2007 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Reviews

Given the way so many four-wheel drives have morphed into performance SUVs over the years, it’s no surprise Range Rover had its own take on a high-spec, high-stepping wagon. The difference being, of course, that with a Range Rover badge, the end result needed to be sporty(-ish) and capable of plugging through the worst forest tracks and trails imaginable.The product of that thinking became the Range Rover Sport.Although the badging and high-end interior materials said Range Rover, the platform with its semi-monocoque construction said Land Rover. Land Rover Discovery 3, to be precise. But when you started to explore the Sport’s on- and off-road abilities and its tremendous looking body, any misgivings might have been scratched.The range kicked off in Australia in 2005 as the L320 series and included a huge range of mechanical packages. They started with the 2.7TDV6 which used a 2.7 litre turbo-diesel V6 with a six-speed automatic. With 140kW performance was okay, but importantly, the L320 used a proper two-speed transfer-case with permanent four-wheel drive.There was also a 4.4-litre petrol V8 option with 220kW and a storming 4.2-litre supercharged petrol V8 with no less than 287kW at its disposal. Both of those also had six-speed automatic transmissions and all V8 models had a locking rear differential for more off-road prowess.A year after the model’s launch, Range Rover added a 3.6-litre twin-turbo diesel V8 model with 200kW.The Range Rover badge decreed that luxury could not be forgotten, so every version of the Sport featured 18-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, LED lighting and leather upholstery. The 4.4-litre V8 version added a CD stacker, bi-xenon headlights, and rear parking sensors, while the diesel V8 carried the same specification but with 19-inch alloys. The supercharged Sport added 20-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, front parking sensors, memory seats and mirrors as well as hydraulically controlled anti-roll suspension.Air suspension was a much hyped part of the Sport deal with the (on-paper) ability to make the independent suspension work as if the vehicle had solid axles in tougher off-road settings.Range Rover gave the L320 a facelift (to Series 2 spec) in 2009 with new engines and improved suspension as well as interior improvements to make the driver’s job easier.The new engines started with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6, while the V8s were replaced by a 5.0-litre petrol V8. Available in either naturally aspirated or supercharged form, the new V8s were good for 276kW and a massive 375kW.The model was eventually replaced in 2013 by the L494 model Range Rover Sport. The short answer is yes, and no.The Range Rover Sport is a pretty amazing thing dynamically, able to combine high-speed stability with good comfort and even exceptional off-road abilities. That’s the ‘yes’ part.The ‘no’ comes in the form of a litany of serious mechanical and electrical problems that have surfaced over the years, tainting the Sport’s reputation.This car is a classic case of buyer beware, but if you do get lucky and find one that is reliable, the driving experience is hard to match. The problem is picking a good one, because the odds aren’t great that it will be clear sailing. In a nutshell, not great. In fact, not even close. Too many owners have had expensive, often catastrophic failures to make any other judgment. The problems are wide and varied, too, so there’s no short-cut to finding one that won’t necessarily break the bank.The rusted-on fans out there will beg to differ, but the facts are the facts, and this vehicle’s a gamble at best. This is no short list and the Range Rover Sport’s reputation for fragility and dud engineering is based on many years of turning motorists into mechanics.Let’s start with the real elephant in the room, the 2.7 and 3.0 litre V6 turbo-diesels. These have a pretty shocking record for destroying themselves due to problems with the bottom end bearings. Speculation is that the bearings themselves were either fitted incorrectly at the factory, or that they could wear and 'spin' in service. Either way, once you hear the warning noises from under the bonnet, you had a handful of seconds to pull off the road, shut the engine off and call a tow-truck. Any longer and you were likely to destroy the engine completely as the crankshaft failed due to the bearing problem.Symptoms that you have those precious seconds remaining include a knocking noise that gets louder as you load the engine, and a low oil pressure warning on the dashboard. Ignore it and you’ll soon have the con-rods on the ground under the car. Not nice.Scandalously, despite this being a known problem affecting the very earliest L320 cars, it took Land Rover until 2012 to sort a fix with a revised bearing design.Early examples of this engine also had a major design flaw in the oil pump assembly which was too weak to support the tensioner for the rubber timing belt that was mounted on the pump casing. This often showed up straight after a new