Newly introduced upgrades has not altered the Sport's exterior design. Image: Land Rover
Exactly two weeks after issuing a series of upgrades to the full-size Range Rover, Land Rover has done the same with the Range Rover Sport as part of a subtle mid-life refresh.
Debuting, surprisingly, less than 12 months after its world premiere, the changes centre around the interior which receives not only improved haptic feedback, but also new slider controls for the climate control, plus Jaguar-Land Rover’s latest software encased within the new 13.3-inch Pivi Pro infotainment system that replaces the old 13.1-inch setup.
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Still resplendent with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the new system further benefits from improved over-the-air updates as well as revised voice recognition control.
Similar to the full-size Range Rover, the Sport receives the Country Road Assist system that works in conjunction with the integrated satellite navigation and Adaptive Cruise Control to scan the road for the varying traits of country roads such as bends and frequently changing speed limits.
Besides the introduction of the new SV that replaces the SVR as the new flagship Sport model, Land Rover has added a secondary new derivative in the shape of the plug-in hybrid P460e.
The replacement for the P510e, the newcomer once again combines a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six Ingenium petrol engine with 38.2-kWh lithium-ion battery, but with a more powerful 160 kW electric motor as opposed to the 105 kW unit used until now.
Still mated to the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox, the setup delivers a combined 338kW/700Nm, 37 kW less but 100Nm more than the P510e. The claimed all-electric range is slightly down too from 125 km to 121 km.
Elsewhere, the local market line-up continues unchanged with outputs of 257kW/700Nm from the diesel engine D350 and 294kW/550Nm from the mild-hybrid straight-six petrol in the P400.
Most likely as a result of the SV, the Sport is unlikely to receive the combination of the BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 and 48-volt mild-hybrid system that produces a combined 452kW/750Nm in the full-size Range Rover P550e.
Still to be confirmed for South Africa given the Sport having only arrived towards the latter stages of last year, expectations are that the revisions will be rolled-out either during the fourth quarter of this year, or in early 2024.
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