The ‘Sport’ in ‘Sport Utility Vehicle’ originally referred to outdoor pursuits such as hunting or fishing. Perhaps even an al fresco game of table tennis once that evening’s meal had been caught and cooked. What ‘Sport’ didn’t mean was bombing along a B-road, driving your SUV like its tyres were on fire.
Porsche and BMW pioneered the SUV-as-sports-car with the Cayenne and X5 around the turn of the century. Land Rover’s riposte was previewed by the radical Range Stormer concept of 2004, which reinvented the ‘old money’ Range Rover as something more youthful and dynamic. The show car’s coupe body and horizontally split gullwing doors didn’t make it beyond the design studio, but the production Sport would introduce Land Rover to a whole new audience.
Two decades later, the model is now into its third generation, and forms part of an expanded Range Rover lineup that includes the compact Evoque and stylish Velar – not forgetting the flagship Range Rover itself. Confused? Clamber aboard and let’s play some Sport.
However, while the traditional Rangie is very much focused on comfort, the Sport is, well, sportier. It rides 20mm lower and its chassis is 35 percent stiffer. You can also opt for various inertia-busting driver aids, such as active anti-roll bars, brake-based torque vectoring and rear-wheel steering.
Unlike previously, you can no longer order seven seats; the Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery and eight-seat Defender 130 all have that base covered. However, there is no shortage of space for five people, plus a suitably cavernous boot (with a proper spare wheel beneath the floor).
The lineup is bookended by the entry-level D250 diesel (£75,255) and the bombastic V8-engined SV (£171,460). I spent a week with the middling P400 petrol, which retails at £89,070 – or a hefty £108,295 with all the options fitted to my test car.