Materials and fit and finish are similarly good, then. Range Rover is trying to position itself in the luxury sphere, which is why Sport prices start at £80,325, the P510e PHEV is £108,600 and the V8 is £116,190.
Mind you, I sat next to a Bentley executive at an awards do once where there was a luxury car award, and she didn’t think much of the idea that the Mercedes-Benz S-Class was considered for it. Different market, different type of people: can you really be luxury if you also sell a car that rivals the Ford Focus? I can imagine a similar conversation about Range Rover, but it’s not holding back with the clean design, at least, if not all of the plush materials. Mostly it’s first-rate and the equal of the primary competitors: top-end BMW X5s and the Porsche Cayenne. It’s no Bentley Bentayga in here, but it’s not priced like one, either.
The Cayenne feels the most natural rival to me. The ‘big’ Range Rover is a land owner’s car. The Sport finds itself parked outside its owner’s business in the week and a shop or a gym at weekends, more like the Cayenne would. And the blend of both road-going dynamism and comfort and SUV-ability is where the positioning gets interesting. The Cayenne feels like a sporting road car first, an SUV second. Should the Sport? Can it, even?
In terms of ride quality and isolation, nothing else in the class gets that close. It feels like the vast majority of the imperious aloofness from the Range Rover has made it here intact. The speakers play anti-noise to assist the comfort levels. You could whisper what you think is silently to your partner about calling in at a fast-food joint and there would be whoops of joy from children in the back who overheard you. It’s so quiet.
It’s also stable and long-legged, an easy motorway companion whether in its V8 form or as a plug-in hybrid, which I try later. This combines a 32kWh battery with a 3.0-litre petrol engine and an electric motor for 503bhp, 18-20g/km of CO2 and a 70-mile electric-only range. Those quoted figures are as variable as any other electric or combusted ranges; Land Rover reckons at least 50 miles whatever the conditions.There are a bunch of mild-hybrid 3.0-litre petrols and diesels, too.