Goodbye
A diesel SUV may sound like an anachronism, but in reality our time with the Mk5 Range Rover has been a glorious seven months.
Range Rover D350 HSE Month 7
Farewell luxury 4x4, you remain the benchmark
+ Sublime to drive and passenger in
-The planet cannot tolerate 207g/km of CO2
Price £113,120 (£128,180 as tested) Performance 2997cc turbodiesel six-cylinder, 345bhp, 516lb ft, 6.1sec 0-62mph, 145mph Efficiency 37.2mpg (official), 34.2mpg (tested), 207g/km CO2 Energy cost 22.0p per mile Miles this month 397 Total miles 18,235
Gliding down the motorway, three slumbering kids piled atop each other like fallen dominoes, the six-cylinder diesel murmuring gently as it drinks a gallon every 40 miles – this is a Range Rover’s comfort zone. But our time in the D350 in HSE spec is nigh.
Having not run a solely combustion-engined car since a 2018 Skoda Kodiaq, the prospect of a 2430kg SUV incapable of any zero-emissions electric miles as my daily transport made me uneasy.
Editor Miller reckons the mild-hybrid D350 is the pick of the current Range Rover powertrains: it’s torquey when roused, and economical too – we averaged just over 34mpg over seven months thanks to the current generation’s improved aerodynamics and the engine’s mild electric torque assistance. It also has a telepathic connection to the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, making for silky smooth shifts.
All true. But it emits 207 grammes of CO2 for every kilometre travelled – not far off the P400 petrol’s 220g/km – so the all-electric Range Rover can’t come quickly enough.
And with its accommodating size and refinement focus, the Rangie is tailor-made to be an EV. There should be enough battery-stowage space in that chassis to avoid both range anxiety and compromising the epic 818-litre boot: family camping trips have never been so easy, recycling centre visits so infrequent.
Spending £650 on the boot floor partition (which if flipped can double as a backrest when you’re sitting on the tailgate) is worthwhile to prevent small items sliding into the void. But I’d suggest avoiding the auto-folding loadspace cover, which I could never fathom how to remove (the manual is useless), and which ultimately gave up auto-folding.
Dynamically, the Mk5 version, codenamed L460, is the best Range Rover ever.
One of this generation’s innovations, the standard-fit rear-wheel steering, is a revelation. This was brought vividly to life for me when it helped this huge car make a U-turn on a rural Essex track without becoming Austin Powers in that golf kart. Less obviously, the system brings welcome extra agility to every corner, working with the precision of the steering rack to turn the 4x4 nimbly into corners.
The ne
