I have driven many Range Rovers till date, but every time I take to the wheel, it always brings a big smile to my face. The Range Rover got a facelift last year and we have reviewed both the updated Sport and the LWB Vogue post launch. And this here is the Range Rover Sport again. Why again you may ask? That’s because this one comes with a different heart, a 2.0 litre four cylinder petrol engine. The immediate thought that comes to mind is.. “Isnt this too small for an SUV this size?” That’s the question this review will answer.

Range Rover Sport 2.0 petrol Engine & Performance

Since this Range Rover is all about the power plant, lets get to that first. The engine is a new 2.0 litre unit from Jaguar Land Rover Ingenium family. This same engine is found in the Jaguar F-Type P300 as well. The motor churns out 300 horses and 400 Nm of torque thanks to the twin scroll turbo that squeezes out every bit of power that it can. Mated to the eight speed automatic gearbox, power is sent to all four wheels. What you notice immediately once you start driving, is that the acceleration is very linear. Hit the throttle pedal hard and there’s a nice power surge that comes after 2000rpm. The engine sounds nice too. At higher rpms its got quite a throaty snarl, even though it might not be outright sporty. The eight speed auto has seamless shifts, though there is a bit of lag at kick downs. But you can always go the manual way using the paddle shifters. Also note that this one doesn’t come with driving modes.

As with large SUVs, there is prominent body roll as when you go around corners, but grip levels are good and the steering has a nice feel to it too. Ride quality is another positive thanks to the standard air suspension. The bad road surfaces don’t really filter into the cabin. Straight line stability is excellent as is the braking.

Range Rover Sport 2.0 petrol Exterior

On the exterior, this Range Rover Sport looks pretty much identical to the one we drove earlier. It has that imposing presence that you associate with a Range Rover and this Firenze Red shade on our test car is a total head turner. The all black front grille is flanked by the slim LED headlamps. There are large air dams in the sporty front bumper along with black air intakes on the bonnet and the front fenders. The black roof offers a nice contrast and the boxy rear is typical Range Rover. The rear bumper features a large diffuser. The side gets black cladding on the lower side and the design of the 20 inch rims is quite eye catching. A black finish would have made them look sinister.

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