Driving Impressions
Faster than any other Land Rover on its feet, the Supercharged model hits 140 mph, and goes from zero to 60 mph. in 7.1 seconds. The six-speed ZF transmission is especially pleasing in manual mode, which blips the throttle for downshifts.
We split our on-pavement ride and drive of nearly 300 miles between the 2006 Range Rover Sport HSE and Range Rover Sport Supercharged models. While the Supercharged version benefits from a significant power boost and covers wide-open pavement in a mannerly fashion well into the triple digits, the HSE is no slouch. The Supercharged is given a more meaty exhaust note, but hard throttle on the HSE also brings a pleasant reverberation of power. Both versions of the Sport benefit from smooth aerodynamics and are laudably free of wind noise at speed. Faster than any other Land Rover on its feet, the Sport Supercharged hits 140 mph, and goes from zero to 60 mph. in 7.1 seconds. The six-speed ZF transmission, from PAG’s Aston Martin division, is pleasant to drive in automatic mode but especially so in manual mode, which adds a positive torque feature on downshifts that blips the throttle between gears. More aggressive looking and more fun to drive than any other Land Rover, both Sport models have a four-wheel independent suspension cross-linked with four-corner air suspension, and an active anti-roll bar that is hydraulically fed, with accelerators that anticipate cornering force and dial a bit of roll. In practice both on and off the road, driving the Range Rover Sport incurred little head or body roll. Speed-proportional, variable ratio ZF steering is highly responsive with 3.1 turns lock-to-lock and a turning circle of 38.1 feet, while the brakes offer effective stopping power. For us, there were no surprises driving the Range Rover Sport in a slow-speed fashion on the red rock trails of Moab. We were familiar with Land Rover’s permanent 4WD, two-speed electronic transfer gearbox, and Terrain Response systems from an in-depth evaluation of the LR3. Despite its on-road bias, the Sport has been engineered to meet all of Land Rover’s off-road testing criteria: a water fording to a depth of 27.6 inches; the ability to climb and descend 45-degree gradients; stability when driving across a 35-degree slope; and a handbrake that will hold on a 45-degree slope.
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