Filed under: Audio, Gadgets, In the Autoblog Garage, Maintenance, SUVs
2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE: In the Autoblog Garage Day 3-4
Depress the button on the Volkswagen-aping switchblade key, pull the meaty handle, and climb aboard. Acrophobics needn't sweat an awkward wardrobe malfunction when clambering in-- the Range Rover Sport can be thoughtfully trained to rest low on its airsprings, as a camel might relent to accommodate its Kalahari master.
Inside, occupants are greeted with the warm glow of the sat-nav screen (thoughtfully displaying Land Rover's logo, lest one needs reminding) along with a hit of premium cowhide heady enough to give PETA members reason for pause. Ease one's posterior into the driver's seat, and cheeks register a slightly more supportive squab than one might reasonably expect to encounter in an SUV. With a myriad of power adjustments set to whir into motion at a finger's extention (including a trio of memory positions and power lumbar), comfortable seating for the long haul is all but assured.
(Climb aboard with almost 20 pictures and full commentary after the jump!)
As our Landie arrived equipped with Rover's 'Luxury Interior Package,'real cherry trim takes up residence on the
doors, dash and transmission tunnel, warming what otherwise might be a dark interior due to the vast expanses of
ebony-toned leather. The tiered ziggurat of a center console bisects driver from passenger, blanketed with no less
than 50 buttons and switches of all description (not including reams of virtual touchscreen menu 'buttons' awaiting on
the monitor). Incorporating everything from HVAC to audio to sat-nav, suspension settings, parking sensors, Hill
Descent Control, electronic parking brake and central locking (among other gewgaws), it's genuinely advisable to
familiarize oneself with the fundamentals before casting off. For reference, an Autoblog colleague (who shall remain nameless) took the HSE on a loop of several hundred miles,
and never even located the Byzantine location of the power lock switch (under the LCD screen, adjacent to the hazards).
He can hardly be faulted, however. As is Range Rover's way these days, there are more puzzling glyphs displayed than
might be found on a prehistoric cave wall. And never mind the sat-nav or rear-seat entertainment... unless you have an
eleven-year old tech wizard on retainer (mine was sadly unavailable for consultation), it's best to view the
leather-bound 2" thick portfolio of manuals as required bedside reading. Mercifully, one could always
negotiate the manuals with the aid of a frosty beverage-- Rover's thoughtfully incorporated a small powered cooler
between the seats-- yet another perk of the $2,750 luxury package. On the whole, mastery of the controls appears to be
a rewarding endeavor, but everything could be significantly more intuitive and just as powerful. At least the gauges are rationalized and clearly marqued. A flood of green lighting and steering wheel-mounted
audio and voice-activation controls look set to ease the strain of nighttime cross-country running. Slot the key into the ordinary ignition slot and give her a crank (no frivolous start-button theatre here),
bringing the 4.4-liter V8 to life, set up your chair to your liking, whir the elephantine leather-wrapped wheel into
place (the column is both height and depth adjustable), snap on the safety belt, and you're ready to rock(climb). For
those enduring colder regions, the Sport's Luxury Package quickly becomes one's best friend, adding thermonuclear
bun warmers, quick-clear electronic-defrost windscreen and heated washer nozzles for windshield and lights--
complementing the standard-issue dual zone climate control that gets to the point with commendable speed. But before going any further, pause and give thanks to Dr. Sidney Harman and Mr. Bernard Kardon. For without them,
the auditory experience that is the Range Rover Sport's glorious stereo wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. The
harman/kardon install in question pumps out 550-watts to 13 speakers via its Logic7 surround processor- a bit of
silicon trickery that converts two-channel signals into five or seven channels, and five-channel into seven channels.
