AutoTrends: Land Rover rolls out 2023 Range Rover Sport

• Delays EV version

Land Rover has unveiled the 2023 Range Rover Sport, and announced that the Porsche Cayenne rival will get an all-electric variant in 2024, becoming the brand’s first ever EV.

But even without the electric version in its lineup from launch the Sport makes big advances over its predecessor with a new BMW-derived 4.4-litre V8 and a choice of two PHEV powertrains that can take you up to 70 miles (113 km) on electric power.

CarScoops reports that many have become accustomed to Range Rover models’ mostly low-key design updates and the third generation Range Rover Sport sticks to that rule, looking cleaner and more modern than the car it replaces without fundamentally changing the overall design.

The new model borrows styling cues both from its recently introduced 2022 Range Rover big brother, and the older, smaller Evoque, including ultra-slim headlamps and pop-out door handles.

But sheer size differences apart, there is less chance of confusing the three at the back, where the Sport houses its light clusters and “Range Rover” badging in one horizontal strip underneath the rear window, with the license plate mounted some way below the unadorned trunk lid.

More space, more screen, less noise

 

Inside, passengers are treated to increased legroom, available 22-way adjustable massage seats, an advanced air purification system, optional 1,430 W, 29-speaker Meridian hifi, active noise cancellation and 13.7 in digital instrument cluster. Much of the SUV’s many gadgets are controlled though the 13.1 in curved Pivo Pro touchscreen, though Land Rover’s decision to fit Amazon Alexa means the voice control should actually work better than it does in many cars.

Design

There is a clear connection between the interiors of the Sport and full-size Range Rover, but the Sport’s infotainment screen and the console below it are less upright, creating a reminder that the Sport is meant to be the performance car of the pair.

Even that new rear design and interior treatment doesn’t reflect how much has changed beneath the surface, and we’re not just talking about the 2.1 in (54 mm) of extra wheelbase that pushes the distance between the wheels to 117.2 in (2,977 mm). Like the 2022 Range Rover, the ’23 Sport rides on Land Rover’s MLA-Flex platform, an architecture designed for EV, PHEV and mild-hybrid vehicles, and a key weapon in the company’s plan to roll out six pure electric models in the next four years.

From launch though, the Sport’s mix of gasoline, diesel and plug-in hybrid options highlights a desire to keep customers with more traditional powertrain tastes happy. We’ve concentrated on the motors available in Europe and North America, and the good news for drivers who appreciate mechanical refinement is that the old car’s four-cylinder engines have been junked for inline sixes, with a V8 available for performance gluttons.

Every engine drives all four wheels through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, though the Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system is able to decouple the front axle to improve efficiency when it senses there’s enough grip to get by with two-wheel drive.