2011 Range Rover HSE: Luxury and power, a pleasure to drive

Written by Steven Macoy
Thursday, 07 July 2011 10:43

Like some stunning innovation from La Belle Epoque, the 2011 Range Rover HSE brings together the best of British luxury and self-assurance — sumptuous interior accommodations, relaxing ride, impressive power and matchless off-road capability. And no one seems troubled by the fact its current corporate owner hails from that upstart former colony, India.

Today’s Range Rover is far more refined than any of its predecessors, yet just as capable of taking on the African Veldt or the Australian Outback. It’s not for everyone — the Range Rover is big, tall, thirsty and expensive; a fuel-efficient, medium-priced Toyota RAV-4 will handle the most extreme conditions most drivers will take on — but this car is really something special. You might say it’s an anachronism clothed in modernity.

Our Range Rover was the middle-of-the-road HSE with a normally aspirated, 375-horsepower V-8 engine. Base price was $78,835. The smaller, less capable HSE Sport can be had for under $60,000. The HSE Supercharged, with a 510-horsepower V-8, starts at a princely $94,615.

Despite its bulk, the Range Rover is pleasant to drive. Its reactions to steering corrections are predictable and reasonably quick. The interior is quiet as a tomb.

Today’s cars tend to have high beltlines, reducing visibility to the rear. Not the Range Rover. Backing up a narrow residential driveway, we were amazed to see it laid out like a panorama, with every obstacle in clear view.

Like the early Land Rover Discovery we owned a few years ago, the Range Rover has limited cargo room despite its large exterior dimensions. With the rear seats lowered, it accepts just 74.2 cubic feet of cargo. But the clamshell tailgate was a help when we picked up a door at a home-improvement center in Danbury; we were able to extend the door up through the horizontal center of the tailgate at an angle that prevented it from slipping out. Our Discovery was hinged on the right side and was useless for transporting long items.

Our Discovery was a Grade A gasoline hog, never besting 16 mpg. By contrast, the new Ranger Rover’s driver information center reported we were cruising in the low 20s. In the real world, you can expect 13 to 18 mpg, based on government tests.

The Range Rover had its share of quirks, including audio-visual gadgets that were tricky to operate. The DVD rack is located in the cargo area rather than up front where a passenger can operate it. And a car this expensive ought to have an automatic tailgate opener and closer, a feature we’ve seen on many lesser cars.

Range Rovers have an unfortunate reputation for unreliability, but a couple sites we checked suggested the previous owner, Ford Motor Co., and current owner, Tata Motors, have made progress on this front. Our advice would be to ignore what you might have heard and do your own research if you really think the Range Rover is for you.

 

Steven Macoy ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is a longtime car enthusiast and full-time editor who lives in Bethel, Conn.

 

Base price: $78,835

Engine: 5.0-liter V-8, 375 horsepower, 375 lb.-ft. torque

Transmission: 6-speed shiftable automatic

Drive: All-wheel

Weight: 5,697 lb.

Ground Clearance: 9.1 inches

Suspension: MacPherson strut front, double-wishbone front and rear

Wheels: 19x8-inch alloy

Tires: 255/55R19 performance

Seating capacity: 5

Maximum cargo capacity: 74.2 cu. ft.

Towing capacity: 7,716 lb.

Fuel capacity: 27.6 gallons

Fuel economy: 13 mpg city, 18 mpg highway

Fuel type: Premium

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