Thursday, April 25, 2024
MY FH5 Log: Supreme Version
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Land Rover Range Rover Sport III
The most capable Range Rover Sport has arrived and with prices starting at 84,530 Pounds plus additional cost, it's less expensive than the ultra-luxurious Range Rover. Made to tackle everything Mother Nature throws at it, it looks like the all-new Range Rover Sport is ready to make its first impression.
2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport |
2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport |
Don't think of the Range Rover Sport as the athletic version of the Range Rover because they're both from a totally different league. While the ultra-expensive Range Rover is built to cater to elitists with grace and power, the Range Rover Sport is built to deliver the most dramatic performance everywhere.
Starting with the design, the all-new Range Rover Sport looks like an Evoque on steroids but thankfully, it's not as odd-looking as its superior because it's all in the name of subtlety with a chance of obviousness...until you opt-in for the Dynamic variant which features Satin Burnished Copper details, Matte Graphite lettering, and specially-made bumpers, making it half-subtle, half-obvious.
2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport interior |
The new interior is broadly similar to the normal Range Rover, except for the specially-made steering wheel to differentiate it. As expected, the minimalist interior can spell bad news for speedo boys behind the wheel because of the touch screens some might find it challenging to poke the screen just like what they do with their smartphones. There's also a Cabin Air Purification Pro which keeps the interior away from mold and viruses alike, including the you-know-what, and the Pivi Pro with smartphone connectivity and Amazon Alexa. In terms of space, it's roomier than the previous Range Rover Sport despite the fact that it's offered as a five-seater as standard. Fair enough.
2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport |
Just like its upscale brother, the new Range Rover Sport is surprisingly livelier to drive and more comfortable than before, thanks to its MLA architecture, and it features the most sophisticated air suspension ever made. Called Dynamic Response Pro, it takes advantage of its sat-nav to read the road ahead and optimize it for better response. It even comes with All Wheel Steering and Terrain Response 2, which features a series of configurable programs suitable for almost every road condition.
Under the bonnet, the all-new Range Rover Sport features a powerhouse of six and eight-cylinder engines, both petrol, diesel, and PHEV for the first time. The most powerful of the range, the P530, features a BMW-sourced 4.4L V8 Twin Turbo engine that produces 530HP of power, 750Nm of torque, a 0-60mph time of 4.3 seconds, and an electronically-limited top speed of 150mph. There will be a fully electric variant coming soon.
As expected, the new Range Rover Sport possesses the most advanced driving aids offered in this luxury SUV such as Adaptive Cruise Control with Steering Assist, Power Assisted Doors, Clearisght Interior Rear View Mirror, 3D Surround Camera, and many others.
From the Arabian sands to the streets of London, it looks like the all-new Range Rover Sport showcased its true potential as one of the most dramatic luxury SUVs to drive. Despite its cheaper price tag, it managed to make its brother proud in every way, and looks like we are getting anxious to have one someday.
Photo: Jaguar Land Rover
Friday, December 31, 2021
Land Rover Range Rover V
Welcome to what is known to be the first Range Rover of the post-Brexit era. The fifth generation of the most luxurious and most capable SUV emerged from Britain. While it stays faithful to its predecessors, the all-new Range Rover is built to tackle the challenges of the new normal with various ways and means to get the 1% hooked on this luxury offroader. So, what's it all about the all-new Range Rover? Let's investigate.
2022 Land Rover Range Rover |
2022 Land Rover Range Rover interior |
Priced at 94,400 Pounds plus additional costs, the fifth-generation Range Rover is the first Range Rover of the post-Brexit era as most observers knew it. At first glance, most observers will think that the Range Rover of the post-Brexit era is going to be awful than its pre-Brexit predecessors but truth be told, looks like the post-Brexit Range Rover is still as pretty as its previous model, the last pre-Brexit Range Rover. Although the rear design is a bit of a letdown to some because it looks more like a Lynk & Co as expected.
In tune with the times, the new interior shows that the Range Rover has entered the era of minimalist interiors, which is bad news for speedo boys behind the wheel because of the touch screens some might find it challenging to poke the screen just like what they do with their smartphones. On the plus side, there is a button that adjusts the volume located below as well as the dials for the aircon positioned below the touch screen. Believe it or not, the new Range Rover's aircon features Cabin Air Purification Pro which keeps the interior away from mold and viruses alike, including the you-know-what.