In other words, it kicks sonic booty with everything from junior's loathsome Wiggles DVD collection to the heavenly
South African harmonies of Ladysmith Black Mambazo or Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. It even makes nice with Tom
Morello's Audioslave fretwork, come to think of it... which is nice, as six cds-worth of sonic diversity can coexist in
the in-dash changer. Redundant steering wheel and voice-activated controls make mincemeat of most basic functions, and
ours was also bundled with Sirius satellite radio, a good long haul companion (yet pricy at $400) Back seat passengers don't have life half bad, either. With their own seat heaters, high-mounted supportive
headrests (that abridge rearward visibility, natch), and on luxury package optioned models (as ours), dual LCD screens
with DVD changer and RCA inputs, life is good. Unlike in the seven-seat LR3 upon which our Rover is based, five-up is
the maximum, but four is the preferred capacity for all those involved. Legroom for those in the back is certainly
adequate, as well. Accessing the cargo area to load the Louis Vuitton can prove an exercise in frustration,
however. The round button for the electronic catch release on the right side of the tailgate is intuitive enough, but
the only obvious place to lift from is the handle just above the license plate. Grab the middle, and you'll
inadvertently hit the switch that releases the rear glass (which opens independently of the hatch). Adding insult to
injury is the fact that the glass, once released, barely stands proud of the frame, so one might not even notice it's
ajar. Of course, the Landie will inform you of your ineptitude when you re-enter the vehicle via chime and a warning on
the small info screen in the main gauge binnacle, but it's frustrating stuff. For the record, our rear glass didn't
close terribly easily, either (it could've been the cold), and on several occasions the cumbersome hatch latch resulted
in an annoying double/triple-check scenario.
Once open, at least, a wide and flat cargo area invites - replete with window-shade style retractable cargo cover
and fine carpeting. Unlike many SUVs that force the third-row issue, this one has plenty of luggage space, and a
split-fold rear seat adds further flexibility. Oddly enough, the DVD changer resides beneath a small covering on the
right-hand wall of the cargo hold. Remove the lid (it isn't hinged and removes completely), and it's an awkward reach
adjacent to a nest of wires and sharp metal to fish out the cartridge. A much cleaner option would have to mount it
within the dashboard, or perhaps between the seats. On the whole, fitments and material quality all appear to be top-drawer stuff. Usually, upon closer inspection
of a vehicle, there's an area or two that betrays visible evidence of cost-cutting-- a substandard plastic trim bit
here, an uncultivated control motion there, but in the Rover, everything is remarkably well executed and tastefully
done. Now, if someone could just peer inside a garden-variety Honda to see how to execute a proper navigation system and
rationalize some of the secondary controls, we'd be talking world-class stuff here. As it is, the complexity remains
off-putting at best, confounding at worst. (In our next installment, we'll release the [electronic] parking brake and head out on the
road!) For the Rover's 'Day 1-2 in the Autoblog Garage,' click here. 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jonathan 12:24PM (2/22/2006)
The power seat controls are straight out of a Volvo - same font and everything.
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BBoy 12:42PM (2/22/2006)
WOW.This review format is a breath of fresh air. Mr. Paukert needs to give lessons to the print media (MT, C&D etc.) on how to write an article. I love the sense of interaction he conveyed and I equally love the small things you dont normally see covered in a magazine. (Ex: pics and description of the DVD changer location)
Keep up the great work Mr. Paukert, you too Autoblog!
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Mike O. 12:44PM (2/22/2006)
I'd rather have parts from the Volvo bin than the Ford generics bin. What bothers me is that the headlight controls look a lot like those from the Ford Explorer...
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Sid 12:46PM (2/22/2006)
Anyone else think the green night-time gauges are a joke?
BTW...I agree. Very good writing, Chris.
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Jim in Tampa 12:52PM (2/22/2006)
Those instrument sure look a lot like my Escape.
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iamhoff 1:07PM (2/22/2006)
At least they're taking controls from a luxury brand. Hop into a Caddy and you'll find many controls straight out of a Chevy Impala (or Lincoln to Ford, or Chrysler to Dodge to be fair). My only bitch is with these damn Nissan ads. They're all over Autoblog and they cover up the text of the article. Either get rid of them or get your tech gurus to tweak the coding to fix this.
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Kerry Keisling 1:12PM (2/22/2006)
An irksome and unremoveable Nissan ad often places itself over your pictures and text making it impossible to read. The only way I could get rid of it is to go to another site and then come back. Can you do something about these? Otherwise a good read. Thanks, K
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Den in IN 1:18PM (2/22/2006)
With all of the luxury options creating a busy cofusing array of buttons maybe they should all be combined into a operator interface accessed via a single joystick....or maybe that's been tried already. Seems that either way the desigers are pasted for confusion and iffy operation. Maybe there are just too many bells and whistles.
