Range Rover Review (2022-present)

What is the Range Rover?

As if you need an introduction, the Range Rover is a full size, luxury SUV that pioneered the idea of combining world class off-road ability with lavish comfort and a luxury finish. It has been around for over fifty years, and has become one of the most recognisable vehicles on the road. With cheaper Land Rover models such as the Land Rover Discovery and Land Rover Defender now also moving upmarket and into the luxury SUV class, this new Range Rover has nudged even higher up the price and prestige rankings; It’s now a true alternative to ultra-luxury SUVs such as the Bentley Bentayga, while it must also fend off competition from the BMW X7, Audi Q7, Mercedes GLS and more.

Underpinned with Jaguar Land Rover’s new ‘Modular Longitudinal Architecture’, or MLA-Flex platform, there’s active four-wheel drive on every Range Rover, complete with the company’s latest generation Terrain Response system. Engines on offer include two in-line six-cylinder petrol engines with either 355bhp or 394bhp (P360 and P400), two in-line six-cylinder diesel engines with 296bhp or 345bhp (D300 and D350), and a BMW-sourced 523bhp V8 (P530). All of these, but for the V8, have 48V mild hybrid technology, and there are also two plug-in hybrids available, which both use the six-cylinder petrol engine, an electric motor and a large lithium-ion battery for an official pure-electric range of up to 70 miles. They offer 434bhp or 503bhp, respectively, and are badged P440e and P510e.

The car is also offered in a standard- and a long-wheelbase version, the latter of which is offered with a seven-seat layout for the first time.

As for the design, the new Range Rover is unmistakably an evolution of the instantly recognisable Range Rover shape and style. However, it does look fresh and modern thanks to details including smooth panels, flush window line (where you can’t see the window seals where the glass meets the car’s body), hidden wipers and a new, full-width rear LED light design, all of which makes the Range Rover look more minimalist than any of its rivals.

How practical is it?

The boot in the standard, five-seat Range Rover is over a metre long and offers 725 litres of boot space, which makes it one of the roomiest in the class. The seven-seat, long wheelbase car gets a little less due to the seat packaging, but 713 litres with two rows up is still very good.

The trademark split tailgate is there, too, and for £650 you can have a multi-functional boot floor that functions as a separator to stop your groceries from rolling around, and then can be folded out to make a seat back for extra comfort when you’re perching on the dropped tailgate. There’s even an optional ‘Tailgate Event Suite’ that brings additional lighting and speakers to the tailgate area for peak fun and comfort during wicker-hamper season.

There’s an abundance of space in the middle row, even in the standard wheelbase Range Rover, while the long wheelbase has full limousine levels of legroom. The seven-seater also offers plush accommodation for full-sized adults in the third row, but you won’t have all that much luggage space with all the seats in use. The BMW X7 could well be better if that’s a concern, but it’s worth pointing out that the seven-seat Range Rover is more comfortable with all its seats in use than an Audi Q7 or Volvo XC90.

If you are considering the Range Rover as an executive chauffeur vehicle, there’s also a seat pack that brings two reclining massage seats for rear occupants.

Up front, the driving position is as good as it gets for an SUV. The elbow-on-the-windowsill ‘command’ driving position that the Range Rover always offers is something that really defines the car and is a huge selling point. We’d argue that, with the huge glass house bringing great visibility and the vastly adjustable seats and comfort features, this is a more spacious, more practical and comfortable long distance cruiser than even traditional limo alternatives such as the Mercedes S-Class.

What's it like to drive?

We can only speak for the standard wheelbase D350 that we have so far driven, but this is likely to be one of the biggest sellers, and we can see why. It is absolutely sublime to drive yet, in the scheme of the Range Rover’s reassuringly expensive lineup, is one of the more affordable models to buy and run.

There’s masses of acceleration when you want it, and the engine is barely identifiable as a diesel, with only the merest distant mutter of engine noise giving away the colour of the pump it drinks from. Maybe there’s a touch more wind noise over the windscreen than we expected, and the eight-speed automatic gearbox occasionally makes itself known as it shifts up or down a gear, but even by these high standards the refinement in the Range Rover is exceptional.

More than that, the standard active air suspension and all-wheel steering system makes the Range Rover an absolute peach when it comes to comfort and handling. It has a very zen-like quality that makes it feel instantly confident and reassuring, whether you’re on a nice country road or winding through town. And with that all-wheel steering delivering a turning circle that’s similar to that of a VW Golf, and lovely, light-yet-precise steering, it’s a doddle to drive even in awkward urban areas.

However, that does come with the caveat that the optional 22-inch wheels can bring a heavier thump than you might expect over potholes and the like: stick to ‘mere’ 21s for the best ride possible. More than that, this is a huge vehicle. Even the standard car is over five metres long, while the long wheelbase Range Rover tops 5.2m, not to mention a width of 2.2-metres with the wing mirrors out and a kerb weight of some 2.5-2.8 tonnes depending on the specification of Range Rover in question. Even with brilliant visibility, all the driver aids you can think of and a remarkably tight turning circle, you are always conscious of how big the Range Rover is.