timing belt was fitted and the added tension of the new belt exceeded the integrity of the pump casing.At that point, all hell boke loose as the timing belt jumped ship, allowing the pistons to collide with the valves and reducing the engine to scrap in milli-seconds. A revised pump casing design fixed things, but not before plenty of owners were replacing entire engines.The single turbocharger unit fitted to the 2.7-litre V6 was also prone to internal wear. Lots of white smoke from the exhaust was a sign that this was the case. Replacing the turbocharger unit was the usual fix. EGR valve failures on this engine are not unknown, either.The 5.0-litre supercharged V8 was not without problems and it often developed a rattle or ticking noise. This was usually traced to the timing chain tensioner, requiring the tensioner and the timing chain to be replaced. An improved design of the chain and tensioner helped, but didn’t arrive until the 2012 model.The Sport’s air suspension has also caused its share of grief with many owners returning to their vehicle to find it lying almost flat on the ground. The cause is usually the air suspension’s compressor system which can either fail to maintain the required ride height or simply allow all the air to escape the suspension units. One theory holds that the compressor itself was too small and was overworked, leading to failures.We’ve also heard of a few instances where the suspension units themselves have failed requiring costly replacement. But even the plastic plumbing for the air suspension seems underdone in the sense of a car designed for off-road work.Those are by no means the only faults associated with this make and model, but they’re the ones that keep surfacing over time. None of them are minor. Again, this is a long list because the Range Rover Sport has been far from immune from safety recalls to fix things that should never have gone wrong.Let’s start with the transmission which could sometimes refuse to select Park. This affected very early build L320s.Then there was the ABS sensor which could chafe its wiring on the wheel under extreme cornering and suspension travel situations. Again, this affected early (2005 and 2006) models.Perhaps the recall with the greatest potential for mayhem was one for V6 turbo-diesel vehicles built between mid-2004 and mid-2009. In those, there was a chance the vacuum system and the entire braking system could fail, leading to a total loss of brake performance. And again, that’s an awful lot of cars to be affected by such a serious defect.The L320 was also recalled at various points in time to correct faulty crank angle sensors that would stop the engine in its tracks, door latches that wouldn’t (latch) and fuel pumps that could fail prematurely.You can find out more by visiting https://www.vehiclerecalls.gov.au/ Later built cars were definitely better than earlier-build examples, purely because Range Rover had time to sort things out (not that it always did). But the one vehicle we’d avoid would be the turbo-diesel in any of its forms as these were the ones with the dicky bottom end. This is a vehicle where the fewer kilometres covered, the better. That said, you do see the odd one with better than 400,000km on board still getting around, but it would be very interesting to find out how much of a grandfather’s axe it is. Those high-milers are also almost always turbo-diesel cars, too, but that’s as much a function of the fact that this vehicle arrived in Australia when diesel was the new black, and people were flocking to it. It’s very difficult to recommend this make and model unless you’re an expert in diagnosing and fixing them and don’t mind a bit of down time. The non-supercharged petrol V8 stands a better chance of going the distance, but even it lives in the shadow of air suspension failures and other maladies. A high-mileage turbo-diesel can be had for comfortably less than $10,000 these days. In fact, you see them advertised for as little as $5000 which still makes them a punt, but a much lower-stakes punt.There’s a wide spread of prices after that with something like a supercharged V8 version with 100,000km showing for between $45,000 and $50,000. The one thing in the Sport’s favour as a long-term proposition is the magnificent repair and parts industry that has sprung up around the brand. You could argue that’s a function of necessity to keep a flawed product on the road, but it also reflects the fanaticism the Range Rover brand has created for itself.There’s a legion of specialist workshops that know these vehicles backwards and can supply pretty much every part needed. Independent specialists are also usually a lot cheaper than Range Rover dealership repairs and servicing.The better news is that every time a Range Rover Sport is pensioned off or scrapped its parts help keep other Rangies on the road. There’s no way of knowing how many L320 Range Rover Sports were sold during the model’s eight years on sale. But we can tell you that the bigger online sales sites have between 50 and 140 L320s available for sale.The vast majority of those are turbo-diesel V6 variants.

