Land Rover launches Range Rover Sport SUV in India

Hallowed British SUV brand Land Rover, now owned by Tata Motors, has launched the 2014 Range Rover Sport SUV in India. First unveiled at this year's New York Motor Show, the luxurious Range Rover Sport SUV sits between the Evoque and the all-new Range Rover in terms of price and positioning. The SUV starts at 1.1 crore rupees for the 3 liter diesel engined S variant, going all the way up to 1.66 crore rupees for the top-end V8 petrol engined Autobiography variant.

While two more diesel engined variants: SE and HSE, have been announced, their prices are yet to be revealed. The 2014 Range Rover Sport will be imported into India through the completely built unit (CBU) route. The 2014 Range Rover Sport is based on a new aluminium monocoque platform that is centered around weight reduction. The Range Rover Sport shares its platform with its larger 2013 Range Rover sibling.

Although the platform is shared, the Range Rover Sport features 75 % unique parts, giving it an identity that's quite distinct from that of its bigger sibling. The Range Rover Sport is 420 kilograms lighter than its previous generation variant, despite the new model being longer by 62 mm and having a wheelbase that is 178 mm longer. However, the 2014 Range Rover Sport is 145 mm shorter and sits 55 mm lower than the larger Range Rover SUV. Also, the new SUV is 45 kilograms lighter than the larger Range Rover.

The all-new 2014 model manages to squeeze in 7 seats and will be sold in India with two engine options. Three variants: S, SE and HSE will be powered by a 3 liter turbo diesel engine in a V6 layout. This turbo diesel unit delivers 292 PS of peak power and 600 Nm of peak torque. The other engine, available only on the Autobiography variant, is a 5 liter supercharged V8 petrol that outputs 510 PS of peak power and 625 Nm of peak torque.

Both engines get 8 speed automatic gearboxes that drive all 4 wheels through a 4 wheel drive system. The 4 wheel drive system is available with the optional, 2nd generation TerrainResponse system. The 3 liter diesel engine is capable of propelling the Range Rover Sport to a top speed of 210 Kph, while the 0-100 Kph sprint is achieved in 7.2 seconds. The 5 liter petrol engines propels the 2013 Range Rover Sport to 100 Kph from standstill in 5.3 seconds, while top speed is an electronically limited 225 Kph. 

Air suspension with Adaptive Dynamics is standard on all variants while a start-stop system has been fitted to cut tail pipe emissions and boost fuel efficiency. Land Rover claims 13.33 Kmpl for the diesel engined Range Rover Sport while the petrol engined model is claimed to deliver 7.81 Kmpl, both figures based on the UK-driving cycle. Click here to read Team-BHP's drive report of the 2014 Range Rover Sport.