I've had my 06 Sport SC for nearly a year, and have come to realize all that I love and hate about the vehicle. I've been a somewhat frequent visitor of this website for over a year but never felt the need to join in and post preferring to read what others had to say.

The car is very good looking. From the window lines to the headlights to the side vents and body lines, the car turns heads while on the road. While most other casual drivers might not know that they're looking at a Sport rather than the full size, it doesn't really matter. It has the prestige of the full size to most people.
Sitting behind the wheel is comfortable, although the seat lumbar bothers my back during longer roadtrips. The gauges look too ordinary for what you're driving. The dashboard is too simple and hardly lives up to the Sport name. You feel like you're in an LR3 more than a sibling of a Range Rover, making the name of the car slightly misleading. Sure it looks like a Range Rover and drives more like a sports saloon than the Range Rover does, but the direct transplant of the interior from the LR3 to the Sport is disappointing. Land Rover needs to freshen up the interior design or completely dump the LR3 transplant and start from scratch and make the inside live up to the name Sport.

The Supercharged engine provides plenty of power for the 2000 Jaguar XJR that Land Rover has borrowed it from, but when a significantly cheaper Porsche Cayenne S provides almost identical performance and had been prior to Land Rover released the Sport SC, it's a poor showing. Look at other companies producing increasingly efficient engines with increasing power numbers and you begin to wonder why Land Rover hasn't dropped a more powerful, more efficient engine.

Granted the Sport weights over 5800 lbs and is significantly heavier than comparable models from other makers, but for me, a more powerful power plant is important for the top of the line Range Rover sibling.

The best on-road performance feature of the RRS SC is the 4 piston set of Brembo Brakes. They bring all 5800 lbs of the vehicle to a halt from 60 mph in distance comparable to that of a BMW M3. Having such reliable brakes gives you the comfort of mind to get on the gas a lot more than you would without them.

Highway driving is a pleasure in the Range Rover Sport. Acceleration is seamless through 100 mph, and not hesitant beyond. It is stable and easy to steer, and the heated seats do a very good job of heating up quickly. Gas consumption is poor, but you're dealing with a 5800 lb vehicle with a supercharged V8. At first I was skeptical of the Logic 7 audio, but it has since grown on me. Acoustics are clear and the bass can get thumping, hitting through a wide range of bass hits.

The navigation system is very good. Touch screen is easy to navigate through and destination entry is simple. The map is very clear and easy to read. The screen itself is very nice and should be used for all of the driver input to the vehicle. Instead you're stuck using a button behind the steering wheel to handle some settings, and all audio settings are handled through the cheap-feeling CD changer and buttons below the navigation screen.

Window buttons need to be held (fixed in 07). Voice activated features work well.


Overall I'm satisfied with the vehicle but wish my $75,000 would get me closer to Mercedes-Benz G55 performance than it does.

PROS:Great brakes, sharp appearance, solid navigation integration, functional and useful adjustable suspension system, great highway performance and touring/ cruising driving.

CONS:The interior is underwhelming and features like Bluetooth feel like they were stapled into the car as an afterthought. Feels like an LR3 with a different body at times.


*I encourage everyone to comment or constructively criticize and disagree.

Sounds spot on to me frankl11

Looks = 100% the business

S/C Sound = Awsome

Interior fit/build - quality/choice of material = way off the mark

Depreciation = as bad as it gets  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

Thanks MDP. I forgot to mention the depreciation we face, but that's sort of out of LR's control. I've had some issues with popups telling me there is a suspension fault, only to go back to normal in an hour. Same issue with tire pressure. I wonder when they're going to overhaul the entire truck to be honest. They seem content so far with such minor changes through the first 3 build years.

Hello Frankl11 and welcome to the forum

WOW what a first post that was, but i would agree with most of your points, except the performance bit, i only have a TDV6 so i wouldn't know


The interior is a bit drab and D3ish but you do feel cocooned in that driving position unlike the D3 where you feel a bit lost and its not so angular as the D3


Maybe the mistake L/R made was calling it the Range Rover Sport, as we all expect a certain level of luxury with the name, just the Land Rover Sport would of been better


All IHMO of course some of my Previous cars
--------------------------------
P38 Range Rover Autobiography
RRS 2.7 HSE Silver
RRS TDV8 HSE silver
FFRR Vogue black
Disco3 HSE silver
RRS 2.7 HSE silver
RRS 3.0 HSE BALTI BLUE
______________________________
current vehicles
RRS 3.0 L494 Autobiography
Audi R8 V10 Spyder
AC Cobra
Landrover Defender 90
Landrover Defender 110
Suzuki Jimney

Excellent opening post, Frank! (I've moved this into the My RRS section as it's more appropriate).

I'd agree with most of what you said. In general, the RRS heralded LR's involvement in a market that maybe they hadn't been involved in before and they've generated a whole new customer base through its production. To that end, there's bound to be facets of it that maybe don't compete as well with other brands as they might do - but I think when we see the next iteration of the RRS, whenever that may be, we will see that gap close.

Welcome to the forum  

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
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I agree Shmoogle = just look at the additions to the RRS on the latest ones..... slowly improving all the time........................ SLOWLY 
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

MDP wrote:

Depreciation = as bad as it gets

£20k in less than 18mths  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

frankl11 wrote:

Thanks MDP. I forgot to mention the depreciation we face, but that's sort of out of LR's control. I've had some issues with popups telling me there is a suspension fault, only to go back to normal in an hour. Same issue with tire pressure. I wonder when they're going to overhaul the entire truck to be honest. They seem content so far with such minor changes through the first 3 build years.

Makes the SC a good second hand buy though. Fully loaded and about the same price as the Cayenne S. Seems more up market due to the original high cost.

I love mine. Just had it a week or so. 16 mpg.

Agree on the centre console being a bit D3, but hey ho. 2022 P440e AB

16

Have you turned it on yet ?  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

MDP wrote:

16

Have you turned it on yet ?

17.3 cruising on the motorway at 78mph and falling now in town (driving like miss daisy though)
 2022 P440e AB

MDP dreams of 16mpg

frank - I think you'll find most members on here agree with your comments completely - welcome to the forum

I even asked SANTA for 16 at xmas - but he obviously wasn't listening  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

MDP wrote:

I even asked SANTA for 16 at xmas - but he obviously wasn't listening

Was that 16 mpg or 16" you wanted:whistle:  some of my Previous cars
--------------------------------
P38 Range Rover Autobiography
RRS 2.7 HSE Silver
RRS TDV8 HSE silver
FFRR Vogue black
Disco3 HSE silver
RRS 2.7 HSE silver
RRS 3.0 HSE BALTI BLUE
______________________________
current vehicles
RRS 3.0 L494 Autobiography
Audi R8 V10 Spyder
AC Cobra
Landrover Defender 90
Landrover Defender 110
Suzuki Jimney

I suppose it could do with shortening  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "