The show starts when you press the unlock button and the Range Rover logo is beamed onto the ground next to the front doors. You know you’re about to experience something special.
Open the doors and you enter a theatre of motoring extravagance, in a lavish cabin that would make a queen at one with herself and a sushi king smile.
Ushering passengers into finely-stitched leather seats is subtle (if purple can ever be called that) mood lighting. Not a visible plastic panel sullies the cabin’s air of opulence; all surfaces are covered by sumptuous leather or polished wood, while the ceiling’s a brushed suede-look lining. I suspect even the guy who designs Bentley interiors would be moved to mutter: “Hmm, not too bad”.
GADGET GLUTTONY
Of course, a R1.7-million car wouldn’t be complete without its gadgets and the Range Rover Autobiography has nearly enough to fill a phone book.
Some of the highlights include electric adjustment, heating and ventilation for the front and rear seats; a massaging function for the seats; electrically height- and reach-adjustable steering column; four zone climate control; a high-end Meridian audio system; a panoramic electric sunroof; powered upper and lower tailgates; a heated steering wheel; and a fridge between the front seats.
One of my favourite features (and one which should be standard in all cars) are dual-sunshades which allow you to shade the windscreen and side window at the same time, rather than swinging a single shade back and forth.
There’s a rear seat DVD entertainment system with headphones so two people can watch different shows.
Not an analogue gauge is to be found inside the cabin and both the instrument panel and multimedia user-interface are electronic displays. The user interface is a large touchscreen which combines functions like audio, climate control, and phone, and for the most part it’s simple to operate and quite intuitive, although there are plenty of functions to learn.
A REAL OFFROADER
The Range Rover Autobiography massages super-sized egos, but beneath that apparently vulgar display of wealth is an SUV of real substance and outstanding all-terrain capabilities.
The new generation Range Rover went on a major weight loss programme by replacing its predecessor’s steel body with an aluminium one. This has resulted in it being more than 400kg lighter even though it has 118mm more legroom than its predecessor. This, as you’d imagine, has benefits in performance, handling and fuel economy.
In our tests at Gauteng altitude, the big Range Rover blitzed from rest to 100km/h in a sportscar-like 5.6 seconds, which is quite remarkable for a monster-sized vehicle (aluminium diet or not), and is all thanks to its supercharged V8 petrol engine which hammers out 375kW. As in all Range Rovers the engine’s mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which sends power to all wheels via full-time four-wheel drive.
Punch the throttle and the 21” wheels simply grip and go, with no wheelspinning drama.
The 14 litre per 100km fuel consumption our test vehicle achieved won’t exactly stop ice caps from melting but isn’t nearly as high as you’d expect from such a behemoth. The super-sized 105 litre fuel tank ensures a healthy range too.
Driving aids are plentiful and the big Rangy all but drives itself with items like adaptive cruise control, emergency brake assist, blind spot monitoring, reverse traffic detection and a surround camera system.
AIR SUSPENSION
A very proficient offroading experience awaits owners who wish to exit the tar, and making it child’s play is a system called Terrain Response 2. Twirl a knob between the front seats and you can select an offroad mode for just about any surface the outdoors throws at you: snow, gravel, mud, rocks et al. The height-adjustable air suspension allows the vehicle to be raised up to 295mm which gives true boulder-clearing ability, while the wading depth is an impressive 900mm.
On the handling side the enormous SUV is relatively light on its feet too thanks to the lightweight aluminium construction, and lacks the wallowy, marshmallow feel of some vehicles of this ilk. On its air suspension the ride quality is very cushy too, and the Rangy wafts gracefully over most surfaces.
Light it may be but the Range Rover can’t hide its size, and it takes care to thread it into parking bays, even with all its video and audio aids on high alert. As large as it is, I couldn’t fit my mountain bike in the boot as the Executive rear seats didn’t fold down.
VERDICT
If you had R1.7-million to spend on just one vehicle that does just about everything, I reckon this Range Rover Autobiography would come pretty close to meeting that brief.
Kinda like the rugby star who’s also a computer expert as well a witty raconteur, it’s a larger-than-life vehicle bursting with versatility and over-achievement.
It accelerates like a sportscar, has excellent offroad performance, and rolls this all up into a super-luxurious limousine. -Star Motoring