Long-wheelbase version of the latest Range Rover can now be had with seven luxurious seats On sale Now Price from £107,675
Max Adams Max.Adams@haymarket.com
IF YOU’RE RICH and have a dynasty of heirs to transport, you can now share the prestige and poshness of a Range Rover with six passengers.
Yes, for the first time, Land Rover has added a seven-seat option to the long-wheelbase (LWB) version of the luxury SUV, creating a new rival for the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS.
For now, if you want your Range Rover with the new seating configuration, you’re restricted to two of the model’s engine options: the most powerful D350 diesel, offering a stout 345bhp, or a slightly more sprightly 395bhp six-cylinder petrol P400. We’ve driven the diesel option, which has plenty of pulling power and gets this big, heavy Range Rover from 0-60mph in 6.1sec. Impressively, it remains smooth and pleasantly hushed whatever demands you make of it.
The D350 engine’s relaxed nature sits well with the Range Rover’s relatively soft handling characteristics, which allow far more body lean through corners than in the sharper X7. The steering is accurate, but the Range Rover can’t attack bends with the enthusiasm of the X7, because its more off-road-biased tyres offer less grip. The pay-off is a wonderfully cosseting ride that’s blotted only by the odd thud over potholes at low speeds – something the X7 avoids.
Around town, the Range Rover LWB’s standard four-wheel steering is incredibly helpful when manoeuvring this near-5.3m-long behemoth. The rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the fronts at low speeds, reducing the turning circle dramatically and making the Range Rover much easier to thread through a car park than you’d expect. If you want four-wheel steering on the X7, you have to go for the priciest M60i or add it as an option.
An imperious driving position allows you to see over traffic in town, with an unobstructed view over the bonnet. Chunky rear pillars obstruct the view over your shoulder, so you’ll be making good use of the big mirrors, 360-degree camera system and parking sensors – but none of those help with the car’s two-metre width when you’re approaching a narrow gap.
In the range-topping Autobiography trim of our test car (which includes 24-way electric front seats with heating and cooling, plus massage functions), the interior is suitably luxurious, with lots of classy open-pore wood and leather surfaces that add richness, but there are a couple of disappointing elements. For example, the trim finishers on the centre console arou
