Range Rover Sport SDV8: What They're Saying

How many superlatives can one car accumulate? PH acts scorekeeper on the Range Rover SDV8

Should a time ever come, post-fracking apocalypse, when we are restricted to just one car in the garage, the new Range Rover Sport SDV8 could be a more than decent shout for that golden berth. Its 339hp, 516lb ft of torque, six-second 0-60 time, 32.5mpg on the combined cycle and nailed-on handling on or off road, allied to looks and comfort that will fit into just about any social milieu, had our other Dan (Prosser) coming back from the launch with a bit of dribble on his chin and a sign-off line describing the SDV8 Autobiography as "'one of the most complete cars on sale."

Were the other motor noters on the launch as convinced by the big diesel RR Sport?

What Car?'s Steve Huntingford laid down a general Sport marker by calling it "so good that it makes you question the sense in buying the full-size Range Rover." Probably not what Land Rover was aiming for, but Steve was calling the SDV8 as he saw it: "very agile... confident steering... torquey, sweet engine... classy." He liked the fact that for a relatively low £1,600 LR will fit a third row of seats. The only disappointment for him was the touchscreen infotainment system, which he thought "frustrating, confusing and slow." At the end of the day he nominated the only marginally slower (but £6.5K cheaper) SDV6 as the pick of the Sport range, noting as an aside that the six was over £21K cheaper in HSE spec. And he accidentally answered a few PH posters' questions by reckoning that the SDV8 definitely wouldn't keep up with a V8 diesel Cayenne.

Auto Express sent Tom Phillips. He was impressed by the SDV8's "staggering breadth of capability." He called it a "potent driver's car"and an "engaging, accurate way to take on your favourite road." Tom liked the "gurgling, bassy noise" and thought the difference between the Sport and the Range Rover was that it "connected you to the road rather than cossetted you from it." He didn't say that made it better, just different. Within the Sport range, he thought that the SDV8 "could be the sweet spot."

The Autocar man on the spot, or indeed Sport, was Matt Saunders. He made the interesting observation that for exactly the same £81,550 as the SDV8 Autobiog you could slap in an order for the 169g/km Sport Hybrid that's due out next year. He noted the SDV8's performance was "a little shy" of the Porsche Cayenne S and BMW X5 M50d diesels. "'Brisk but not all that quick" was his summation. Having said that, he rated the "excellent steering precision" and the car's grip and fluency. He ended up recommending it over the Germans for its "honesty, polish and poise", the "'warmth and luxury of its cabin" and its "unquestionable superiority over the rough stuff."

Car Enthusiast was represented by Kyle Fortune. He was pleased by the relative simplicity of the second-gen car's styling, by its "smoothness and composure" and by the functionality of the cabin, but not by the "really old" satnav. His main point was that the differences between the eight and the six "aren't perhaps as marked as you might expect." Kyle thought you'd be impressed by the V6 but left wondering why you've spent the extra on the V8. "The V6 seems to over deliver where the V8 seems to under." Don't you hate it when things under? Anyway, for that reason, he too came out on the side of the SDV6 as the best value proposition in the Sport range.

PHers said:

"The price simply staggers me. Aside from that, the RRS is too fat to be easily used everyday, but, having riden in a mate's '08 plate 3.6 TDV8 RRS, this is the sort of motor I'd be buying if money were no object." Digga

"I have no doubt that this is a spectacularly good car. There is only one, huge, elephant sized issue that we must address. The issue is, of course, reliability." toppstuff

"I think it's got to a point where these need to start being compared to things more like Bentley Continentals." dukebox9reg

"I seem to recall a number of dealer stories about diehard Range Rover fans who have always had the petrol V8s doing some 20K miles a year. They were then convinced to try the V8 diesel and were converted straight away. And these were people who really don't need to worry about money." zeppelin101

"£81K is way too much IMHO, easy to make it £85k+ on the top model! I look at these and think, like most 4x4s, that they should be about £48K." rtz62

"Wait until the hybrid Sport hits the road next year. It has the 3.0 diesel and performs as well as the V8 diesel. The fuel economy is quoted as 44mpg." wargriff

"Is it just me that can't see the benefit over the V6? 0-60 in 6.9s, where the V6 is 7-point-something (I think). Take a hit on the fuel (if you care about that) and a good £10-15k more expensive. I don't see the benefit." brickwall

"My view is that the TDV6 at £51k is the sweet spot for this sort of car. Specify the optional third row of seats and you are are done... Save yourself £30k." TWPC

"A golf is £30k nowadays." jdw1234

"Despite the £80k price tag, the shiny paint and the acres of leather, Land Rover still engineer their cars to be capable of overland expeditions. So the engine needs to be able to run on diluted camel piss while towing a three and a half tonne trailer in all terrains. Ultimate tarmac performance against a competitor vehicle which has been solely honed at the 'Ring, is one criteria - but not the defining one." Impasse

[Sources: What Car?, Auto Express, Autocar, Car Enthusiast]

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