Brilliant On-Road Manners

You’d find all of the technological gubbins Land Rover is renowned for fitted to the Sport. When driven calmly, this feels no different to a Range Rover. Except for the noticeably louder exhaust that is.

On longer, open-roads though, the difference is very clear. Unlike a Range Rover or even a Land Rover Defender, the Sport doesn’t just garner speed. It takes off faster and harder than even some hot hatches. And yet despite its ride height and heft, it never once felt like the car was unwieldy.

Sure, toss it into a corner and the stability control will respond in kind. It’d cut power and grab any combination of brakes to sort out one’s buffoonery. Drive it under that limit though, and you’d find yourself actually enjoying just how athletic this 2.4 ton SUV actually is.

Body roll is detectable, though overall weight management has been done very well. Steering feedback is obviously geared towards comfort even in its sportiest setting, so don’t expect sports car levels of response. Though that is likely to be a non-issue – you’d not be cross shopping this with a similarly priced sports car to begin with!

Practical, Capable and Properly Fast

The Sport adds an additional depth to the overall Range Rover experience. It combines all of what we know and love about the British marque, with a sense of sportiness that it really shouldn’t have been blessed with.

And yet somehow the Brits have managed to create a vehicle that doesn’t feel all that out of place on a twisty road. One with an amazing sounding exhaust note, but still comes with all the space and practicality that you’d expect from a large, luxury SUV.

However, you’d be paying a significant chunk of change for all of its capabilities. Still, there aren’t very many SUVs that are as capable as it is. If you are in the market for such a vehicle, the Range Rover Sport is actually, all things considered, really rather good value. Well, relatively speaking anyways.

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