Yahoo Autos 2024 Range Rover Sport SV First Drive Review: A Sophisticated Beast, Emphasis on Beast
It's easy to forget how satisfying the roar of a V8 engine is at full tilt when most cars out there are turbo-fours, electrified, or fully electric. Hustling a 2024 Range Rover Sport SV around a Formula 1-grade circuit with its brute yet sophisticated V8 is a sobering reminder. Rocking a matte exterior, 23-inch carbon wheels, and quad exhaust pipes, the $182,000 SUV already looks killer standing still. On the track, however, it slices through apexes and powerslides out of corners, proving that this killer instinct isn't just skin-deep.
Reaching 150 mph on the Algarve International Circuit's main straight is jolly fun and not at all hard for its BMW M5-derived 4.4-liter V8. But the real magic happens when you brake hard and dive into the first corner, summoning its eight-piston Brembo carbon ceramic brakes and hydraulically interlinked air suspension without anti-roll bars. One-fifty to 70 mph happens so quickly it hurts, but the big luxurious cabin remains so flat you'd swear you're wheeling a supercar. High-po SUVs have come a long way in recent years, but this new SV is now aiming for the Astons and Porsches of the world.
2024 Range Rover Sport SV Edition One Specs | |
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The Basics
You may be wondering how we arrived at a track-ready, 626-horsepower Range Rover. Well, the concept isn't that foreign. Land Rover previously offered the rowdy Sport SVR trim, whose 5.0-liter supercharged V8 offered 575 hp. Nowadays, under a new corporate strategy to spin off brands and streamline products, the R is dropped and it's simply SV. The SV moniker stands for the brand's pinnacle offerings: SV for the regular Range Rover signifies ultimate luxury, while SV for Range Rover Sport signifies ultimate sportiness.
SV now also promises a well-rounded, high-performance SUV and not just a muscly brawler like the old SVR. Range Rover folks will tell you that it's about being the very best on the road, on the trail, and also on the track.
"The rule of thumb, especially with performance cars, is you engineer to satisfy the extreme user—the highly critical, analytical user—and then you'll satisfy everyone. Every detail matters," SVO director for JLR Jamal Hameedi told The Drive.
This multi-faceted approach explains the new-generation SV's looks and dynamics. Starting with its design, it's got more oomph than the regular Sport without being too butch. The front fascia gets the usual treatment with wider air intakes at the bottom, lower side skirts, and carbon fiber bits throughout. The hood is also made entirely of carbon fiber. In the rear, a small, white SV badge signifies that this ain't no regular Rover—as if the four exhaust pipes and 305-section rear tires didn't already give that away. My tester was equipped with sleek Carbon Bronze Matte exterior paint, awesome 23-inch carbon fiber wheels, and massive carbon ceramic brakes with calipers finished in greenish-yellow.
That sort of swanky yet understated motif carries into the cabin, where clean lines and soft, satin-like surfaces abound. A floating 13.1-inch touchscreen serves as the command center for just about everything, as Range Rover did away with physical controls for its new models, including the Velar and Evoque I recently drove. However, performing quick functions like turning the volume up or down can easily be done through buttons on the steering wheel, and the OS is simple enough that I never found myself digging through unnecessary menus.