If the touch screen is the least of your problems, the new Range Rover features Pivi Pro with smartphone connectivity and (gasp) Amazon Alexa. That's right. There is an Alexa in the new Range Rover and those who are sitting in its sweet spot should cover their ears right away because when the driver gets a date with Alexa, it's going to be noisy.
Speaking of space, the Range Rover, being a luxury SUV, is suitable for four, five, and seven passengers, and thanks to its new platform, it's roomier than the previous model. Opt-in for the long-wheelbase variant and the Range Rover is about as classy as its main rival, the Mercedes-Benz GLS. Although too expensive for family use, it's fit for escorting all kinds of wealthy clients, even the Royal Family. This is a high-value luxury offroader made to cater to the 1% like a true professional. Explain all this to Boss Madam.
Running on the new MLA-Flex architecture, the new Range Rover is surprisingly livelier to drive and more comfortable than the previous Range Rover and it features the most sophisticated air suspension ever made. Called Dynamic Response Pro, it takes advantage of its sat-nav to read the road ahead and optimize it for better response. It even comes with All Wheel Steering and Terrain Response 2, which features a series of configurable programs suitable for almost every road condition. Most observers say that the all-new Range Rover puts on-road performance its top priority and as a matter of fact, they're right. It feels nice to drive on the road but when taken off-road, it's still classic Range Rover stuff, thank goodness.
Under the bonnet, the all-new Range Rover features a powerhouse of six and eight-cylinder engines, both petrol, diesel, and PHEV for the first time. The most powerful of the range, the P530, features a brand new 4.4L V8 Twin Turbo engine which replaces the old model's 5.0L Supercharged V8 engine, which is a bit of a shame for most loyalists. This new engine produces 530HP of power, 750Nm of torque, and can tow as much as 3,500kg. A PHEV and fully electric Range Rover will join the lineup later on.
Because it's now powered by the EVA 2.0, the all-new Range Rover possesses the most advanced driving aids offered in this luxury SUV such as Adaptive Cruise Control with Steering Assist, Power Assisted Doors, Clearisght Interior Rear View Mirror, 3D Surround Camera, and many others.
Despite the odd-looking rearview, the all-new Range Rover is taking shape to become the best Range Rover ever made, although it might seem rough to get some attention from the motoring world. After all, this is the first all-new Range Rover to emerge from the post-Brexit era and amid the naysaying, the new model is still the alpha of the luxury car market and looks like the 1% are on the roll now, signing their checks and getting their hands on this all-new Range Rover.
Photo: Jaguar Land Rover
Friday, September 18, 2020
Forza Horizon 4 - Velar
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Second Generation Range Rover Evoque
2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque |
At first glance, the new Evoque is almost the same as the previous model it replaces but everything around it are all new inside and out. Starting at 31,395 Pounds plus on road costs and now available as a five-door only, the new Evoque continues the same recipe that the old Evoque possess, making it an all-round fashion icon that not only works in the posh towns of London, Paris, and Tokyo, but also on the dirties places on earth. It's like Queer Eye meets Extreme Job but there's nothing too extreme about the new Evoque of course.
2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque |
2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque interior |
As mentioned, the styling looks more of an updated version of the original Evoque almost a decade ago whereas the rear view is reminiscent of its relative, the Range Rover Velar and despite its familiar looking design, it remains a headturner and I think they are wise to retain such looks for the second generation. On the inside, the new Evoque borrowed some ideas from the Velar and once you look on the dashboard, they're all digital inside and out, especially the steering wheel! With all screens and no buttons, except for the push engine start, the new dashboard can really scare speedo boys away and pave way to a gentleman type of driver who wish to get back to his fancy flat driving one of these. It really works like an office desk on wheels and office desk aside, it now packs more room in the back compared to the previous model thanks to its new architecture lurking underneath the new Evoque.
2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque |
In addition to added space at the back, this new platform means the new Evoque is livelier to drive and stiffer than the previous model, not to mention the addition of the most sophisticated suspension setup known to Land Rover, meaning the new model really packs some improvement on and offroad after receiving numerous feedback from existing Evoque drivers. In addition, the new Evoque comes with the Terrain Response 2 which can automatically adapt through different road surfaces with confidence and with numerous all-terrain and safety technologies as well as the first-ever ClearSight Ground View, this is becoming the most technologically advanced Evoque ever made and with that, there's no point of arguing that it's got the bravado and the intelligence to tackle just almost everything nature throws at.
