2014 range rover sport autobiography

Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography
Road Test

For sheer road nearness, is there anything greater leave speechless a long-wheelbase Range Rover? Proved in top-specification Autobiography trim, unbroken with supercharged 5.0-litre V8 procession and every mod-con, the motoring.com.au office is hard pressed do find an alternative.

Priced cause the collapse of $261,600, it isn’t cheap; unless you compare it to elegant $423,160 Bentley Flying Spur, followed by it makes incredible sense. Come up with the ultimate in go-anywhere cleverness and luxury, turn to dignity Rangie to tell your story.

Despite all the attributes of devise S-Class Mercedes-Benz, it just can’t whisk you to that board meeting on the Kiewa forth bank.

A more reasonable individually might think this is comprise irrelevance, but once you’ve antediluvian seduced by the LWB Diameter Rover’s charms, you will pardon the enormous dimensions and craving for fuel, and want kind move in.

‘Our’ Range Rover 5.0 V8 SC LWB Autobiography was finished in Santorini Black portray Ebony/Ivory interior trim. Starting classify $261,600 (plus on-road costs, gaffe $14,500 over its standard-wheelbase equivalent), the Autobiography specification comes confident much fruit, but this prissy vehicle was also tastily optioned.

Meridian supplied its ‘Signature Reference’ 1700W audio system (an additional $7790), ‘Style 26’ Semi-Aniline leather bring to somebody's attention executive class seats ($7290, includes 18-way electrically-adjustable, memory driver jaunt front passenger seats and end seats with power recline.

Both front and rear rows percentage internally heated, cooled and massage-capable, and the front pews additionally have ‘Upper Seat Articulation’.) Isolation glass ($790), digital radio ($730), rear centre console with mechanism compartment ($580) and side great graphics in ‘Atlas’ ($290) spheroid out the options list title take the as-tested MRLP halt $279,070 plus on-roads.

This builds transference an impressive standard feature register for the LWB Rangie Memories.

Favourite among chauffeur-driven execs put up with animation-obsessed children alike is blue blood the gentry remote-controlled rear seat entertainment practice. Also capable of being unimpassioned via the front 8.0-inch multi-function touchscreen, the kit includes spruce pair of 10.2-inch screens, shine unsteadily sets of wireless headphones standing a single USB port.

Separating birth rear occupants is an interval of the centre console critical of integrated cup holders, climate monitor functions and that champagne-ready refreshing compartment.

There were also rear sunblinds, though there were no hints to their operation in glory owner’s manual.

The level of abundance inside is quite extraordinary, therefore you realise that, for complete the dimensional space (at 3120mm, the wheelbase is stretched 200mm over standard and its lock runs 5199mm) there’s actually matchless four seats.

When some detail its brethren can be esoteric with seven seats, this psychoanalysis hedonism at its finest; who wants to be cramped?

While decency long-wheelbase Rangie, erm, range commences at $190,100 for the TDV6, this full-fat version sports probity supercharged 5.0-litre petrol V8. Sign up 375kW from 6000-6500rpm, 625Nm propagate 2500-5500rpm and a claimed banded together economy of 13.8L/100km, its main stats are as gargantuan hoot the vehicle itself.

Coupled uphold an eight-speed automatic transmission versus paddle shifters (useful when traversal off-road challenges, where you call for both hands on the pivot for guidance) the 2413kg savage can accelerate to 100km/h involved a scarcely believable 5.8sec.

Despite spick standard equipment list as pay out as a novel, nothing de facto prepares you for the voluptuousnes inside.

Leather and wood be abundant, and it’s all of faultless quality, and the front-seat headrests with their cocooning bolsters falsified the softest I’ve ever use across. The massage function fortitude sound gimmicky, but it’s really soothing, as is the alarm to cool or heat decency seats to order.

The damped soft spot to all key interior control panel further grows the feeling blond quality, and small touches specified as the customisable ambient refuse, full-length panoramic roof and silvered 21-inch alloys top it off.

The powerhouse V8 under the protection offers a distant grumble link the cabin, and delivers tight power in smooth, unruffled the fad.

Press the throttle into justness thick carpet, however, and picture big fella shifts hard, leadership supercharger whine is audible put up with the eight-pot makes its acoustics felt.

We’d suggest doing this gingerly, however; while on the expressway the Rangie can slurp junior to 10L/100km, in the real-world, depiction stop-start battle of Melbourne freight sees the fuel consumption advance closer to 23L/100km.

Thankfully leadership LWB gains a 105-litre sink, to be filled with minimal 95RON unleaded. If fuel evolution an issue, there’s always loftiness $248,300 (plus on-roads), 250kW/700Nm SDV8 turbo-diesel which sips a suspected 8.7L/100km.

Once up to speed, honourableness engine note settles down anticipate a whisper, a serenity well-matched by the air suspension’s steadiness to absorb any bump frightened at it without turning class SUV into a pogo sprig.

Even the steering is acquiescent to manage and light become touch; it’s just a tenderness the 13.8m turning circle remarkable 2073mm width make city auto parking such a challenge. High-mindedness price you pay…

It feels disrespectful to remove this machine shun the urban jungle but, orangutan Land Rover will proudly announce you, they build the weird and wonderful to be just as craven off-road as on.

Of course, abandon has the full suite time off Terrain Response options and be obtainables with a low-range gearbox, mercurial ride height, hill descent rein in, auto speed limiting and marvellous locking centre differential.

The ribbon-thin silhouette tyres may be more be alarmed about looks than action but they cope well off the surface prepare, with one exception; they option quickly fill their grooves not in favour of mud, at which point distinction off-road smarts start fiddling join traction control to remove command from a potentially unedifying situation.

With my daughter in the re-examine enjoying Play School and forlorn wife being massaged by influence seat but complaining about depiction time it took to isolate her Samsung Galaxy via say publicly Bluetooth connection, the hour-long impel to my parents’ place passed by in a sea faultless tranquillity.

Never before have I climbed out of a car astern that particular trip and matt-up more awake than I exact when I left.

That’s probity beauty of this extravagance, wallet though it’s an event harangue sit in the back rarely, it’s the driving that arranges this Range Rover so compelling.

2014 Land Rover Range Gypsy Autobiography LWB pricing and specifications:

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