Range Rover Sport SVR vs Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Footballer posing chariots or true all-rounder performance heroes?
Top of the Range Rover Sport tree or not a quick glance of the spec sheets will reveal the twin-turbo Cayenne enters this contest boasting the more impressive numbers. There's that 570hp to the SVR's 550hp, a thumping 590lb ft against 501lb ft for the Range Rover's supercharged V8, a 100kg weight saving and a massive £23,305 premium over the Sport's £95,150. 0-62 and top speed also weigh in the Porsche's favour.
This is still an away match for the Cayenne though. Porsche has grown fat off the success of its genre defining sportlich SUV. But flip this contest on its head and imagine a comparison between 911 GT3 and an imaginary Range Rover sports car and you get a sense of the challenge the SVR lays down. Character goes a long way and all that.
You'll be familiar with this car from its appearances on the PH Fleet and the slow burn charm offensive. You may not like the genre but, hell, the SVR's charisma is sufficient to have you making exceptions.
In styling and dynamics the Range Rover has nothing to hide. It's a burly 4x4, square-cut and drawing on a formidable heritage. Handsome is eye of the beholder but proportionally the Sport manages to be both faithful to its traditions without looking at all retro. It's unapologetic but undeniably fit for purpose. Same can be said for the interior, the only let-down being an infotainment interface seemingly a generation behind the rest of the car.
On the road it's as big a laugh as that outrageous exhaust note suggests. Chassis and powertrain wise both of these cars settle on variations of the same solution to combining huge power with seemingly unfavourable weight distribution. Both have variable height air suspension, active anti-roll systems and clever active diff based distribution of power. In the SVR's case it feels more like a souped-up off-roader, albeit carried off with some style.
The linearity of the power delivery can fool you into thinking it's not quite as fast as you might hope. It is though, the view over the hedges from the raised seating position and fearsome punch making it quite the overtaking weapon when confronted with the dawdling masses.
Look for a used Range Rover Sport SVR in the classifieds!
If you want a more car-like driving experience the Cayenne is by far the better choice. But then, if you wanted a more car-like driving experience, surely you'd actually be better off with a Panamera, or equivalent M, RS or AMG? So lies the mystery for the few still not sold on the whole performance crossover thing.
This isn't helped by the appalling visibility. The Range Rover, shall we say, enhances your confidence by elevating you over the masses and letting you savour the view. The Cayenne is more like driving an armoured vehicle and peering through slit-like windows, increasing the sense of isolation and disconnection. And in a car this potent that's a little worrying.
No complaints about the way it goes though, the S offering a decent step up from the 520hp and 553lb ft of the regular Cayenne Turbo. It also gets kit like the roll-cancelling PDCC and PCCM ceramic brakes as standard too, somewhat offsetting that burly entry price and premium over the SVR.
Both make great use of their shared eight-speed automatic gearbox too, slurring about when needed but also able to deliver as crisp an impression of a paddle-shifted manual as you'd ever need in a car like this.
Look for a used Porsche Cayenne Turbo S in the classifieds!
By conventional measures neither of these cars is especially likeable. In their own ways they both astonish in their application of technology to overcome the inherent shortcomings in their size, weight and centre of gravity. For all their different characters they also settle on comparable solutions to the problem too.
The Porsche is the faster vehicle, capable of lapping the 'ring 15 seconds faster than the SVR if such things matter. It's the one that feels more like a car and less like a 4x4. Its interior wins out on quality and opulence, if not its slightly fussy style. But for all its ability it's less engaging, arguably still fighting the contradiction of sports car in an SUV body the Range Rover will never have to face and considerably more expensive too. And the fact the SVR runs the Cayenne so close dynamically without seemingly compromising the mud-plugging credentials gives it credibility to match the charisma.
