New Sport is more aggressive looking than before.
Announced for South Africa just under two months ago, Jaguar-Land Rover officially debuted the all-new, third generation Range Rover Sport on local soil on Tuesday (4 October), as its “most capable, advanced and dynamic” iteration ever.
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Joining the full-size Range Rover as the second and final model to make use of the MLA-Flex platform, an architecture designed for internal combustion and electric power units, the Sport is said to be 35% stiffer than its predecessor, but also lighter despite an official figure not being disclosed.
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Retaining the same profile as the first two generations, but with a significantly more aggressive frontal appearance, and a rear facia seemingly derived from the new Nissan Z, the Sport not only receives the new platform, but also a series of technologies carried over from the European model to the South African example.
Depending on the trim level, the items in question include the 48-volt mild-hybrid Active Roll Control system, Land Rover’s latest Terrain Response 2 off-road system, standard adaptive air suspension on all models, an electronic active differential and Torque Vectoring.
Offering 281 mm of ground clearance, a wading depth of 900 mm and Land Rover’s active twin valve dampers, the Sport does its name justice by offering, as an option, the Stormer Handling Package named after the 2004 concept that went on to spawn the original months later.
This includes all of the mentioned chassis enchantments as standard, plus All-Wheel-Steering on all P510e and P530 models.
On the specification front, Land Rover’s 13.1-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment system comes standard across the board, along with the new 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster, a wireless smartphone charger integrated below the former display, soft closing doors, Active Noise Cancelling speakers and an optional 29-speaker, 1 430-watt Meridian sound system.
As mentioned previously, the South African market line-up spans ten models, five trim levels and four engines, all paired to the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox that does duty in the full-size Range Rover.
Commencing the range as the sole diesel derivative is the D350 that pumps out 257kW/700Nm from its 3.0-litre Ingenium straight-six oil-burner. Unlike in Europe, the 48-volt mild-hybrid has not been included for South Africa.
On the petrol front, the P400 delivers 294kW/550Nm from its 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six Ingenium engine, backed-out by the mild-hybrid system surprisingly not afforded on the “standard” Range Rover.
Rating as the third option, the P510e replaces the old P400e as the latest plug-in hybrid model, and also provides a preview of the all-electric model due in 2024.
In a departure from the P400e, the P510e swaps the 2.0-litre turbocharged Ingenium four-cylinder engine for the aforementioned petrol straight-six and the 13.1-kWh battery that powered the 85 kW electric motor for an 38.2-kWh battery and accompanying 105 kW electric module.
The end result is combined system output of 375kW/700Nm versus 297kW/640Nm, a claimed range of 113 km compared to 51 km and 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds relative to the P400e’s 6.7 seconds.
Capping the range off is the P530 that makes use of the BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 in place of the old Ford-made AJ-V8 5.0-litre supercharged mill.
Producing 390kW/750Nm, the forced-assisted bent-eight propels the Sport from 0-100 km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 250 km/h.
Specification-wise, the Range Rover Sport’s trim levels comprise Dynamic S, Dynamic SE, Dynamic HSE, Autobiography and First Edition, with all being the recipient of a five year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
As at the preview of the standard Range Rover, the Sport wasn’t available for sampling as sales are only set to commence later this month. Expect, however, a full road before the end of the year.
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