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Doogs 1:29PM (2/22/2006)
"rationalize some of the secondary controls"
Land Rover has changed A LOT in the last ten years (heck, five years, even)...
...but as someone who has a long history with the brand (both good and bad...), it warms my heart to know that the poor sods still can't figure out switch placement.
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Doogs 1:33PM (2/22/2006)
"rationalize some of the secondary controls"
Land Rover has changed A LOT in the last ten years (heck, five years, even)...
...but as someone who has a long history with the brand (both good and bad...), it warms my heart to know that the poor sods still can't figure out switch placement.
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Tom Jacobson 1:53PM (2/22/2006)
Someone please help me! I'm in electronics overload mode! I've had enough of the Rover's thoughtfully incorporated, small powered cooler between the seats and the sat-nav, and I don't want to be greeted with the warm glow of the sat-nav screen or the rear-seat entertainment and I don't need to know about the tiered ziggurat of a center console that bisects driver from passenger, blanketed with no less than 50 buttons and switches of all description. I do not want to buy a barcalounger with video enhancements. I want a car! I want to know how it drives, how it corners (if it can). I want to get back to when we bought cars to go someplace, not to do something.
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Den in IN 2:04PM (2/22/2006)
I want a car! I want to know how it drives, how it corners (if it can). I want to get back to when we bought cars to go someplace, not to do something.
Sure, Like you never drove a car less pure than a vintage 911. You probably drive an M5 with more buttons than an airliner.
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Tom Jacobson 2:10PM (2/22/2006)
M5? You mean the Infinity M? No,Mr.Smartypants I drive a nice white Smart Car just like everyone should. I ordered it with crank windows and radio delete. And I'm thinking of trading it for a bicycle! Electronics gadgets on cars are for wimps! And what would you be found driving? Some monster SUV no doubt!
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Den in IN 2:33PM (2/22/2006)
I bet you'd drive a Prius if it wern't for all the computers!
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Tom J 2:39PM (2/22/2006)
My significant other drives a Prius. Is there something wrong with that? I'm just saying that all these big cars and trucks are causing a hole in the global warming. If you put an ice cube outside it will melt faster today than last year at this time. Don't you read anything the scientists say?
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Trevor 2:47PM (2/22/2006)
About the buttons: To be fair, 28 buttons are for the radio / cd / bluetooth system. 10 are radio station presets, 5 for cd operation, and others for fm/am/cd/aux and main controls.
The reason for the 10 preset buttons is because they double as a dial pad for the bluetooth phone connectivity. I drive a RR Sport daily and the number of buttons isn't an issue. There is a voice command system which I use to control the nav, radio, cd, and the phone. I hardly touch the dash at all. This way I can focus on carving through the turns and enjoying the pure thrill of driving such a great vehicle.
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phil 2:52PM (2/22/2006)
Tom J go hug a tree. "all these big cars and trucks are causing a hole in the global warming". Apparently u dont read what scientists say either since I have never heard of a "hole in global warming".
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USGP 3:03PM (2/22/2006)
It's just another gigantic StupidUselessVehicle! We should all be driving Yarises to do our part to save planet! I hope that ELF gets a hold of all of these!
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Fabulo 3:25PM (2/22/2006)
It seems that Range Land Rover preserved the signature look of their trucks so well that all I can think of when I see one is the Camel Trophy of my childhood (well, last time I heard about Camel Trophy was when I was a kid)
This review is pretty well written though. Very thorough and keep the suspense up: How does it drive! Tell us!
On the Nissan ad, though, I'd say Firefox+AdblockPlus+Filterset.G updater. I have never seen that Nissan ad. Actually I have not seen an ad in a browser in month.
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Dave in MI 3:37PM (2/22/2006)
I like the all green better than my (2) fords that have green with red dials. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...."
#11 - to go someplace, not to do something
Do you mean for the driving experience or the utility of getting from here to there? I can't believe people who drive Prius's (Priuii)or Yaris's (Yarii) actually hang out on car sites. Nobody that drives a Toyota can really be into cars anyway. They all have that antispetic perfection that puts you right to sleep. Maybe before they killed the Supra or killed the MR2.
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