Motoring Middle East: Car news, Reviews and Buying guides

The king is dead; long live the king?

By Shahzad Sheikh

The original Range Rover, launched in 1970, was a long-running legend that lasted 26 years. The first ever hard-core off-roader that was also a luxury car, it was the Rolls-Royce of the rough, and was just as comfortable perched atop a muddy knoll as it was sat outside the Savoy.

The reason it lasted so long was because it was fundamentally right, brilliantly engineered and remains desirable to this day. How do you better something so perfect? With great difficulty as it turned out, since Land Rover got the first attempt a little awry with the unloved second generation 1994, P38 Range Rover. The company seemed to admit as much as it continued production of the ‘Classic’ Rangie for another two years.

Eight years later they had another go with the third gen edition, the L322, developed under BMW ownership. And this time they were spot on. It was bigger and a monocoque construction, plus more luxurious than ever before – to the extent that it seem almost a shame to take it off road and get it dirty. Almost. The fact is that it is still the king of the hill – given the right wheels, of course (ultra low profiles obviously negating its ability in the sand for example).

However the silhouette harked back to the original. It looked right, it stood regally and was magnificent. Sales success followed universal acclaim and it remains the standard bearer for luxury off-roaders even today, despite the sheer number of younger rivals in this burgeoning market sector – and more on the way from the likes of Bentley, Lamborghini, Maserati etc.

Numerous revisions over its decade-long run has only seen the Rangie improve further with more powerful Jaguar-sourced engines, cleverer four-wheel drive systems, and funky interior electronics including a full digital instrument display and split-viewing dash monitor.

Next Wednesday we’ll be attending an Al Tayer event in Dubai to get our first real look at the all-new Range Rover – read about that car here. It’s similar enough to be easily recognised, but different enough to get some enthusiasts very excited and others throwing their arms up in consternation. We’ll let you know if it still has the majestic appeal of the current car, but in the meantime, we just had to give the current Range Rover, one final farewell drive.

It’s a beast alright, and alarmingly, scarily so in the frankly over-powered 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 version. Brush the accelerator pedal and nearly three tons lunges forward as if a stretched elastic band has just been released.

The numbers back up the sensation – 0-100kph in just 6.2 seconds and it keeps going relentlessly to 225kph, ultimately held back by brick-wall aerodynamics. Something of an unstoppable force, the brakes really have to be worked overtime to haul this thing back down to a more sensible pace. You get the sense Range Rovers were never meant to go this fast!

And it’s not as if it handles like a sports car either. Thanks to the fabled four-by-four finesse it continues to boast long-travel on its modern air suspension, which means that if you chuck it into a corner, the body leans right over and you could reach down and light a match off the tarmac. But that’s part of its character, always has been. Having said that, the grip is there, and you just have to trust it won’t roll over, because it won’t. Probably. Well not much anyway.

But then you don’t go out for Friday morning thrashes on the twisty bits of the Hajar range in this Land Rover – instead you would point it off the tarmac and head onto gravel, rock or sand without much worry, for your weekend getaway.

Mostly though, you just cruise around town imperiously in this car, and the now-traditional throne-like seating position (God I hope they’ve retained it for the new car) upright and aloft, grants a birds-eye view through the tall and generous glazing – visibility is not a problem. If the weather is really nice, you put the window down and stick your elbow out the door – it feels very natural – graciously waving people ahead and being very civil about everything in general.

And that’s the ultimate magic of the Range Rover. Forget its performance and off-road mastery, its deep leather-lined luxury, and its 21st century electrikery, what it all boils down to is just how good this car makes you feel behind the wheel. Which is another reason why this car is often compared to a Rolls-Royce.

You feel untouchable, indestructible and unshakeable, and yet at the same time, you’re calm, gracious and magnanimous to others. This is why people happily pay so much for a jumped-up jeep, this is why owners have long put up with reliability woes, this is why you don’t aspire to a new Nissan Patrol.

Normally when a new generation car comes out, we are quick to dismiss the old car, disregarding it as dated and move on without hesitation to the new and fresh. But whether the new car is brilliant or if it’s not-as-great, actually especially if it’s not-as-great, I will truly miss this old bruiser.

Being a strong seller means there will be plenty of L322s around for a while yet. Prices should drop dramatically once the new car is out later this year so start saving. But beware, modern Range Rovers need to have been looked after properly.

So if you’re going to buy one, find the best one you can, then get it checked out and demand a warranty from a dealer. In fact prepare to pay a bit more, especially if you go down the used approved route, which would be wise, as it will be worth it in the long-run.

Make sure everything works, from the all-terrain system to the most minor switches in the back, prod and pull at all the trim to ensure it is solid, properly attached and rattle free. And once you’ve checked everything, check it again.

Don’t be daunted though, buy carefully and wisely and you’ll end up with a milestone of a motor that’ll make you feel like the Squire every time you set off in it.

G’day M’lord!

Share your memories of the current Range Rover below, and don’t forget to follow us on our Facebook page on the evening of 10th October when we’ll be getting our first look at the new car!

If you liked this, read our drive of the Range Rover Sport and read Fraser Martin’s history of the Range Rover here.