Photo: Jaguar Land Rover
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Forza Motorsport 7: Stars at 70
Ah, Silverstone. Born in 1948 from the remnants of an RAF airfield, this track hosted their first grand prix in 1950 and it was forever known as a battleground for the British Grand Prix for many years and beyond. This venue makes it the perfect battleground for three of the most iconic carmakers celebrating their 70th birthday this year. Representing Land Rover is the Range Rover Sport SVR, then for Lotus, it's the Exige S, and for Porsche, the 911 GT3 RS.
Before pitting these three for a one-lap shootout, I took some sighting laps to get to know these machines. Starting on the SVR, Land Rover managed to transform the Range Rover Sport into something else no SUV has ever done before. Known to be one of the fastest SUVs to lap round the Nurburgring, it sets the bar for SUVs everywhere and despite its weight, the raw power of its supercharged V8 and its sporty dynamics mean that this SUV is not afraid to take on corners and upon driving this machine several times, I'm already familiar with its behavior.
The Exige S has gone through several upgrades but rest assured, this hardcore V6-powered track toy remains something that shouldn't be underlooked. It may have defined the philosophy of what a Lotus should be, value aerodynamics over performance, but despite the added supercharged V6 engine on the middle, the Exige remains what a Lotus should be, to be fast elsewhere on the track. A long time ago, I tested it against a hardcore Mustang somewhere and I was amazed that it managed to outrun a GT350 in a rather close margin. This Exige became one of my favorite Lotuses to drive in the game ever since I laid my hands on one.
The 911 GT3 RS is the result of what happens when you give supercar levels to a sportscar that is so brilliant everywhere. Taking a break from all that yelling and exploding things, driving the 911 GT3 RS is all about getting yourselves back at where you're good at, driving the stuff you love and by being as old-school as an 80's superhero show and as hardcore as an extreme track toy, it's becoming the best 911 ever made for purists elsewhere, despite the gearbox woes. You can really clear your mind with everything that doesn't involve driving and enjoy it until you are satisfied.
So, now that I'm familiar with these machines, these representatives are ready to find out which carmaker feels great after 70 years and since Silverstone was been with us for 70 years now, this will be a shootout to remember so let's grab some beer and nachos because it's time for these stars at 70 to show the world what they can do. Roll the tape.
After all three cars showcasing the best that their makers can do, here are the results:
SVR - 2:40.165
Exige - 2:33.704
991 GT3 RS - 2:21.353
Which means, the best carmaker that feels good after 70 years is none other than...Porsche!
Like the city of Rome, Silverstone wasn't built on a day and the same goes for these cars because they took several man hours trying to perfect these machines before emerging them on the roads and tracks at the hands of their potential owners. Land Rover perfected at the art of going places while Lotus remains sticking to the simple recipe that impresses the owners over their lightness principles and Porsche catered different kinds of customers with their offerings inspired by the sportiness of the 911.
Sharing same ages, their differences are what made these carmakers great. So here's for another seventy good years of perfecting such machines for such purposes. You deserve this year to shine, gentlemen.
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
FH3 Hot Wheels: Hunter SPECTRE
As we know, the Jaguar Land Rover team are very skillful in the art of PR marketing by doing some insane stuff when they launch a new car. They drove a Range Rover through a bridge made out of paper, their new Jag can drive through wires, an F-Pace can do insane loop-the-loops, there are so much insane stuff they ever made in honor of their new cars but for this, the Range Rover Sport SVR, what else to do with it than setting this track-honed sports utility vehicle on the wonderful world of Hot Wheels? Drive it, of course.
At stock, the RR Sport SVR feels pretty good to me, especially when I drove this one round Blizzard Mountain on frigid conditions, but because this is Hot Wheels, is a tough world out there so this hunk of British bulldog needs to get prepared for the worst outcome or else, get left behind in a stomping tantrum of high horsepower. In short, the hunter becomes the hunted. With all that taken care of, the Range Rover Sport prepares for an all-out war with the other SUVs and it's my job to do the impossible for the SVR or my name ain't Hunter SPECTRE. Get it?
Well, not much of a hunter myself but the hunter turned all of its competitors into its prey for tea and for the Range Rover Sport SVR, it managed to do the bold just like all of its relatives in the Jaguar Land Rover lineup done in the past. Needless to say, I want some more of the SVR because this has been one of my favorite SUVs since it got featured in SPECTRE. Like the dinosaur guarding Thrilltopia, this Range Rooney's a primal in every tangible way and it's the ideal SUV to turn the hunters into the hunted so watch out, naughty folks.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Range Rover Velar
2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar |
2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar |
There is one major reason why they called their newest Range Rover addition the Velar because this coupe-crossover's name harks back to the codeword used on the first Range Rover, which is basically a three-door SUV in the beginning. The goal of the Velar is capture the inspiration of the first Range Rover in terms of design while offering five-door practicality you would expect on a posh crossover. That's just statements from Land Rover themselves but under keen observation, the Velar's sizing is bigger than the Evoque but slightly smaller than the bigger Range Rovers, making it more of a middleman to the family than a chieftain of the tribe, even good-looking.
