2017 Land Rover Range Rover

2017 Land Rover Range Rover Review

“Few vehicles can get you over hill and dale more easily, and more luxuriously, than the Range Rover.”
4.0 / 5
Edmunds overall rating
author
by Calvin Kim
Edmunds Editor

Edmunds expert review

Land Rover's Range Rover is a five-person, all-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicle that has infiltrated popular culture to the point where people refer to it strictly by model name. At its core, the Range Rover is an all-terrain vehicle that's designed to take its passengers in comfort over hill and through valley as well as through the rough and tumble of downtown city streets.

This effortless performance is achieved through powerful engine options, a clever all-wheel-drive system and an adjustable suspension system. This allows the Range Rover to traverse rutted roads and snowy or muddy trails with confidence. Meanwhile, a plethora of interior and exterior options help make your Range Rover unique.

It's this go-anywhere capability that has garnered the Range Rover its reputation. Combined with its stately exterior and interior designs and five trim levels spanning multiple price segments, the Range Rover easily earns our recommendation for a luxury SUV.

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What's new for 2017

For 2017, the Range Rover gets a new SVAutobiography Dynamic trim level. The Dynamic has a more powerful supercharged V8 and its own suspension calibration that features active stabilizer bars to tame body roll during sportier driving. All 2017 Range Rovers benefit from increased in-car technology thanks to a new infotainment system (InControl Touch Pro). A few advanced safety feature revisions, including a new Advanced Tow Assist, round out the changes for 2017.

We recommend

If you're in the demographic able to afford a Range Rover, picking one largely comes down to getting a configuration that suits your needs and desires. We recommend opting for either the Td6, with its fuel-efficient diesel engine, or going the distance with the Supercharged variant and its extremely strong (but thirsty) supercharged V8. Though equipped in the same vehicle, these powertrains show two different sides to the Range Rover: stately, calm and effortless with the turbocharged diesel or aggressive, sonorous and responsive with the supercharged V8.
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Trim levels & features

While the standard 2017 Land Rover Range Rover comes well equipped, the Range Rover HSE offers more standard features, such as soft-close doors, a panoramic roof and a higher output gasoline engine. The Range Rover Supercharged is similarly equipped but has a supercharged V8. Next, the Autobiography adds more luxury options and driver assist systems while the SVAutobiography Dynamic adds more power and sportier suspension tuning. Long wheelbase versions of the Supercharged and Autobiography add more than 7 inches of extra rear legroom.

The Land Rover Range Rover comes with your choice of a gasoline-fed supercharged V6 (340 horsepower, 332 pound-feet of torque) or a turbocharged diesel V6 (254 hp, 443 lb-ft). An eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive are standard. Unlike other variants, there is no optional upgraded seat package, and a panoramic roof is only available as an option in this standard trim. Even still, a 13-speaker Meridian sound system and Land Rover's InControl Touch Pro infotainment system (with a new 10.2-inch touchscreen) are standard. Plus, many options are available to get your Range Rover equipped nicely.

Next up is the Range Rover HSE that includes a few more standard features, such as 20-inch wheels, soft-close doors, upgraded front seats and access to a greater catalog of options. You can get the HSE with either the diesel V6 from the standard model or a powered-up version of the turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 (380 hp, 332 lb-ft).

Next is the Range Rover Supercharged, which is powered by a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 (510 hp, 461 lb-ft). The Supercharged variant comes with 21-inch wheels, a more capable Terrain Response 2 system and All-Terrain Progress Control, which is basically the off-road version of cruise control.

The next rung up is the Range Rover Autobiography. And although it comes with the same 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 engine as the HSE (the supercharged V8 is optional), it features significantly more content than the Supercharged, such as a 29-speaker Meridian sound system and standard driver assist systems such as blind-spot monitoring and lane departure intervention.

If you want the sportiest Range Rover, go with the Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic. It utilizes an uprated version of the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 gasoline engine and produces 550 hp and 502 lb-ft of torque, providing very sports-carlike 0-60 mph acceleration (5.1 seconds, says Land Rover). The Dynamic variant also features a lowered ride height and a more aggressive on-road suspension calibration.

The long-wheelbase models all share the same extended chassis. The Range Rover's wheelbase is lengthened by 7.9 inches, and rear seat legroom grows by 7.3 inches. Otherwise, they feature similar setups as their short-wheelbase twins. As the top dog, the SVAutobiography LWB comes with reclining executive-class seats, which include deployable tables, a center console cooler (with glasses) and a rear-seat entertainment system.

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Trim tested

Each vehicle typically comes in multiple versions that are fundamentally similar. The ratings in this review are based on our test of the 2016 Land Rover Range Rover HSE TD6 (turbo 3.0L V6 diesel | 8-speed automatic | AWD).

NOTE: Since this test was conducted, the current 2017 Land Rover Range Rover has received some revisions, including a revised InControl Touch Pro navigation and entertainment system and the new Terrain Response 2, an automated driving mode system. Our findings, however, remain broadly applicable to this year's Range Rover.

