The Range Rover Sport is a shift in thinking for the storied Land Rover brand of luxury SUV's. While traditional Range Rovers are built for the purpose of extreme off-road capability, the Range Rover Sport is designed for on-road performance.
It's not even built on the same platform as the original Range Rover. It shares its underpinnings with the smaller LR3, making it a nimble, road-going sport-ute.
The Range Rover Sport comes in two trim levels; HSE and Supercharged. The HSE is powered by a 4.4-liter V8 that puts out 300 horsepower and 315 pound feet of torque. Our Supercharged test model, with a supercharged 4.2-liter V8, churns out 390 horsepower and 410 pound feet of torque.
Fuel economy for both engines is 12 miles per gallon city, 18 miles per gallon highway.
Power is routed through a 6-speed automatic transmission that offers three modes: automatic, sport and CommandShift, or manual mode, to Land Rover's capable full-time four-wheel-drive system. The Sport's Terrain Response System includes a two-speed transfer case and offers special handling characteristics for up to 7 different environments. The ride height can also be lowered for highway driving and raised for off-road traversing.
The interior of the Range Rover Sport is comparable to most luxury sedans. Standard leather seats and power tilt-telescoping steering wheel make the driving experience extremely comfortable. A Harmon/Kardon 550 watt sound system with 6-disc in-dash player is standard, while back seat passengers can enjoy the optional DVD-entertainment system with personal headsets.
A premium navigation system with 4 by 4 information system is also standard.
Safety standards include a 4-wheel all-terrain antilock brake system, 4-wheel electronic traction control, front crumple zones, and a fully array of front and side impact airbags.
Base MSRP for the 2008 Land Rover Range Rover Sport is $57,725. A fully loaded Supercharged model, can cost as much as $77,000. The Range Rover Sport comes with a 4-year, 50,000-mile power train warranty.
With its available supercharged engine, and an extremely capable all wheel drive system, the 2008 Range Rover Sport offers luxury SUV on-road performance and comfort while sacrificing little in the way of off-road, go-anywhere capability.