From the mart to the mountains via the Four Seasons hotel. This gem will take you all the way writes Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor
There's a ridiculous notion among some that if we rid the world of SUVs, our climate ills will be solved.
The climate police compare consumption figures for a Ford Mondeo with the likes of the Range Rover and baulk.
Yet comparing a luxury SUV with a regular family saloon is like comparing a 10-bedroom country home with a two-bed terraced house.
Ban the €100,000-plus SUV and their owners will not move into 1-litre Fiestas. They'll buy 5-litre saloons that take up just as much roadspace, consume just as much fuel and emit just as much CO2 - probably more because they'll opt for petrol.
So let us deal with what we have here: a luxury car to rival the likes of the BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes S-Class, only it's also able to pull a horsebox and conquer a mountain range.
This is the stately home of the car market, a car that should really come with a pair of green wellies and a dog in the boot. To those of us who grew up watching BBC dramas, it was the perfect vehicle for the country gentleman. And in a way it need never be the newest version: old versions herald as much respect as the new ones, though these days newer ones are more likely to belong to premiership footballers.
The Range Rover may seem heavily priced in either the luxury saloon or premium SUV segments, but the test car was the range-topping Vogue version and it was positively dripping with extras, including air-conditioned seats and twin rear screens built into the front headrests.
Put this level of optional extras on any of the rivals and you start to see the price climb skyward like a helicopter ascent. It might be a steep price curve, but Land Rover says the majority of Range Rovers leaving dealers in Ireland these days carry this level of extras. Vogue is, well, in vogue.
And in reality, the Range Rover actually carries more kudos with the luxury car buyer than supposed competitors like the BMW X5, Audi Q7 or even Mercedes ML-Class.
This is more than an SUV: it could be described as the most capable luxury car on the market. It's one of the few vehicles you can leave the mart with after delivering a trailer load of cattle, and after a quick splash at the car wash still be welcomed at the Four Seasons.
Here we have the new 2007 version, admittedly not a million miles away from the original version in exterior looks, but featuring the stylish front light clusters and eye-catching side shark fins. It might be big and boxy, but it can still turn heads.
The big news is that Land Rover is finally in a position to ditch its previous BMW links that had carried on since its 2000 sale to Ford, and can boast a family diesel engine. So out goes BMW's straight-six diesel and in comes a new 272bhp 3.6-litre diesel V8.
And it's great news for Range Rover, for it's the best engine in the range. Sure, the supercharged version is potent and sounds divine, but you need an aerial fuel tanker overhead to keep you topped up.
This new V8 diesel on the other hand hits 100km/h in just 9.2 seconds - a full four seconds faster than the outgoing V6 - and yet manages to maintain a fuel consumption figure of 11.3L/100km (25.1 mpg).
Combined with a fine six-speed ZF transmission, it feels quick and agile on the move. The Land Rover claims include 54 per cent more power, 64 per cent more torque and 75 per cent less engine noise.
You don't need David McWilliams to tell you those sort of statistics are impressive and what they mean for the average owner is a lovely hum from the front when you turn the key, an unobtrusive murmur as you hurtle down the motorway and a deep growl as you push pedal to the floor. There's a lusty low-end torque on offer, starting at 400Nm from just 1,250rpm and running up to 640Nm. To put that in perspective, the 4.4-litre V8 petrol only manages a top torque figure of 440Nm and only reaches that at 4,000 rpm.
The on-road ride comfort remains as good as in previous versions, capable of making speed ramps seem like air bubbles on the tarmac. Land Rover pull out the stats boffins again here, claiming a 15 per cent improvement in stiffness and it does show at speed.
As is no doubt clear from this review, I've always had a soft spot for the Range Rover - mainly because it's the only premium SUV that's actually owned by people who go off-road on a regular basis, but I hated the handling. It traditionally rolled in corners as if you were on a set of bed springs and at speed that leads to some hair-raising adventures.
The new one still leans but nothing to the extent of previous models. For better road handling we'd opt for the Range Rover Sport.
This latest version of the Range Rover is about more than steering, statistics and a new diesel engine, however. It also features changes to interior and suspension settings. In comes the new electronic parking brake that leaves more room in the central console, and also Land Rover's acclaimed Terrain Response system.
The latter offers four settings besides the regular on-road one and also includes off-road features like hill descent. There's really little else we could do but head for the hills.
Sitting in the comfort of the Range Rover amid a winter downpour, it's like a funfair video ride through fields while ensconced on your sitting room couch.
There's a surreal element to being in such inhospitable conditions while cocooned in such comfort; the TV in the back crackling away and the warm waves from the air-conditioned seats licking your legs. Of the rest of the interior, the touchscreen system is easy to use, the rearview camera - built by CEL in the west of Ireland - works a treat, and the seats are remarkably comfortable. The only obvious downside is the air-con switchgear that looks as if it was taken from the cockpit of a 1940s Douglas DC-3.
The new car has dramatically improved performance and smart looks. It retains much of the traditional charm that evokes memories of older versions. Alas for some owners, those memories also feature infuriating hours in front of dealerships awaiting repairs. This generation does seem more reliable, though it remains an issue for the brand as a whole and one that Toyota continues to profit from with its Land Cruiser.
The Range Rover has another threat to its sales: the ever-popular third row. The new BMW X5 due out in April is a full-seven-seater. It joins everything from the cost competitive Volvo XC90 to the new Audi Q7 and soon-to-arrive Mercedes GL, perhaps the greatest SUV threat yet. That will leave the British icon isolated. Regardless, Range Rover fans won't be too upset. They'll point to the Land Rover Discovery for those who need all that seating.
After all, old boy, one doesn't cram seven into the Jaguar or one of its fancy German rivals, so why expect it of the Range Rover. The prestige of the badge and its premium appeal will outweigh seating issues.
There is one rival that would always entice us away from this car. It handles far better on the road, costs less and yet has all the street cred and premium marque respectability. For us, the Range Rover Sport is just too good to pass up. Still, that's not a bad result for Land Rover in the end.
FACTFILE
RANGE ROVER 3.6 TDV8 cc 3630 0-100km/h 9.2 Max speed km/h 200 Bhp 272 Mpg 25.1 L/100km 11.3 Price : €123,000
ENGINE: 3.6-litre V8 twin-turbo diesel with 272bhp @ 4,000 rpm and 640Nm of torque @ 2,000rpm; four valves per cylinder
SPECIFICATION: Each Range Rover comes with front, side and curtain airbags, ESP, front seat load limiters, Terrain Response, ISOFIX child seat mounts.
SE adds bi-Xenon lights, parking aids, 7" touch screen, leather steering, 2-zone climate, electric leather seats, auto lights and wipers, 18" alloys, trip computer.
HSE adds back-up camera. heated memory seats, Xenon lights.
Vogue adds 19" alloys, heated steering, sunroof, wireless camera, Sat Nav, TV.
L/100KM (MPG)
URBAN: 14.4 (19.6)
EXTRA-URBAN: 9.2 (31.2)
COMBINED: 11.3 (25.1)
CO2 EMISSIONS: 299 G/KM
ANNUAL ROAD TAX: €1,343
PRICE: €123,000
(€103,000 to €123,000)