2017 LAND ROVER RANGE SPORT REVIEW
Channel: Auto Today
Date: 05/02/2017

The Volkswagen Group has plunged a dagger into diesel’s image, but the body is still twitching. In larger vehicles, such as this 5335-pound Range Rover Sport HSE Td6, diesel can make sense, especially when the fuel runs 80 cents or so cheaper per gallon than premium, as it was in California during our test.

Land Rover, a brand that seems to rest perennially below average in initial-quality scores but nonetheless enjoys strong sales, makes the diesel option mightily tempting. First, on 2016 models the upcharge is only $1500, whether you get the HSE (diesel base price: $72,945) or the less-frothed SE (base: $67,945). At 152 pounds, the weight penalty also is modest compared with the last gasoline V-6 Sport HSE we tested. Yes, you have to add urea for the Selective Catalytic Reduction system that mitigates smog-forming oxides of nitrogen, but the refill interval is about 10,000 miles. In the meantime, you can enjoy range of more than 600 miles between fuel-pump visits.
The Ford-sourced 254-hp 3.0-liter turbo-diesel V-6 and the eight-speed automatic transmission are superbly done, being both preternaturally quiet and relatively efficient for a permanently all-wheel-drive truck in the mastodon class. We averaged 24 mpg in mixed driving, including climbing some steep mountain grades; we recorded only 15 mpg in the gasoline Sport HSE in that earlier comparison test of four SUVs (it finished third). If you prefer the EPA apples-to-apples comparison, the diesel rates 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway to the gasoline supercharged V-6’s 17/23. Opt for the 5.0-liter V-8 and, well, polar bears are swimming.

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