RANGE ROVER SPORT SVR
Engine: 4,997cc, V8 supercharged
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 550@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 501@2,500-5,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.5sec
Top speed: 162mph
Weight: 2,335kg ('from')
MPG: 22.1mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 298g/km
Price: £95,150 (£106,635 as tested comprising of £450 for Solar Attenuating Windscreen with Laminated Hydrophobic Front, Rear Door and Quarter Light Glass, £600 for 8 inch High Resolution Touch-screen with Dual-View (includes one set of WhiteFire headphones), £4,000 for Meridian Signature Reference Audio System (1700W) with radio and single slot CD player, MP3 disc, file compatability and conversation assist with 23 speakers and subwoofer, Contrast Painted Roof - Santorini Black, Sliding Panoramic Roof including Powered Blind, £185 for Adjustable, Auto-dimming, Heated, Powerfold Memory Exterior Mirrors with Approach Lamps (approach lamps include illuminated Range Rover graphic), £700 for Surround Camera System with Towing Assist, £750 for Wade SensingTM with Blind Spot Monitoring with Closing Vehicle Sensing and Reverse Traffic Detection, £600 for Traffic Sign Recognition and Lane Departure Warning, £1,000 for Head Up Display, £900 for Park Assist featuring Parallel Park, Parking Exit, Perpendicular Parking and 360° Park Distance Control, £1,500 for SVR Carbon Fibre Engine Cover and £800 for Digital TV)
PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO S
Engine: 4,806cc, twin turbo-charged V8
Transmission: 8-speed tiptronic S, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 578@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 590@2,250-4,000rpm
0-62mph: 4.1sec
Top speed: 176mph
Weight: 2,235kg (DIN Unladen)
MPG: 24.6mpg
CO2: 267g/km
Price: £118,455 (£123,227 as tested comprising of £1,934 for Sports exhaust system including tail pipe in black, £122 for monochrome black exterior package, £210 for comfort lighting, £320 for privacy glass, £825 for electrically-retractable tow ball, £446 for reversing camera and £591 for roof rails painted in black)
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You are wrong.
These are immensely useful cars. Anyone who does not live an urban or suburban existence will tell you that there is nothing better for the day to day life of living in rural areas. It it ironic that many urban dwellers see these cars as "chelsea chariots" but there is a significant part of your demographic that lives in the sticks and for whom these cars make a lot of sense - people like Harry Metcalfe, but probably not as rich...
I don't really follow the above if i'm being honest.
However if I think its about lineage and heritage, there is a problem, Porsche still makes sports cars and 911's, Land Rover just binned its own heritage, and now only makes shiny chariots.
I don't really follow the above if i'm being honest.
I'd say that's exactly what it's trying to be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFx8RlXCOpk
One point I will take issue with though and that's practicality - living with the Sport it's not as big inside as it looks from out, the rear seats don't fold flat and, like all SUVs needing to accommodate massive 22-inch wheels and suitable suspension travel, there's a load of arch intrusion that impacts on boot space and rear legroom. Plus shorter people need 'convenience' features like powered tailgates and load height suspension to use the boot. And in the Cayenne's case leg- and headroom in the back are awful, the boot is small and the visibility woeful. They are mighty machines but the ability and style does demand sacrifices.
If you want truly practical, rural friendly transport I'd maintain an Octavia Scout, Legacy Outback, A6 Allroad or similar gives you more actual usable space, much more road-friendly dimensions and enough off-road ability to get along any farm track or be confident of reaching your destination whatever the weather. Bringing us full circle to the inescapable fact pose factor is at least as important as the actual usability in these things.
And the perceived anti-SUV bias? Consider it an editorial stance. And I'm the editor!
But I hope you'll agree opinions are qualified, expressed fairly and fully backed up where made. And, of course, if you disagree there is a platform on which to discuss further! Cheers!
Dan
The Range Rover is the real deal and always has been, the Porsche is dog food dressed as steak tartar. It is a reconfigured Audi. This was the first one, the Macca takes this idea a step further and is just an Audi, reskinned, tweeked and now even using VW diesels. No DNA, just a badge job.
Range Rover every time. Heritage, capability and breading count.
And, for that matter, if you're going to compare them as boulevard cruisers, how about comparing the top of the line in both brands and use the full-size Range Rover Supercharged?
So how about the following comparison done both on-road and off including mud, sand and towing a horse box:
Land Rover - Range Rover Autobiography 5.0l Supercharged
Porsche - Cayenne Turbo S
Bentley - Bentayga
Dan
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