Edmunds Scorecard

Overall4.0 / 5

Driving

4.0 / 5

Acceleration4.0 / 5
Braking4.0 / 5
Steering4.0 / 5
Handling2.0 / 5
Drivability5.0 / 5

Comfort

4.0 / 5

Seat comfort3.0 / 5
Ride comfort3.5 / 5
Noise & vibration4.5 / 5

Interior

4.0 / 5

Ease of use3.5 / 5
Getting in/getting out3.5 / 5
Roominess4.5 / 5
Visibility5.0 / 5
Quality3.0 / 5

Utility

3.5 / 5

Small-item storage2.5 / 5
Cargo space4.0 / 5

Driving4.0

The Range Rover HSE delivers exactly what you'd expect — a quiet and mostly soft ride in a handsome but conservative package that offers ample passenger and cargo space. We tested the torquey and smooth diesel engine, but the supercharged V8 is great, too.

Acceleration4.0

The diesel V6 generates a healthy serving of torque and enough power to get this 5,492-pound Range Rover moving fairly effortlessly. When pressed hard, it will accelerate to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds, a respectably quick figure for such a boxy beast.

Braking4.0

Pedal travel is a bit long, but that's not a bad trait in an off-roader. More to the point, these brakes are effective and can reliably execute a panic stop from 60 mph in just 117 feet. This comes with abundant nosedive, but it stays arrow-straight.

Steering4.0

On-center steering feel is secure when cruising down the road and making fine course corrections. The steering ratio is neither too slow nor too quick, with just three turns lock to lock. The tidy U-turn radius makes for good parking maneuverability.

Handling2.0

You'll feel all of the the Range Rover's weight going around turns. It begrudgingly responds to commands. This one does not like to be hustled through twisty bits, but it does feel coordinated in its own stately way.

Drivability5.0

The throttle pedal's accurate calibration makes for smooth starts, and the eight-speed transmission always responds as expected when it's time to accelerate. The engine stop-start system reacts quickly enough that we never felt the need to disable it.

Off-road4.5

Low-range gearing, impressive suspension articulation, generous body clearance and multiple terrain maps give the Range Rover off-road capability its buyers may never fully utilize. It is deceptively wide, though.

Comfort4.0

Above all, the Range Rover is a quiet machine, even when equipped with the diesel engine. There's a definite luxury slant to its ride character, but it could be better at filtering out sharp edges. The seats are firmer than we'd like.

Seat comfort3.0

The well-sculpted seats offer good support but can feel firm if your shape doesn't match. Numerous adjustments make that unlikely, but we'd prefer more padding. The fold-down front armrests are adjustable but are also firm and narrow.

Ride comfort3.5

The Range Rover has an odd combination of long-travel suspension softness that you'll notice when driving over bumps and a sensitivity to road surface coarseness, particularly on concrete and cracked asphalt. It's like a Buick with overinflated tires.

Noise & vibration4.5

We'd describe this one as silent even if it weren't a boxy SUV. There's not much road or wind noise. Some diesel noise is apparent at parking speeds, but it's admirably muted and melds into the background as speed picks up.

Interior4.0

The Range Rover feels big inside, and once you climb aboard it offers a good view outside. Most of the controls are easy to use, but the audio and entertainment system interface isn't as convenient as we'd like. The generous cargo hold benefits from a split two-piece hatch with a short tailgate.

Ease of use3.5

Driving position is nicely adjustable, and the major controls are for the most part logically placed. A lack of control knobs is annoying, though.

Getting in/getting out3.5

The air suspension lowers when the vehicle is parked to reduce step-in (and cargo-loading) height. The doors open wide, but there are no pillar-mounted grab handles to grasp.

Roominess4.5

The Range Rover's seats are quite roomy, with ample head- and legroom and shoulder room and a generally airy feeling front and back. Note: Despite outward appearances, the Range Rover only seats five; there is no third-row option.

Visibility5.0

The beltline is low and there's lots of glass, with a high seating position that helps the driver see down past the corners. The optional multicamera system helps in tight quarters, and there are parking proximity sensors.

Quality3.0

The Range Rover HSE looks well built inside and out, but the interior materials in particular look a bit plain and overly conservative. It's more an issue of style than quality, we suppose, but those two often go hand in hand.

Utility3.5

The Range Rover's interior is large but follows the European design edict that states the inside of the car should be meant only for driving. Thus, it lacks many of the small storage spaces that owners of American and Asian SUVs may be used to.

Small-item storage2.5

For such a big car, the door pockets are small and there's virtually no cubby space. All your daily knickknacks will have to fit in the glovebox and console. At least those are decently sized.

Cargo space4.0

The cargo hold is large, and the two-piece tailgate makes it easy to cram it full because the lower half acts as a fence when the hatch is open. The backseat doesn't come close to folding flat, though, and it can't fold at all on long-wheelbase models.

Towing4.0

Immense diesel torque is perfect for towing, and the air suspension is adept at supporting trailer tongue weight. The Range Rover comes well prepared to tow right up to its modest 7,716-pound towing limit.

Edmunds expert review process

This review was written by a member of Edmunds' editorial team of expert car reviewers. Our team drives every car you can buy. We put the vehicles through rigorous testing, evaluating how they drive and comparing them in detail to their competitors.

We're also regular people like you, so we pay attention to all the different ways people use their cars every day. We want to know if there's enough room for our families and our weekend gear and whether or not our favorite drink fits in the cupholder. Our editors want to help you make the best decision on a car that fits your life.

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