Review: Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic

If the naming convention is giving you a headache, this latest offering is deceptively simple in its thesis: it’s the fastest production Range Rover ever built, and the most luxurious one that’s geared towards the driver.

That means, in the first instance, performance. In spades. The Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic shares the 5.0-litre, supercharged V8 petrol engine that sits in the Range Rover Sport SVR, developing 542bhp and 502lb ft of torque, and a 0-60mph time of 5.1 seconds. It’s an amazing engineering feat for a car weighing just shy of 2.5 tonnes, not known for its drag-coefficient prowess.

But the icing on the engineering cake in this instance is that, where the same powertrain gives the Sport SVR the character of an angry hornet with a pneumatic drill sticking out of its rear, in the Range Rover it has been calibrated to deliver elegance. Yes, it’s still stunningly fast off the line, clicking through the ZF eight-speed automatic like there’s no tomorrow, with a bootful of noise as the revs rise, but it’s way more refined.

Exterior design cues that give the game away include side vents, grille, front bumper and rear accents all finished in Graphite Atlas, a contemporary gray. There’s a choice of 21- or 22-inch wheels, bright chrome quad tailpipes and, for the first time on a Range Rover, red brake calipers and Brembo technology.

Importantly, for a heavy car that’s capable of going quite fast, the responses are predictable and linear. The steering is a thing of joy: how they make big wheels turn so lightly, yet precisely, with so much feedback through the column, remains a mystery.

The chassis, which sits 8mm lower for a more sporty performance and stance, thankfully has not had all the lateral roll dialled out of it, as has happened with a few luxury competitors. With a little movement, one is happily reminded of the capable, off-roading heritage of the Land Rover badge and you also don’t suffer travel sickness, as I tend to when the ride is so disconcertingly flat.

On the move, astonishingly, despite a heavy right foot and twisting country lanes, we achieved 23mpg, one more mpg than the quoted Combined figure, which I'd never done before in my life; last time I drove the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 in a Range Rover, six years ago, I was lucky to see 16mpg.

Inside, the SVO touches are surprisingly subtle, but when you get back in a “bog-standard” Range Rover, you notice the difference. Much of the black plastic around dials and switches in the standard model is replaced by knurled aluminium in the SVAutobiography. And you get quilted leather seats in a new choice of colours, with dual-tone inserts. Our test car seats were red and black, with the red picked up on the steering-wheel paddles and a circle round the rotary gearshift. They are pleasing design touches. The higher trim also gives you no-cost options of 10-inch entertainment touchscreens in the seat headrests, head-up display for the driver and electrically deployable towbar.

Should you choose to do some serious off-roading, it’s still among the very best, but this model is a glorious statement of 21st-century glamour and luxury, for drifting through the Cotswolds or across the Continent.

Price as tested: £132,800