2022 Land Rover Range Rover Review: Old-School Luxury Lives On | Expert review

The verdict: The redesigned 2022 Range Rover, a staff favorite when it debuted at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, uses its new architecture, technology and twin-turbocharged V-8 to hold onto its place among the cream of the luxury SUV crop.

Versus the competition: The Range Rover matches or surpasses the competition when it comes to interior opulence, and it has power to spare and surprising handling chops, but some buyers might find it lacking in more advanced technologies and third-row space.

We finally got the chance to drive the 2022 Land Rover Range Rover after its impressive November 2021 debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. We took to the roads of the Napa Valley to test the iconic luxury SUV’s enhancements claimed to make the driving experience as effortless as possible (per Cars.com’s ethics policy, we paid for our flights and lodging at the manufacturer-sponsored event).

Related: Up Close With the 2022 Land Rover Range Rover: Quiet, Classy Interior

It probably isn’t a surprise to find out that the new Range Rover — with its six-figure starting price — doesn’t disappoint. But excellent road manners and an opulent interior take you only so far in today’s tech-heavy luxury market.

Big and Small On and Off the Road

Driving the Range Rover is a constantly contrasting experience, regardless of the wheelbase. There’s no avoiding the feeling that you’re pushing well over 5,000 pounds down the road, but having driven both the three-row, long-wheelbase SE with the six-cylinder engine and a standard-wheelbase First Edition with the new V-8, I never felt short on power to get where I was going, and surprisingly quickly at that. A carryover from the previous generation, the turbocharged mild-hybrid six-cylinder engine makes 395 horsepower. The new twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 is rated at 523 hp. Range Rover quotes a 0-60 mph time of as low as 4.4 seconds with the V-8, and while I didn’t measure it on public roads, that doesn’t feel inaccurate.

All versions use an eight-speed automatic transmission that didn’t do anything notable, but it did shift smartly and stayed out of its own way during normal acceleration. Not everything with either powertrain I tested is roses, however. Each has roughly a full second of hesitation under hard acceleration, requiring some timing on passing maneuvers. In the twin-turbo, keeping the revs higher mitigates that somewhat by keeping the smaller turbo spinning and minimizing the downshifting.

Steering, handling and ride quality are pleasant and befitting a six-figure luxury SUV. Each model I drove had 23-inch wheels, which produced some impact harshness, but they otherwise handled bumps and imperfections with excellent isolation. Despite advances in this new Range Rover to improve ride and handling — standard four-wheel steering and what the automaker calls Dynamic Response Pro, an electronic roll control system — there’s still a healthy amount of body roll in corners. The steering wheel itself felt on the larger side, which detracted from its dynamism, as well. But ultimately, these are supposed to be big, cushy SUVs that get you from A to B in maximum comfort. And they certainly succeed at that.

The EPA has yet to rate the new Range Rover’s fuel economy, but if you’re worried about fuel economy and cost, maybe a Range Rover isn’t for you. If you’re worried about the environment and still want to buy a Range Rover, a plug-in hybrid powertrain with what Land Rover says is 48 miles of all-electric range (up from the last-generation PHEV’s EPA-rated 19 miles) is coming for the 2023 model year, and an all-electric model is allegedly on its way for 2024.

We were also able to do some very light off-roading, though each generation of Range Rover feels less and less like a vehicle that will even see a mud puddle. Four-wheel steering and a host of aids — off-road camera systems, standard height-adjustable air suspension, six different off-road driving modes, hill descent control and All-Terrain Progress Control (effectively off-road cruise control) — make off-roading an absolute breeze. Frankly, it felt too easy and not very satisfying, but it seems very on-brand for a British luxury vehicle to go out of its way to make your life as easy as possible.

Old-School Luxury, But Maybe That’s Not Enough

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