Range Rover review

Over the past 50 years, the Land Rover Range Rover has come a long way from the original two-door model that first claimed to be adding a dose of luxury to the SUV market. After all, that was designed so you could clean the interior with a hosepipe – which is not something we’d recommend doing with this version.

The debate rumbles on as to whether the Range Rover really was the first luxury SUV but it certainly took a while for any European brand to create something that could rival Britain’s finest.

Read on through this comprehensive fifth-generation Land Rover Range Rover review, which covers everything from how it drives to how spacious it is inside. We’ll also point out the best engine and trim to go for, and compare it with rivals, including the Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga, BMW X7 and Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

We also have a first drive review of the new sixth-generation 2022 Range Rover here

After that, if you’re tempted to put one on your sweeping gravel drive you could save a small fortune on a Range Rover or any new car, all without any need to haggle, simply by using our New Car Buying service, where you'll find great prices on new Land Rovers.

The P400 petrol is also a 3.0-litre straight-six mild hybrid and has 395bhp. It doesn’t feel as effortless at low revs as the diesels, but when you stretch its legs it is pleasingly brisk and cracks off 0-62mph in 5.9sec. Mild hybrid means the Range Rover cannot run on electricity alone; for electric-only driving you'll need the P400e plug-in hybrid. Again, it's not as grunty low down in the rev range as the diesels and it's the only engine that tows less than 3500kg (it'll still manage 2500kg, though), but it's ultimately just as nippy as the P400 with its 2.0-litre petrol engine and electric motor combined. In electric-only mode it's less accelerative but still gets to 70mph and can officially travel up to 25 miles on a single charge – expect just under 20 miles in the real world.

At the top of the pile sit a couple of decadent 5.0-litre supercharged V8s with over 500bhp, badged P525 and P565. Both can do 0-62mph in as little as 5.4sec, so they're blooming rapid; but, like all versions of the Range Rover, equivalent versions of the BMW X7, Audi Q7 and Bentley Bentayga are even faster still.

One note: the extra weight of the battery in the plug-in hybrid P400e calls for a fractionally firmer setup. As a result, the ride isn't as forgiving as it is in other Range Rovers, but it's still not jarring.

The Range Rover is a big car but its handling is fine if you drive it sensibly. Try to take liberties, though, pushing it like a nimbler Audi Q7 or Porsche Cayenne through corners and, just like the similarly tall X7, it succumbs to the laws of physics, pitching and leaning considerably. Grip levels are decent, though, and while the steering is geared to feel quite slow by modern standards, its weighting and accuracy are beautifully judged, so you always feel confident when placing this enormous car on the road. 

Terrain Response is standard and sets up the four-wheel drive system to work at its optimum every type of surface. The standard air suspension also allows you to raise the ride height substantially to climb over obstacles, but you can also decrease the Range Rover's height to get you in a car park with a low roof, or simply to make stepping in and out the car easier. 

Refinement is one of the Range Rover’s strong suits. It’s particularly impressive when cruising at high speeds, doing an excellent job of isolating you from wind and road noise thanks, in part, to its acoustically laminated windscreen. Is it the quietest luxury express? Not quite. It doesn't a match the ultimate serenity you're treated to in the X7 or Roll-Royce Cullinan, or the Mercedes S-Class for that matter, but they're exceptional.