Range Rover Sport (2022 - present) | Expert Rating

Table of Contents

Summary

The Range Rover Sport is a large SUV that sits above the smaller Range Rover Velar and below the flagship Range Rover in the Land Rover family. This is the brand-new third generation, which went on sale in the second half of 2022.

Widely praised for its class-leading off-road prowess, and its plush interior, this latest iteration of the Sport has received a very warm welcome from the UK media, with several publications pointing out that it offers many of the larger Range Rover’s qualities for a cheaper price. As Carbuyer‘s Tom Jervis claims, “The new Sport offers so much luxury and refinement that the full-size Range Rover almost seems unnecessary.”

Available as a petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid, reviewers have also commended the Range Rover Sport for its strong performance – particularly the range-topping 530hp V8 engine. However, the most eye-catching models for many are the two plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants which both make use of a 32kWh battery to produce 70 miles of electric-only range – a figure that What Car? calls “astonishing”.

On the other hand, a few critics argue that the Land Rover isn’t as sporty as its name suggests. Autocar‘s Matt Prior says that, despite the Range Rover Sport’s rewarding driving experience, the Porsche Cayenne is the sportier of the two, and has a much cheaper price tag.

“The Cayenne will probably spend less time back in the dealer, too”, says Car‘s Tom Wiltshire. Land Rover has long had a questionable reliability record, and the same questions are being asked of the new Sport.

While its long-term reliability remains to be seen, Parkers concludes that the Range Rover Sport is an “amazingly capable car”. Like its bigger brother, the new Range Rover, “it’s hugely desirable, but comes at a huge price – both to buy and to run.”

As of September 2022, the Range Rover Sport holds an Expert Rating of 83% based on 11 reviews published by UK media sources. This is a brand new model, and therefore, we expect to see a large number of UK-based reviews being published in coming months, which could push the rating up or down by a few points.

Range Rover Sport highlights

Classy and alluring styling inside and out
Class-leading off-road ability
Strong performance
Competitive PHEV model battery range
Wide range of engine options on offer…

Range Rover Sport lowlights

Expensive, base price and up
Some rivals are sharper to drive
Brand’s questionable reliability record
No seven-seat models available
…but no all-electric models for now

Key specifications

Body style: Large SUV/crossover
Engines: petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid
Price: From £80,325 on-road

Launched: Autumn 2022
Last updated: N/A
Replacement due: TBA

Image gallery

Reviews, road test and comparisons from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.

Model reviewed: 3.0-litre petrol-electric plug-in hybrid P510e
Score: 9 / 10
“Adding more advanced plug-in tech to the new Range Rover Sport’s repertoire has pushed the price higher, but it offers a broader range of talents than ever. There are more agile SUVs on sale, but the Sport offers just the right level of engagement and balances it with a big step on in terms of luxury that places it closer than ever to the full-size Range Rover.”
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Model reviewed: 4.4-litre petrol V8 automatic P530 First Edition
Score: 9 / 10
“The V8-engined Range Rover Sport will play a bit part when it comes to sales, but the car that crowns the range shows fully just how broad the new model’s range of abilities is. It’s fast – even fun – but balances this with character and class, riding and handling sweetly.”
Read review

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 9 / 10
“Less sporting than the Cayenne it may be, but it’s still rewarding, and it will out-ride anything in the class.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 10 / 10
“The Range Rover Sport remains an expensive car to buy and even more expensive to run. An entry-level BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne are significantly cheaper and will probably spend less time back in the dealer, too. As ever, it’s the more basic engines that prove the most beguiling, though it’s difficult to ignore the breadth of capability of the plug-in hybrid models.” (Tom Wiltshire)
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8.8 / 10
“The new Sport offers so much luxury and refinement that the full-size Range Rover almost seems unnecessary.”
Read review

Model reviewed: 4.4-litre petrol V8 automatic P530 First Edition
Score: 8 / 10
“Of course, Land Rover will consider the new Sport a rung above the German competition, where it does sit substantially below higher-end rivals like the Aston Martin DBX or Bentley Bentayga.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 9 / 10
“This is an amazingly capable car – it can go off-road, handles on the road with the best of them yet remains incredibly comfortable and cossetting. It’s hugely desirable, but comes at a huge price – both to buy and to run.”
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Model reviewed: 3.0-litre petrol-electric plug-in hybrid P510e
Score: 8 / 10
“In one sense, this Range Rover Sport is exactly like the old one — handsome, smooth, fast and fun to drive. In another way, it’s changed utterly; it can cruise around for extended periods on electric-only power and is therefore capable of returning some surprisingly good fuel economy figures. It’s also packaged much more cleverly than before.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“You might not agree, but as long as it’s legal to buy and own a 2.3 tonne-plus, go-almost-anywhere vehicle like this, I’m glad it’s us (the UK) making them. And the Range Rover Sport is at the top of the class.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
” Land Rover knows how to nod back to its tradition better than most. And in a world of increasingly gnarly performance SUVs, the comparatively plusher edge of the latest Sport does exactly that. Just watch the price as the options pile on.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“The Range Rover Sport is a fantastic SUV that goes big on luxury, comfort and off-road ability, but other rivals are still sharper to drive. The incredible pure-electric range of the plug-in hybrid P440e makes it a very enticing option for company car drivers.”
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Safety rating

No safety rating

As of September 2022, the Range Rover Sport has not been crash tested by Euro NCAP. Considering its hefty price tag, it is not likely to be assessed by this safety body in the near future.

Eco rating

No eco rating

As of September 2022, the Range Rover Sport has not been lab tested by Green NCAP. Considering its hefty price tag, it is not likely to be assessed by this safety body in the near future.

Reliability rating

The third-generation Range Rover Sport is a brand-new model, so we don’t have enough reliability data on this new car to generate a reliability rating.

The Car Expert’s reliability information is provided exclusively for us using warranty data from our partner, MotorEasy. As soon as MotorEasy has sufficient data on this iteration of the Range Rover Sport, we’ll publish the score here.