These days, owning a big four-wheel drive with a V8 badge is about as socially acceptable as spitting. Indeed, owners may occasionally find themselves the recipient of a wet ball of outrage.Follow that badge with the word diesel, however, and the bile is usually kept behind pursed lips.But the new Land Rover-developed TDV8 doesn't wear a badge of immunity. It doesn't even sound like a diesel. The only indication is the Range Rover badge itself, which ironically swaps the supercharged V8's black badge for the colour green.And green it is — at least for a twin-turbo V8.Although the exterior of the Sport and Vogue TDV8s remains unchanged, what lies beneath is brand new and spanking.The V8 diesel engine essentially takes the place of the antiquated TD6 which, while frugal, was never the best beast to pull a fully kitted Vogue with family in tow.This block, though comparatively small at 3.6 litres, was designed in-house specifically for the Range Rover, and does its job darn well.It claims to sip the same 11.6 litres per 100km as the outgoing Vogue six (11.1/100km in the Sport), but puts out 54 per cent more power and 64 per cent more torque. And so it should.The common-rail V8 makes use of variable turbine geometry, which allows its twin turbochargers to efficiently and effectively pull the most from the low and high range.Though still evident when flattening the throttle from a standstill, lag is minimised and an enormous 640Nm of torque is accessible — and fierce — from 2000rpm, particularly in the “lighter” 2675kg Sport version. (The Vogue weighs an epic 2710kg.) It's not a rush of blood to the head like the supercharged version — more a deep, throbbing heartbeat that quickens with the encouragement of the right foot. On part throttle, the heavy cabin soundproofing allows only the slightest engine hum and wind noise from the massive mirrors.At full noise, the sensation is more V8 than diesel, begging for full exploration of the torque mountain.The biggest blunting of this force is the sheer weight and size of the Range Rover. A diet would only make it faster, but that's a terrifying thought.The torquey engine is well paired with a six-speed ZF automatic box, which commands the gears like a smooth politician. Automatic shifts are near-imperceptible, and the first three gears don't pump out the short, sharp changes associated with a diesel (or, indeed, a 4WD).Engage manual mode, and the ZF's gearing reins in that eager engine with gusto. Corners can also be taken sharper and deeper, thanks to bigger brakes and reworked suspension on the Vogue.Brembo four-pot front stoppers from the Sport Supercharged are now standard, and when they bite, it's hard.Pitch under braking is minimal, and the boaty suspension of the Vogue has been reworked in the Sport's vein for more composure — though it's still very soft compared with the latter.Lower-profile tyres, 20-inch rims and a stiffer set-up make the Sport a little more fussy, particularly over potholes and corrugations.A throttle-on vibration through the steering wheel over 100km/h serves as a small reminder that a diesel's knocking on the firewall, but the steering is amazingly sharp and makes for a far more involving drive than the Rangie's size suggests.Despite giving the impression of a sunk-down city SUV, both the Sport and the Vogue are capable of mounting much more than the kerb outside a private school.The Terrain Response system from Discovery3 is standard on the TDV8s, accessed by a fat, funky dial mounted below the shifter. Four excellent off-road modes are on tap — snow or wet grass; mud and ruts; sand; or rock crawl — allowing for idiot-proof, dirty fun.The standard air suspension may hoik the car up and over the sharp stuff, but can also be lowered quite substantially so you don't have to scale half a mountain to get shopping out of the boot.For skirt-wearers, an optional set of hydraulic side steps, activated by the doors opening and closing, is a welcome lift (though at $2349, it would be more cost-effective to simply wear pants).Other civilised additions include an electronic parking brake on the Vogue, revised airbags, an electronic rear diff and a shut-off system that prevents a petrol nozzle accessing to the fuel tank.Range Rover claims its new diesel is so quiet, new owners may just pull up at the petrol pump by mistake. Perhaps a badge somewhere may have prevented that? Fast factsRange Rover TDV8On sale: NowPrice: Sport $107,900, Vogue Luxury $165,900Body: SUVEngine: Eight-cylinder twin-turbo diesel, 200kW, 640NmTransmission: Six-speed automatic, all-wheel driveFuel: 11.6 litres per 100km (combined claim)Safety: Includes Brembo brakes, front side and curtain airbags, fuel shut-off system

