Or consider the all-new Dynamic Control system, a mind-boggling ride and handling assist that employs sensors in the A-pillar and steering-to gauge levels of body roll and steering input under throttle-to engage pump-driven front and rear antisway bars (via an internal motor in each sway bar) to compensate for excess body lean. Additionally, the system shuts off automatically in low-range-unless, of course, it senses the vehicle tottering precariously on a sidehill. Simply put, the Rover Sport is the most technologically advanced vehicle Land Rover has built to date.
Down The Driveline
The Rover Sport utilizes the same power- and drivetrain as the Range Rover, with both naturally aspirated and supercharged versions of the 4.4/4.2 V-8, slightly de-tuned for the RS application, with the ZF six-speed transmission and two-speed transfer case with 2.93:1 low-range. Height-adjustable, wishbone-located air springs-with graphite knuckles and re-engineered bushings-are at all four corners, with locking center and rear differentials monitoring wheelspin and torque transfer. The Rover Sport comes with premium tires: HSE versions get 255/50R19 Dunlop Grandtreks on 19x9-inch rims; Sport SCs get 20s and 275/40R20 Michelin M + S Synchrones. The tires are V-rated-a good thing, as the Rover Sport's top speed is a governed 140 mph.
Because it squats lower to the ground and has a poorer ramp breakover angle than the Range Rover, it is a good thing that the Sport version is additionally equipped with the Terrain Response System, which debuted last year on the LR3. The system, which is activated by a dial on the center console, essentially reprograms the vehicle's ECU on the fly to re-adjust a slew of vehicular functions to best suit the demands of diverse terrains: mud, ice, snow, rock, sand, and pavement. With a flip of a dial, throttle tip-in, transmission shift points, suspension movement, torque bias and hundreds of other functions are electronically recalibrated to provide optimal performance on whatever surface the vehicle happens to be driving on.
Pavement, Mud, Rocks And Snow
On highway, the supercharged Rover Sport provides an outstanding ride-quick and nimble, crisp and precise, unmistakably carlike. Our test unit showed excellent lateral stability when pitched into high-speed turns, and brake feel in particular was exceptional-no grabs or twitches, with progressive, predictable response to pedal input. Caught in a nasty snowstorm on a high mountain two-lane, we piloted the Sport in 1st gear for about half an hour-downhill all the way, 12 miles' worth-with no rear-wheel slippage, loss of handling, or need to ride on the brakes-we didn't use the brakes at all, in fact. The Sport's racing-style bucket seats are smaller and narrower than the seats in the Range Rover; they envelop the driver's body with form-fitting leather side bolsters, providing outstanding support and bestowing a sportier feeling to the Sport's interior.
Off-pavement ... well, we were a bit worried about those 40-series tires and quasi-dub rims, but our fears turned out to be unfounded. Our testing this time took us through rain-soaked gulleys, muddy trails, and even a Mini-Rubicon-style rockcrawling course. As with the Range Rover, the Rover Sport relies on its locking diffs and electronic traction controls to keep the vehicle moving, and they worked flawlessly in mud and on rocks. The "Rocks" setting on the Terrain Response dial radically remaps the Sport's throttle and gearing algorithms-you can rev the V-8 up to nearly two grand in 1st gear, and still keep vehicle speed at near-idle levels in low-range. (A couple of vehicles in our test group suffered sidewall punctures-tough to do, we reckoned, as there's not much sidewall to mess with-but this happened not on the rocks but in a rainy sluice littered with sharp stones and tree branches. Other, more "trailable" tires would likely have suffered the same fate at the street pressures we were running.)