Is the Range Rover Sport SVR a real sports car?

I hear a lot of people complaining about performance SUVs. It's true; they are quite useless in a sense. They have the power of a supercar, yet they don't really behave like one on the road. The pros will state that these performance SUVs are like the perfect mix of everything, and it's hard to argue. It's a practical and super fast sports car that can take your family wherever you want whatever the conditions and terrain. There is a healthy competition of manufacturers that have entered this specific niche segment, and Porsche were basically the modern pioneers with the Cayenne. After BMW's M division, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz AMG, it was time for Land Rover to propose their vision of what a performance SUV should be. Yes, you read that correctly, the inventors of the Defender were ready to hit the Porsche Cayenne Turbo in the front grille.

Here we are in 2015 and SVO, Jaguar Land Rover's very own Special Vehicle Operations in launching their first ever vision of what a super SUV should be. Based on the Range Rover Sport, the SVR was more powerful, lighter and more aerodynamic than a regular "Sport". Land Rover created a 550 horsepower monster that was capable of going from 0-60 in only 4.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 260 km/h. They were now ready to show the its capabilities to the world and w​hat better place than the Nürburgring to show the world and your competition what you are made of.

F​or a short amount of time, the Range Rover Sport SVR held the fastest time around the track for a production SUV. It was a close contender to the Viper SRT-10 and the SL65 AMG, two proper sports cars. Even though by today's standards, this record of 8:14 has fallen into the abyss, it is still a pretty fantastic achievement for a company that has absolutely no knowledge about building "track-oriented" cars. Obviously, Jaguar helped a bit a provided their partner with the beautiful 5.0-litres V8 you could find in the F-Type R. This promised a lot of crackles and bangs from the quad-exhaust system but also amazing performances. Unlike the F-Type, the SVR can sit up to five people, and it is as practical as any Range Rover Sport in the lineup. You also get all the driving modes ranging from "Race" to "Sand". Yes, this car is still capable of going through 851 mm of water. Yes, maybe it is a car that can do a little bit of everything. After some digging and testing, we happened to be immensely impressed by the SVR, but it's far from perfect.

L​et's start with the obvious stuff. Land Rover wants you to believe that the SVR is a sports car. Is it? With nearly 2.6 tons on the balance, it's complicated to see how it could potentially be one. Thankfully, it has a big fat V8 to compensate for this weight. Yes, the engine is absolutely amazing, but even the tweaked chassis cannot make up for such weight. It's much better than what you would find on standard Range Rover Sport, and but also though I found the car to be quite stable in corners, the Cayenne does a much better job in this area. So, it is not really a sports car, then is it a good daily? Again, not really. With a total of 12.8-litres per 100 km (18 mpg), I would say that this car is not Greta Thunberg's favorite. In a world where every car receives the downsizing treatment, the SVR feels like a dinosaur. Yes, you could daily it, but at a steep cost. On the comfort size, I would say that the 8-speed automatic gearbox is a joy. It's quick, smooth and perfectly adapted to this type of car. On the other hand, the harden dampers make the ride less comfortable than a standard Range Rover Sport, which is quite a shame for an SUV.

T​he Range Rover Sport SVR is trying to be a little bit of everything, but it misses the point. Even though you feel like Land Rover and SVO had fun developing this car, in the end, it feels quite useless. Don't get me wrong, it's a fast car on the road and quite a capable one on difficult terrains, but maybe Land Rover should stick to what it does best. A lot of people are already calling SUVs silly, and Land Rover has made it even dumber. Who doesn't like crazy projects that have no meaning? I am in for these kinds of projects, I wouldn't buy one. Therefore, for who is the SVR for? People who want a car that ticks all the boxes. A vehicle that can take all the family to the race track or off-roading any day of the year. Oh, and you need to give no f*** about the environment.

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I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Perego Cars, situated in Switzerland, for giving me the opportunity to review and shoot this car. Website: www.peregocars.com/en Facebook: www.facebook.com/peregocars/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/peregocars/