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Land Rover Range Rover Sport – 3 Day Diary

Here is how we spent time testing the Land Rover Range Rover Sport.

Day 1 – First Impressions

We had had the Range Rover Sport booked in for a couple of months and had planned some exciting things to do with it, we were really looking forward to featuring this car.

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The car was delivered right to the door and parked next to my much older Range Rover Vogue. Even with 9,000 miles on the clock, the test car looked brand new. Just being in the presence of the car there is a sense of stature that commands to be respected.

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Looking around the car for the first time there was a lot fighting for my attention. The 21-inch alloy wheels jumped out at me first, they look enormous and really suit the car. The latest edition of the Range Rover Sport is so well put together, the car looks expensive and luxurious, the paintwork is very deep and all the panels of the car carry tremendous detail. Without even getting in, it looks to be a solid car.

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Once I stepped into the Range Rover Sport for the first time, I was greeted by lots of beautifully soft leather and a very smartly designed interior that feels super modern and is the epitome of luxury. Land Rover have really nailed down what their audience are after with the interior of this car. Inside the car feels very roomy; sitting in the driver’s seat you feel miles away from the passenger seat.

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The first impression the Range Rover Sport gives you. Taking the car for its first quick spin was the next treat on my list. The car is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine that creates 306hp and 700Nm of torque, which goes through an 8-speed automatic gearbox. Once I got the car moving the initial driving impression is one of great smoothness. The car glides across the ground, ironing out all the bumps in a very solid manner. The ride is a completely premium experience and one that is difficult to replicate with any other.

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Whilst moving, and taking the occasional browse through the technology in the car when stopped, I learnt that the tech is well integrated with the Range Rover Sport. The infotainment system is packed full with clever cameras, eco readouts and even has a high tech screen that will allow your passengers to watch different content whilst you have the sat nav on the same screen. Incredible!

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Day 2 – Photo Shoot

Wanting to create custom photography of the car, we arranged to carefully place the Range Rover on a disused airstrip to create some interesting pictures, and with a car of this size an airfield seemed very apt. The trip to the airfield was about an hour’s drive from Birmingham. Motorway driving in the £80,000 Range Rover was very relaxing. The adaptive cruise control system is very mature, it responds well in real-life situations on the motorway, allowing you to focus on driving yet still be relaxed at the same time.

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Once on location at the airfield we cleaned the car down to make sure that it was as spotless as possible for the shoot. We had Ross Jukes fully prepped to conduct the shoot whilst also grabbing some snaps of a Classic Ford GT40 at the same location.

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All cleaned down we took the car round to the first location, under a set of huge planes designed to refuel aircrafts whilst on the move. We were set up in a cold and windy environment, but the sun just looked fantastic. The Range Rover Sport was showing how highly practical the car was, the boot being full of tripods, cameras and even a drone, yet there were still 5 seats free and also space inside to move around.

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Next, we had the opportunity to get some rolling shots very safely by taking a gentle cruise down the runway with Ross Jukes in a tracking car. This is one of my favourite pictures of the car.

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Lastly, we set the car up in the middle of the runway and waited for the sun to set. The external aesthetics of the car are so well put together that the car, in my opinion, has a near faultless design. The car was left in place for around 30 minutes whilst waiting for the light to change. Once the light was right, Ross captured a few pictures of this beast.

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Whilst waiting for the perfect light setting, I put the drone up briefly to capture the Range Rover from a high angle. Take a quick look at the video below and get the bird’s eye view on the Range Rover Sport.

Once the sun had dropped the shoot was over for the day we packed all of our equipment back into the spacious Range Rover and hit the motorway. Even after such a busy day the good thing about a Range Rover is that you would never be disappointed to drive it, you will never hear anyone say, “oh, and now I have to drive the Range Rover home.” The ride home was very warm, comfortable and relaxed, which brings me to mention just how great the sound insulation is in this car, on a motorway doing 70mph the car is perfectly quiet which is a great sign of quality in my eyes.

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Day 3 – Rainy Video Shoot

On the Sunday we had planned to shoot the video featuring the Land Rover Range Rover Sport in all its glory, but in complete opposite to the previous days weather at the airstrip, it was raining and pretty horrible. I took a 5am start to clean the car before the shoot, then picked everyone up and were on location before sunrise. Moments before sunrise the rain began. We captured what we could of the car, but soon had to call it a day to respect the car’s interior and our own camera equipment. However, from my lucky perspective, as a driver for the shoot the Range Rover Sport is a fantastic place to be in wet, horrible weather.

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The car gives you a sense of endless 4×4 drive grip, the heated seats and heated steering wheel keep you beautifully warm and you are surrounded with lots of space to move and relax. Once again, the practicalities of the car were fantastic. Just being able to have all that space makes a huge difference. When getting in and out of the car in the rain, the hard-wearing yet luxury leather helps keep the car dry, by not absorbing the moisture. Lastly, just as a bit of a confidence boost, I know that if it rained for a month the Range Rover Sport will still wade through 85cm of water with no problem at all.

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Summary

We only had a short time with the Land Rover Range Rover Sport and only managed to capture a brief amount of video footage, but we did get some great pictures from the airstrip. What we did learn about the car during our time with it is just how mature and well finished the car is. The car feels both solid from a build quality perspective but also feels like a true luxury car because of the finer interior details and precious materials used.

Video production by: Sam Mowels

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