TEST DRIVING THE LATEST 2022 RANGE ROVER FIRST EDITION

I have a fraught relationship with the Range Rover. From its 1970 inception, it was to become the model car for town and country — a symbol of a particular urban lifestyle rooted in past privilege but with metropolitan aspirations. In the “greed is good” 1980s, the Range Rover took on an even more powerful persona. It morphed into something of a lifestyle brand with its off-road, sense-of-adventure promise paired with the luxury of things: leather upholstery, an on-board car phone — giant then, and new and exciting — and brash alloys. And with no direct competitors at the time, the Range Rover kept its hold of the market for at least a decade as the sole luxe 4×4.

Admittedly, my fraught relationship is heightened by my life in London. Here the Range Rover name is synonymous with the “Chelsea tractor” – the derogatory term used to describe mainly moms in more affluent areas with gas-guzzling SUVs clogging up narrow streets on school runs. A 2019 report by The Guardian newspaper showed more Range Rovers sold in the city’s neighborhoods of Kensington and Chelsea than anywhere else in the UK, with as many as one in 10 new cars registered as Land Rover’s pinnacle SUV.

Yet, despite all the negative connotations, I cannot help but be unwillingly seduced by the Range Rover. And it appears I’m not alone as I was to discover on our weekend in the countryside to celebrate my parents’ joint eightieth. “Don’t you just want to hate this car,” said my cousin’s husband as I parked the latest Range Rover on test at our holiday home. Peaking inside, he smiled at the light, soft furnishing and serene surroundings: “Let’s face it; we all secretly want one.”

I began contemplating his remarks on the long drive back to London following a weekend of freeway adventure, muddy moments, and even a touch of off-roading. What is it about the Range Rover that induces this love/hate relationship? And, equally, why does this car remain unique among luxury SUVs? After all, this is not the 1980s: plenty of other competent lifestyle 4x4s are on the market.

To start with, few SUVs have the timeless classic looks of the Range Rover. On exhibiting a Range Rover in its early days, the Musée du Louvre in Paris called it an “exemplary work of industrial design.” Gerry McGovern, director of Jaguar Land Rover design, likes to refer to this often, and to some degree, this remains true. It is somewhat of a benchmark in SUV design, and there have been only four generations of Range Rovers in over 50 years. That is remarkable. If luxury is about timelessness, then Range Rover has hit the jackpot.

This latest model, which came out at the end of last year, retains the proportions, as it does the three clear lines on the profile: the falling roofline, an unbroken waist and a rising sill line. The polished and pristine body sculpting, combined with flush door handles and almost no surface interruptions, help contribute to a highly aerodynamic-efficient car with a drag coefficient of just 0.30, which is pretty remarkable for a chunky SUV as such.

Since the proportions and the overall stance are not to be touched, the main aesthetic tweaks appear at the front and rear. The grille, for instance, has a new pattern, the LED headlights have been refined to be sharper, and most of the driver-assist sensors are housed in a panel in the bumper, which gives the car a more polished appearance as well as helps with the aerodynamics. Meanwhile, at the new boat-tail-styled rear, the lights and indicators are housed in a graphic black panel that comes to attention when the lights are on.

Elsewhere, I’m happy to see the two-piece tailgate remain in place. It is a fun and functional element, with the lower drop-down section ideal for hopping on to replace one’s city shoes for wellies or for resting a little picnic after a wet, muddy Fall walk, as we were to experience.

The new Range Rover is the first model to be made on the company’s new MLA-Flex, a platform that can accommodate all powertrains: combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and fully electrics (confirmed for 2024). Mild-hybrid technology features on the more traditional petrol and diesel engines, too, including the D350, 3.0-liter straight-six-engined model with 350bhp I have on loan. Meanwhile, all powertrains are mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox with Terrain Response 2 technology that tailors the drivetrain to different surfaces, which comes in handy on our drive.

Inside, the seats are generous in size and enveloped in soft, creamy leather. There are wood veneers on the dashboard and shiny metal elements throughout as a reminder of automotive luxury in the more traditional sense. I later read that JLR offers a more exciting “Ultrafabrics” textile created alongside the Danish firm Kvadrat which is lighter and generates only a quarter of the CO2 of traditional leather. And I wonder why this is not the default choice.

The Range Rover is also highly advanced and connected, with great attention given to the sound quality inside. The latest active noise cancellation system monitors wheel vibrations, tire noise and engine sounds transmitted into the cabin and generates a canceling signal through the system’s 35 speakers. The “First Edition” on loan, made in limited numbers in the first year of production, features advanced speaker technology with the 1,600-watt Meridian Signature Sound System to create a serene cabin. At the same time, additional 20-watt speakers in the four main headrests offer a pretty immersive sound experience.

At the end of my week with the Range Rover, I contemplate the fraught relationship. Yes, the car may have a storied past and a troubling image, but it is also one of the only SUVs on the road today which feels genuine to its origin. With every carmaker — be it a luxury marque, a sports car specialist, or even makers of city runarounds tempted by the lucrative SUV market — there is something comforting in knowing the Range Rover is and was always a luxury 4×4.

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