Range Rover Sport - Peter Hall,Telegraph 29/04/05
“On the Range Rover Sport, this (Terrain Response) is
augmented by a new Dynamic Response system (standard on the
supercharged model), which senses cornering forces and acts
on the anti-roll bars to improve body control and handling
in corners; the bars are decoupled on the straights for greater
ride comfort and off-road for maximum wheel articulation.
The Dynamic Stability Control system, meanwhile, is manually
switchable, allowing great agility for a machine of this size.
….”
“In a dizzying sequence of turns at up to 130mph on
a dry surface, with DSC turned off, the Range Rover Sport
feels more like a sports saloon than a sport-utility vehicle,
and only in extremis, when the anti-rollover protection software
detects the risk of a wheel lifting, does DSC automatically
intervene to maintain stability; at slightly lower speeds,
with Mira's track sprinklers turned on, one can indulge in
lurid yet supremely controlled, opposite-lock powerslides,
or allow DSC to keep everything neat and tidy, even on a surface
as slippery as snow.”
“Cruising is effortless and back-road progress very
satisfying. The adaptive automatic gearbox (with manual override
function) is more aggressively programmed than in the Discovery
(with a noticeable engine blip when changing down) but is
equally smooth in operation.”
“Road and wind noise are almost non-existent thanks
partly to good aerodynamics (note the roof spoiler, the steeply
raked screen and the absence of the Range Rover's signature
castellated bonnet……”
“The interior feels spacious and well appointed, with
a unique, neatly designed and well-made facia that includes
all the features you would expect in the Range Rover plus
all the off-road aids of the Discovery, with minor tweaks
to the Terrain Response interface.”
“with all the same Terrain Response technology and
information displays - not to mention superbly supportive
seats - it comfortably dismissed obstacles more challenging
than I have experienced in any other vehicle.”
“Deep, water-filled trenches, ludicrous traverses and
scarily steep and slimy tracks (driven forwards and in reverse)
only confirmed that Land Rover produces the best off-roaders
in the world. “
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