2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport vs 2005 Toyota Corolla Ice Race

Ice racing is definitely one of the most opportunistic of all the motorsports. That is, if living somewhere cold enough for a body of water to freeze thick enough to drive on can be considered an opportunity. Typically, ice racing is conducted in time trials, so that cars don’t have to go wheel-to-wheel on a surface where they can easily spin totally out of control. When Autobytel’s Road Test Editor Benjamin Hunting had a 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, he figured that ice racing would be a rare chance to test its capabilities. He took the Range Rover Sport to the middle of a frozen lake and ran it against a 2005 Toyota Corolla. Why a Corolla? It’s a reasonable question. These two vehicles aren’t in the same class or category, have a vast difference in power, and the Toyota is front-wheel drive while the Range Rover is equipped with Land Rover’s notable four-wheel drive system. The Land Rover also has significantly more ground clearance than the Toyota, which enables it to simply blow through snowdrifts the Toyota was much better off avoiding. However, it took an experienced track driving instructor willing to put the 2005 Corolla up to the wheel-to-wheel challenge, hence the unlikely matchup.