The Range Rover might be fully capable of driving you through the most rugged of terrain, but inside it feels more like you’re driving around in your living room. This isn’t a bad thing, but an amazing melding of two very different worlds into one incredible car.
It’s supposed to be the ultimate off-road vehicle, but take a seat inside and you’ll see that anyone buying the 2013 Range Rover likely has a very different focus. You’re surrounded by leather and wood in what is an elegant design that is somehow subdued despite being such a huge vehicle.
Big. That’s the first thing you think when you sidle up to the Range Rover and the impression is upheld inside where there’s an extra four inches of rear legroom over the prior model. It is nothing short of cavernous, but its size is balanced by a sleek design so you still manage to feel comfortable and cocooned in its world.
Its size might have you expecting it to handle something like an elephant on highways, but you’d be wrong. The new Range Rover has lost 700lbs and driving the 510 HP supercharged V8 I couldn’t believe how well it handled. Steering took no effort at all and it was more responsive than some smaller, lighter, supposedly sportier cars. A bit of nose dive, particularly in hard braking, was my only complaint.
The Range Rover I tested came with a rear entertainment system that featured rear-seat screens as well as wireless headphones and a wireless controller that tucked away nicely into the center armrest for storage. Given that storage consideration I found it odd that the headphones, which came in little black suede bags to keep them clean and safe, barely fit into the rear seat pockets.
You’ll find the Range Rover to be, in may ways, exactly the image the name conjures. Elegant. Grand. Capable. Impressive. Incredibly luxurious. This is a car you buy expecting to be noticed and it definitely will have heads turning at every corner.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
