To borrow a phrase from the Daily Mail [not something we do often - Ed.], a two-tier society is developing among buyers of sporty SUVs and for that we can thank modern suspension and drivetrain technology.
Sub nine minutes, but only with the tech
Oh boo hoo, you might reasonably think, but bear with us here because it's got wider implications too. It's at its most exaggerated on SUVs though. And while you can't really tell whether that
Range Rover Sport
, BMW X5, VW Touareg or Porsche Cayenne has active dampers, clever roll bars or air suspension or whatnot, the presence or absence of this tech could have a massive effect on its on-road and off-road performance.
This thought was triggered by something new Range Rover Sport development chief Craig Carter told us during a demo of the all-new car in Dubai. He'd been benchmarking the competition and told us he thought the V8 X5 M was the best handling large SUV out there. But without the M's Dynamic Performance Control trick rear differential, he thought the entry versions of the X5 were actually beaten dynamically by a VW Touareg costing five grand less.
Standard X5s compromised without options
The new Range Rover Sport is in the same boat, however. It's available with a similar rear diff, but only in Dynamic versions starting from £65,000. They also get adaptive dampers and active roll bars, something entry versions from £51,550 don't.
Slightly more lean and a slower pace in corners aren't going to alert the neighbours you skimped on spec, but off-road you could be shown up by the lack of a low-range gearbox on the two diesel entry cars. Carter reckons they'll go wherever the low-range cars do and all cars get air suspension, but on some SUVs it could be a bigger issue.
You have to go with the Escape version of the Touareg, for example, to get a low-range gearbox. It's the off-road version of the off-roader, which is slightly comic. Air suspension gives variable ground clearance up to 300mm, but that's £2,430.
Spend money on chassis gizmos, not flouro
Porsche Cayenne
, another car praised by Carter for its handling, is another that's stingy with its air suspension, charging £2,380 except on the Turbo, where it's standard. Its highest setting gives you another 58mm clearance, which could make the difference between labeling it a poor off-roader and a very good one, particularly if you've just beached a standard steel-sprung car.
Of course SUVs rarely go off-road. So what's the point of paying more and adding another 50kg for the Touareg Escape? The 'single-speed' Range Rover Sports are lighter by 18kg. And on-road, does the active suspension really matter if you're mainly driving from city to city via a motorway with a family on board? High spec cars have always had the better gadgets anyway, so really, what's the issue?
The issue comes when automakers market their SUV as boasting the finest balance between road comfort, dynamic cornering, and off-road ability when really it's just the ones with all the tech that achieve that, and most of that is optional.
We'd be interested to know: which of this dynamic/off-road spec would you choose/avoid if you were speccing up this type of SUV?