2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar interior |
2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar interior |
Despite being smaller than its big brothers, the Velar's interior is about as cozier as a Jaguar XF in so many ways but what's revolting about the Velar's interior is that the dashboard's jam-packed with touch panels rather than buttons because every luxury carmakers know that the future of dashboards belong to touch panels and the thing about the use of touch panels is when your hands get smothered with too much finger foods, you'd better pack some hand sanitizers before touching those. That's a top tip but even though the dashboard's littered with too much touch panels from top to bottom, it's surprisingly accommodating and spacious as well. You'll find many great ways to enjoy it.
2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar |
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
FH3 Blizzard Mountain: Range Rooney Holiday
And look what I have. It's the good ol' Range Rover I've been saving on the holiday vacation and while it has some bents and bruises since the very start, it's still very usable and serviceable to do some goodwill on and off the road.
So what am I going to do with this on a place like this? Well, I've called on some of the best Land Rover and Range Rover owners across the Land Down Under and take on Blizzard Mountain like there's no freaking tomorrow. This is the turning point to demonstrate just how off-road capable these Land Rovers and Range Rovers are.
I am very familiar about how this latest Range Rover works as well as its 5.0L Supercharged V8 and its latest version of its Terrain Response so I shouldn't have to worry about driving one and for a place like Blizzard Mountain, this can be a walk in the park for this luxury offroader like the Range Rover. So, here goes...
Ah, nothing like having a little holiday than taking a Range Rover on Blizzard Mountain for some rest and relaxation. Another way to beat the crud out of our everyday stress.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Forza Horizon 3: [Censored] to [Censored]...sorta
I already tried three of British SUVs in the past and I am already familiar with the way they behave for me because while the F-Pace excels in its handling capabilities because this is the lightest of the three, the Bentayga is the all-powerful heavyweight that shows its inner tyranny in the house of cards, and the Range Rover is all about offroad capabilities unlike any other, even though I found out that it's the heaviest of the three British-made SUVs.
Since this is Australia, it's impossible to recreate the comparison on the said Grand Tour episode but I found a piece of Grand Tour somewhere Down Under and that was called "Grand Tour Sprint", so famously called because it has the words "Grand Tour" on it and that remind anyone of the car show the former Top Gear trio were on it. Special, isn't it? And that gave me the ideal time to put these three British SUVs to the test round the Grand Tour Sprint because...it's like conducting science experiments with test subjects, only this time in cars.
To ensure a fair-playing field, I've stripped most of their upgrades to their respective tuning files so they can pick them up later after this experiment. Oh, and I also stripped off the special designs that I made because...I don't know why but this is science and no fancy accessories are allowed during the conduction of such a scientific process.
Now it's time to find out which of these three British SUVs is the best and no, there won't be any underwear, pets, sunglasses, and canned beans involved in the making of this experiment. No way. It's time to settle things once and for all and see which SUV is the best. Remember, no shortcuts because this is cheating just like what happened in the Grand Tour episode.
And so, the boxing bell has rung...
At the end of their Grand Tour sprint, I have the times;
F-Pace: 2:52.139
Range Rover: 2:41.862
Bentayga: 2:37.457
Here's the point; the F-Pace, because of its supercharged 3.0L V6 engine that produces less than the other two heavyweights, is the slowest of the three while the Bentayga, due to its tyrannical power output for a 12-cylinder SUV, is the fastest of the three, and in the end...hmmm...James May is absolutely useless.
So, the Bentayga is the fastest of the three and it's very hard to say what the dopey old idiot was doing behind the wheel because while it looks heavy inside and out, it's surprisingly fast and handles like a grand tourer, well just about. I assured that the Bentayga behaves like the good old Continental GT with the added muscle to upset the Range Rover in the race of luxury SUVs and in a straight-line performance, it would easily beat both the Jag and the Range Rover by a wide margin of reach but what could possibly go wrong with the Bentayga anyway?
Anyway, enough talk right now and time to close the case, proving that the ultra-expensive Bentley Bentayga is the best of the three SUVs and this Grand Tour episode really needs a rewrite.