Automotive
There’s something to be said about the formidable full-size Range Rover that Land Rover has kept true to its roots even in the adornment of exceptional luxury. The fifth-generation Range Rover embodies the ultra-luxury segment of SUVs where it continues to invite its passengers to the upper echelon of classiness and style escaping from far from normalcy. Even the interior smell of a new Range Rover encased in an exorbitant amount of leather is a uniquely standout part of the full Range Rover experience.
For the 2025 model year, the full-size Range Rover continues from its 2022 model year redesign retaining a classy stature that’s attractive outside and in with a modernized approach to its looks and minimalistic approach to technology.
Powering the Land Rover Range Rover in its base form is a rather unique 3.0-liter turbocharged and supercharged inline 6-cylinder engine, dubbed the P400 powertrain, good for 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. The engine, mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, has an interesting feel as if it produces just a bit more power than stated on paper. Some of that is an attribute to its rare turbocharger, supercharger, and mild hybrid system that work together to limit lag or rev ranges that lack power. Basically, there’s good power throughout the entire rev range.
Throughout my time with the Range Rover SE LWB (Long Wheelbase), it never felt underpowered despite its side and a hefty curb weight of 5,600 pounds. Though the Range Rover never felt light on its feet, it has a stately driving character that nearly exhibits the behavior of a Rolls-Royce Phantom but without the extra dose of power, which is something that’s more reserved for the Range Rover V8 with 523 horsepower. One feature, which thankfully comes as standard for such a vehicle, is the all-wheel steering setup that turns the rear wheels rather sharply in the opposite direction at lower speeds, which proves to be exceptionally helpful when maneuvering the large British SUV with its extended wheelbase. Fundamentally, it virtually shortens the wheelbase when making turns giving the driver even more confidence in their driving quest.
Zero to 60 mph comes in at 6 seconds, and doing so has you questioning exactly why – as this is no vehicle to get carried away as it doesn’t promote such. Overall, you’ll want to leisurely drive such a vehicle and enjoy the class-above presence on the road where there’s no question that it is destined for comfort over sportiness – the Range Rover Sport takes care of the sporty quest. The adaptive dynamics and air suspension system do well in keeping things composed and fundamentally stable out on the road with the convenience of automatically lowering the vehicle for easy entry and exit. And then there’s the ability to put its off-roading prowess to the test via the Terrain Response 2 system and its plethora of off-roading drive modes, leaving you with the one outlier being the tire choice as Land Rover keeps with the tradition of offering a capable off-roading vehicle here. However, who’s really going to take such a plush luxury vehicle off-road? Well, some may do that and can do it with some serious reassurance and water wading depth capability of 35 inches after the air suspension rises to the occasion.
When you’re being civil and keeping things on paved road surfaces, you can expect to almost match the EPA fuel economy estimates of 18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 20 mpg combined. The large 23.8-gallon fuel tank full of premium gives you a highway cruising range of about 571 miles.
The interior of the new Range Rover is always inviting and chock-full of leather appointments. The dashboard of the Range Rover, mimicking the theme of many other new Land Rover vehicles, has a minimalistic play where nearly all vehicle controls and entertainment functions are accessed through the latest Pivi Pro infotainment system fed through a 13.1-inch touchscreen.
The slight vertical curve of the touchscreen adds to the flowing look of the dashboard, as does the slanted angle of the 12.3-inch digital driver’s gauge cluster with interactive display configurations. The infotainment system can take many through a long learning curve in finding which menu sets have the proper control desired, in addition to many common controls remaining on screen but with the option of haptic feedback to assure you of onscreen button pressing. The integration of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto fit nicely into the touchscreen leaving essential functions to the left and right sides of the screen.
The seating areas are plush and comfy with the one exception being the third row remaining on the smaller side. The second row seats have power adjustments and quickly motor out of the way via for easy third-row access. There’s a welcoming isolation from the outside, not only from the hushed cabin but a sensation that you’re encapsulated in a British tank – albeit an exceptionally luxurious tank. Having the 7-seating configuration, the Range Rover LWB gives the second row an extra bit of spacing, nearly on the verge of acting as a small limo. Such a concept carries over well to higher trims of the Range Rover to provide the expected ultra-luxury appointments for the rear passengers, surpassing my base-level trim test vehicle, followed by a much more substantial price tag, as you can imagine.
The bulky feeling of the Range Rover LWB 7-Seat gives you an elevated sense of safety, which fits in place for such a vehicle having most expected active safety features, including a trick 360-degree camera system that gives you a view of what is underneath the vehicle as you drive.
The collective of what a Range Rover signifies is part of its worth where the 2025 model year starts at $114,900 for the SE LWB 7-Seat trim level. Adding up a few options on my test vehicle, still leaving a lot of room for add-ons, the price comes to $118,610, including a destination and delivery charge of $1,625. Quite the price – but it’s for quite the vehicle, one of the most recognizable and attractive ultra-luxury SUVs around with unsurpassed off-roading abilities for its segment.
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