Where the PC brigade would have us pottering about in micro-engined hybrid machines, Range Rover has simply puffed out its corporate chest, added another couple of hundred kilos of luxury and performance — and defiantly sucked another slurp of fuel through the supercharger.While a morally sustainable argument certainly lies somewhere between the two, it is difficult not to crack a smile — albeit racked with guilt — from behind the wheel of the "little" Rangie.At a tick over 2.5 tonnes, the Rangie hero model boasts the heart of a sportscar — a cracking 4.2-litre supercharged V8 — under its clamshell bonnet. It would be reasonable to assume that large lumps of the engine's 287kW and 550Nm would be eaten away in just getting — and keeping — the Sport's not inconsiderable bulk up and running.That would be an inappropriate assumption. With the majority of the urge on tap from just over 1500rpm, the Sport is quite spritely. It can put the 100km/h mark behind in around 7.2 seconds and keeps on giving for a considerable time on its way to a claimed top speed of 225km/h.A large part of the Sport's on-road ability — nimbleness, for such a large car — is the array of technical wizardry with which it has been imbued by Land Rover's engineers. Air suspension is standard on the supercharged Sport, as is Dynamic Response — an active anti-roll bar system computer controlled to stiffen and relax — to the point of disengaging to allow full wheel articulation over rough ground. The bars produce a surprisingly taut and controlled ride when the car is pushed on tarmac.It is difficult to think of the Sport in any manner other than a huge sports car. There are plenty of quicker cars with sharper handling and higher terminal speeds on the road. However, few that match its bulk can come anywhere near it for performance.Beware, however, as driving the Sport hard comes at a price. Punched out on the open road you will see fuel consumption in the low to mid-20L/100km range. More moderate performance can bring the average down to around 17L/100km — certainly no fuel-efficiency pin-up but still within a range that doesn't require constant public apology.Off the road, the breadth of the Sport's all-around ability is highlighted by a certain knowledge that it is up for almost any challenge you would care to throw at it.With the brilliant Terrain Response AWD selector at your fingertips, off-roading for dummies has well and truly arrived.First made available on Discovery III, Terrain Response allows a simple dial-in choice of various conditions from dry roads through to sand, rock and mud. The system then sets optimum ride height, traction, engine, throttle sharpness and differential lock settings. Inside the Sport, the Range Rover heritage of wood and leather is faithfully paid homage.Equipment levels are high with standard satellite navigation — an easy to use touch-screen variety — and a quality sound system leading the way. While still set high above most traffic, the driving position is more car-like than most SUVs, with a large range of height and reach adjustment available.Space is at a little more of a premium, the roof is lower — particularly with the optional sunroof ($3000) — and the rear-seat legroom is more restricted. The tailgate is a departure from standard Range Rover practice in that while the rear glass can be lifted independently, the full tailgate raises when opened rather than splitting horizontally.Mindful that most owners will deploy their Sports in a city environment rather than off-road, the design is one intended to live with other road users.Low-mounted bumpers and low-collision load path are designed to minimise damage to smaller vehicles in an accident by making the initial contact at a level where their passive safety systems are most effective.