Staying power Range Rover upholds hallmark of luxury and style in a 4x4

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12-31-2008, 07:57 PM

luxury1

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Staying power Range Rover upholds hallmark of luxury and style in a 4x4

Interesting article / reviewsince it points out how long Range Rover has held the top title in the luxury SUV market.
Souce: http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_.../35993929.htmlold Chevrolet

Iused to get a chuckle out of seeing an old Chevrolet Suburban brochure which had one panel featuring the aircraft carrier-long wagon parked curb side with a tuxedo and ball gown couple proudly exiting their vehicle for a high society night on the town.

Polished and gleaming, the Suburban was billed as capable of dressing up for the downtown crowd or dressing down for the work-a-day set .Then I thought, why would someone of means have a Chevy as their ride to the city from their country estate? This was long before GM decided to go upscale with this class of light truck by giving birth to the Cadillac Escalade or Ford with its Lincoln Navigator. Heck, it was even before the Jeep Cherokee, and its predecessor the Wagoneer, became trendy for mainly street use instead of safari adventures.

Why wouldnâ€™t the Suburban owners take their other, less utilitarian ride?

Donâ€™t get me wrong, the 1978 Suburban my parents had was a great vehicle with plenty room for family camping trips, hauling landscaping material, and ride-sharing.

But a wagon with rubber floor mats and bench seats in all three rows wasnâ€™t exactly the stuff of the upper class.

So, how do the rural rich get from the kidsâ€™ gymkhana event to the hospital foundation ball without switching car keys?

Land Rover had an answer for that, even in the early 1970s. And it proved to be so popular it is still around today. The solution was the Range Rover.

And who helped make it popular for the wealthy acreage and pony set?

Why, none other than the Queen of England who seemed to have a fleet of them at her disposal to cart around herself and her corgisâ€”an association which undoubtedly helped justify the cost of being able to bear the Royal Warrant next to the Land Rover name.

Today, the Range Rover still holds the same cachet the contenders cannot hope to approach, despite the subtle changes the brand has undergone as it moved from various parent companies such as BMW, Ford and now Tata Motors of India.

It still manages to exude the finely tailored charm of the English aristocracy while keeping up with contemporary car design.

Nowhere is that more apparent than the Range Roverâ€™s Terrain Response System that allows the driver to adjust with the twist of a dial the carâ€™s settings to traverse pretty much everything from grass and, gravel, to snow and, mud, and even a slow crawl over rocks. The system constantly monitors traction to maximize ride comfort and safety.

Then thereâ€™s the Range Roverâ€™s luxury factor which almost from the outset has been a hallmark of the brand with liberal use of leather and wood. Front passengers not only get heated seat surfaces but cooling ventilation to keep at bay that sticky feeling in the warm months.

On the performance side, the current version of the Range Rover comes packing two different engines.

The regular V8 has a 4.4 litre power plant that delivers 305 horsepower. If you opt for the supercharged version you get a smallerâ€”4.2 litre engineâ€”that manages to turn out 400 horses.

Keeping all that power under control is a drive-by-wire throttle that Land Rover says offers improved response and fuel economy over a traditional, fixed, mechanical link.

And depending how you are fixed financially, you can have one of these classy stylish, and high tech laden chariots in your driveway.

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