2022 Range Rover Sport Debuts With BOLD Styling

The 2022 Range Rover is one of the pinnacles when it comes to combining the opulence of a five star hotel with off-roading capabilities like no other. Sure, it comes at a cost, and for those wanting a similar experience a step below, the Range Rover Sport comes in. And now, the Sport has been refreshed for 2022 and things seem promising. 

Starting with styling, Land Rover has nailed it here. It seems like the Ranger Rover Sport has killed it in the gym with tauter styling and some bold design elements. The familiar Land Rover grille is now sleeker and bleeds on to the smoked adaptive LED digital headlamps. Couple that with an quite aggressively styled bumper and what you get is a mean-looking fascia.  

The silhouette is very much familiar to the older car, but it’s all smooth and soft lines that dominate the side profile. It’s also flush and smooth, thanks to the flush-fitting pop out door handles, which is part of the reason for its super low drag coefficient of 0.29. Dominance, though, are the blacked out roofline and the large alloy wheels. 

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Land Rover has gone bold with the rear. The number plate housing has shifted from the tailgate to the bumper. And the former now gets just connected LED tail lamps, giving it a minimalist look. For a handful, including this author, this layout might need some getting used too, especially when compared with the outgoing model. 

Step inside and you’ll notice that the dashboard design takes plenty of inspiration from the more luxurious Range Rover. Splashes of ambient lighting all around do their bit to uplift the overall ambience. But the main highlight ought to be the 13.7-inch touchscreen infotainment system housing JLR’s Pivi Pro software. 

But unlike the now shifting trend to delete buttons, you get large chunky knobs and buttons for the climate control and terrain response system. Easy to use and not much attention needed to take your eyes off the road. Speaking of which, the driver gets a large 13.1-inch digital driver’s display, which can be operated via the touch button on the new 3-spoke steering wheel. 

 

In terms of features, some notable ones include a 29-speaker 1430W Meridian sound system, active noise cancellation, soft closing doors, 22-way adjustable powered front seats with heating and ventilation, ADAS, Amazon Alexa, wireless phone charger, and 3D surround-view camera. 

Also Read: The Ultra Luxurious Range Rover SV Is For You To Book In India

Right, the engines. Base options are 3-litre six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines in different tunes with mild-hybrid technology. Then there’s the 3-litre plug-in hybrid, available in two guises – P440e and P510e) – developing 440PS and 510PS respectively from the 3-litre petrol engine teamed with an electric motor. It’s no slouch either, covering from 0-100kmph in 5.4 seconds and an electric driving range of up to 113km thanks to the 38.2kWh battery. For the enthusiasts, there is the option of a BMW sourced 4.4-litre V8 developing 530PS and doing 0-100kmph in just 4.3 seconds. An 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive is standard. Plus, a pure electric model is on the cards for a 2024 launch. 

 

There’s plenty happening underneath the skin and the one grabbing the spotlight is the Dynamic Air Suspension, which varies the air pressure in the suspension chamber for tighter handling. Plus, the SUV has active anti roll bar, all-wheel steering, and electronic differential to aid handling. 

Considering that Land Rover didn’t waste anytime bringing the new Range Rover to India, we expect the Sport to come here sooner than later. At an expected starting price of under a crore, the Sport will lock horns with the Audi Q8, Porsche Cayenne, Mercedes-Benz GLS, BMW X7, and the Volvo XC90.