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 mainly for the purpose of extreme off-road capability, the mid-size Range Rover Sport is designed for on-road performance as well.
The Range Rover Sport shares its underpinnings with the LR3 rather than the original Range Rover, making it a nimble, road-going sport-ute, designed for both wilderness treks and comfortable suburban commutes.
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.
Power is routed through a 6-speed automatic transmission to Land Rover's capable full-time four-wheel-drive system via one of three CommandShift settings: automatic, sport and manual mode... 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. Land Rover's Hill Descent Control will take you down the steepest off-road slopes without touching the brake pedal.
Fuel economy for the Range Rover Sport is 12 miles per gallon city, 18 miles per gallon highway.
The interior of the Range Rover Sport is comparable to most luxury sedans. Standard leather seats and a 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 rear seat passengers can enjoy the optional DVD-entertainment system with personal headsets.
A premium navigation system with a 4 by 4 information feature for off-road excursions is also standard.
Standard safety features are plentiful and include a 4-wheel all-terrain antilock brake system, 4-wheel electronic traction control, front crumple zones, and a full array of front and side impact airbags.
Base MSRP for the 2009 Land Rover Range Rover Sport is $58.375. A fully loaded Supercharged model will top out at just under $85,000. The Range Rover Sport comes with a 4-year, 50,000-mile power train warranty.
With its available supercharged engine and an extremely capable four wheel drive system, the 2009 Range Rover Sport offers luxury SUV on-road comfort and performance along with plenty of off-road, go-anywhere capability.