Still, with serene refinement, remarkably tidy body control and handling, feelsome pedal responses and driver controls that make chauffeur-worthy smooth driving feel second nature (not to mention vaguely unsettling unstoppability even in seriously tough off-road conditions) the Range Rover is still every bit the luxury all-things-to-every person option.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Land Rover has made big improvements with the infotainment system in the new Range Rover, and you now get a large 13.1-inch colour touchscreen in the centre of the dash, which houses the company’s latest Pivi Pro system. That includes sat-nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, online music streaming, Amazon Alexa voice control and more. The graphics are excellent, and the layout – which includes configurable shortcuts on the homepage – is fairly straightforward. It’s a shame that you do have to press the screen quite hard, though, and sometimes it doesn’t respond as quickly as you’d hope.

The digital driver’s readout in place of traditional dials - is also crisp and clear to read, and there’s an optional head-up display. Even passengers in the back can have their own 11.4-inch screens to watch, although it has to be said that, in the age of the iPad, this pricey option makes most sense in those Range Rovers being used for chauffeuring rather than as family cars.

Even the entry-level Range Rover SE gets all of the touchscreen features, not to mention 21-inch alloy wheels, a fixed panoramic glass roof, heated steering wheel, seats and windscreen, 20-way electrically adjustable front seats, three-zone climate control, keyless entry, soft door closing and Windsor Leather upholstery. A full suite of safety aids - including adaptive cruise control, blind spot assist, traffic sign recognition and 3D surround camera - is also included. HSE adds 22-inch wheels, ventilated seats, full digital matrix LED headlights that can maintain high beam illumination without dazzling oncoming traffic, an upgraded Meridian sound system, handsfree tailgate and a rear-view camera function built into the rear view mirror. Autobiography adds even more seat adjustment with massage function, the reclining ‘Executive Class’ rear seats, a sliding panoramic roof and more.

There are also the Range Rover SV models, which bring a vast amount of personalisation options ranging from leather-free interiors to ceramic trim inserts and contrasting upholstery finishes for the front and back seats.

Range Rover running costs

The Range Rover is an expensive luxury car. Compare it to alternatives like the Bentley Bentayga and you can argue that it’s good value, but by most standards it’s, er, reassuringly expensive. At least the fit and finish goes a long way to justifying the six-figure prices that almost all Range Rovers will cost after options: even the more affordable ones start from around £90,000 list price.

As for running costs, the plug-in hybrids appeal with huge official WLTP mpg economy figures of over 300mpg. However, you’re best to disregard this as PHEVs always return misleading economy figures in official tests. Better to decide if you can charge easily and cover most of your trips on the pure electric range, which Land Rover describes as being “50 miles in any conditions”. After that battery power is used up, you’ll be lucky to see better than 30mpg, but if that’s not too often then the plug-in hybrid could be a great option, especially if you live in a city.

It really is a shame that Land Rover hasn’t launched the Range Rover with a pure electric option, as this would potentially put it ahead of rivals for powertrain range and running costs.

If you do high mileage and spend a lot of time on the motorway, the diesels may well be better. They return around 36 mpg according to official WLTP figures, regardless of which power output you go for, and from our experience in the D350 will manage over 30mpg without trying very hard, and will creep usefully above that on an easy motorway drive. The six-cylinder petrols have decent official mpg of around 29mpg, so don’t discount those if you favour petrol but don’t want the PHEV. You really want to know what the mpg is on the V8 Range Rover? No, we thought not. Best not to think about it.

As for resale values, expect them to be reasonably good for the first year or two, but historically Range Rovers – as well as many other prestige SUVs – lose value quickly after that. Given that this new one has hit new, luxe levels of quality, but also new luxe levels of pricing to go with that, the future for its resale values is a little hard to predict.

Servicing is every year or 12,000 miles, and don’t expect it to be cheap. Ultimately, in the scheme of luxury SUVs the Range Rover is no worse than many of its peers when it comes to running costs, but it is rather pricey if you consider it next to arguably less deluxe offerings such as the Audi Q7 and BMW X7.

Range Rover reliability

Land Rover fared poorly in the 2021 What Car? Used Car reliability survey, coming 29th out of 30 brands included. The 2021 Driver Power survey, which rates new car reliability and ownership satisfaction, also placed Land Rover a rather disappointing 22nd out of 29 brands featured.

However, this fifth generation Range Rover is substantially new, and there has been a lot of investment in the company’s Solihull plant specifically to improve build quality and reliability: our test car certainly felt beautifully built. There’s a good chance, then, that reliability will improve. Even so, it would have been good to see an extended warranty backing up that potential improved reliability. As it is, the standard warranty remains the same three-year, unlimited-mileage arrangement, That’s still better than some rivals that are capped at 60,000 miles, mind you, and it’s tricky to find a luxury SUV at this end of the market with a longer warranty. Only rather left field options such as the Genesis GV80, Lexus RX or Tesla Model X offer lengthier standard warranties.