2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Review

Standard features on the SE trim include 19-inch alloy wheels, a self-leveling air suspension with automatic height adjustment for loading and unloading, xenon headlights, LED running lights and taillights, power-folding heated mirrors, rear privacy glass, a hands-free power liftgate, front and rear parking sensors, and keyless ignition and entry.

Within the cabin you'll find dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery, 14-way power front seats, 60/40-split folding rear seatbacks, driver-seat memory settings, a power-adjustable steering wheel, auto-dimming rearview mirror, ambient interior lighting and a cargo cover. Also standard are a navigation system, voice-activated control for the convenience electronics, a rearview camera, a new 10.2-inch touchscreen, InControl Apps suite, Bluetooth (phone and streaming audio), and an eight-speaker sound system with satellite and HD radio and a USB port. Finally, all Range Rover Sport models get a standard collection of new safety features, including autonomous emergency braking, a blind-spot monitoring system with rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning with lane keeping assist, and an innovative Advanced Tow Assist that guides the driver while backing up with a trailer.

To all this standard equipment, the HSE adds 20-inch alloy wheels, foglights, a panoramic sunroof, perforated leather upholstery, heated front seats and upgraded interior trim.

The Supercharged trim level adds a V8 engine in place of the standard V6, a more sophisticated four-wheel-drive system (featuring low-range gearing for low-speed challenges and handling-enhancing torque vectoring for livelier handling), adaptive terrain-sensing drive settings (Terrain Response 2 Auto), adaptive suspension dampers, body roll stabilization and shift paddles on the steering wheel.

The Autobiography adds flashy 21-inch alloy wheels, adaptive headlights with automatic high beams, various other exterior styling enhancements, auto-dimming exterior mirrors, tri-zone climate control, extensive leather trim, 16-way power-adjustable and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, a flat-screen virtual instrument cluster, a cooler box in the front console, a surround-view camera system and a 19-speaker Meridian sound system.

The high-performance SVR provides most of the Autobiography's features, adding or substituting SVR-specific 21-inch wheels, unique bumpers, sport-tuned suspension and steering, sportier transmission programming, special interior and exterior styling and trim details, and front and rear sport seats.

Many of the standard features on the higher trims are available as options on lower trims. Other options include 22-inch wheels, a towing package (with a full-size spare tire in two-row models), quad-zone climate control, cooled front and rear seats, a 23-speaker Meridian audio system and a rear-seat video entertainment system. A Driver Assistance package adds a head-up display, a self-parking system (with both parallel and perpendicular capability, plus automatic space exit) and 360-degree parking sensors.

The 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport is available with a choice of three engines. SE and HSE models come standard with a 3.0-liter V6 rated at 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Available as an option is a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 that produces 254 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. Supercharged and Autobiography versions of the Range Rover Sport get a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 that puts out 510 hp and 461 lb-ft of torque. The SVR uses a version of this same V8 that's been tweaked to produce 550 hp and 502 lb-ft. All three engines utilize the same eight-speed automatic transmission, though the SVR version is enhanced with sportier programming.

At the Edmunds test track, a Range Rover Sport Supercharged sprinted from zero to 60 mph in a blistering 4.6 seconds. The SVR improved only a smidge to 4.5 seconds.

As you'd expect from Land Rover, every Range Rover Sport is equipped with full-time four-wheel drive. The SE and HSE come standard with a light-duty, single-speed all-wheel-drive system, while the Supercharged model is equipped with a two-speed transfer case (optional on the SE and HSE) that provides high- and low-range gearing for more serious traction challenges, including off-roading. The standard Terrain Response system features driver-selectable modes that optimize the vehicle's powertrain, suspension and electronics for increased traction on various surfaces, while the available Terrain Response 2 Auto variant (bundled with the two-speed transfer case) includes an additional adaptive mode that automatically optimizes settings while you drive. Also available is All-Terrain Progress Control (i.e., crawl control), which maintains a preset speed (up to 20 mph) over difficult terrain.

EPA fuel economy estimates start with the V6, which comes in at 19 mpg combined (17 city/23 highway), a somewhat disappointing result given that Porsche's more powerful 420-hp Cayenne S gets 20 mpg combined. The diesel produces a significantly better 24 mpg combined (22 city/28 highway). The supercharged V8 is rated at 16 mpg combined (14 city/19 highway), a predictably inefficient result for a 510-hp truck. Expect the same or a bit worse from the SVR.

All Range Rover Sports except the SVR can tow up to 7,716 pounds; the latter drops to a still-respectable 6,600 pounds.