► Month seven with our Range Rover Sport
► Looking back on a summer Le Mans trip
► Fast, flexible… might it win its own trophy?
I never seem to go to the Le Mans 24hrs in anything sensible. My maiden trip was in a Caterham Seven. Which had a speedo needle that abandoned its post above 80mph and slipped back down to zero. And I was camping that weekend. And it rained for the duration of the race. This other time, a few months into our courtship, the missus and I went in a Lotus Evora – and ended up sleeping in it outside the Calais ferry terminal. Can’t imagine why she’s never asked to go back.
If you descend on the Circuit de la Sarthe in June, it’s all part of the fun, but this year I was working at the race, and with a camera crew and a photographer in tow, something small and British just wasn’t going to cut it (my Mini included). So I took something big and British instead: Ben Oliver’s Range Rover Sport.
Straight from clogging up the roads around Henley on last month’s Volvo XC90 Giant Test, the Sport and I made a brief overnight stop back in London, then headed for Le Chunnel. And having lied on the booking system and claimed the Sport was over 1.85m, we joined the coaches, caravans and motorhomes. Why the fib? Because taller vehicles get to go in special Channel Tunnel carriages without kerbs and toilets to slalom around. It means a longer walk for a wee, but massively reduces the chance of needing to call Ben O and apologise for taking a chunk out of one of the optional 22in (and £3228!) wheels.
Our first night was in Paris, an easy schlep south on the autoroute at a reasonable speed. At least until we reached the Périphérique, whereupon the sat-nav lost the plot in traffic and took us on a 20min detour that literally brought us back to where we started. Two months back Ben reported that ‘having been unconvinced at first by the system’s clunky graphics and slightly slow responses, I now feel I can trust it.’ I couldn’t agree less: it takes so long to input each letter for your destination that it’s actually a dangerous distraction; you can’t easily zoom or manipulate the map; and the world’s motoring journalists have collectively run out of old games consoles to compare the ancient graphics to.
The rest of the trip though, reinforced all the good Mr Oliver has been saying for the past six months. The soft throttle, torque-rich engine, slab-sided styling and high ground clearance mean it’s easy to drive in Paris or to clamber up a steep slope by the famous Dunlop Bridge. It feels imperious on the motorway, you feel imperious looking down upon everyone from the lofty driving position, and your hard-working passengers feel imperious being chauffeured around in leather-lined luxury while all their expensive gear is stored in the boot.
All the ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’, the niggles here and there, they don’t really matter because the Sport feels special and unique in a way no German or Japanese rival can counter. Practically, I’d have been better off in our cameraman’s BMW 335d xDrive Touring for the trip – which has just as much useable space, manages to be both quicker and more economical, costs a heap less, and has a sat-nav that works – yet I’d rather have been in the Sport. That it, plus its bigger brother, and the Disco, are the only SUVs I’d ever consider owning says a lot about what Land Rover gets spot on.
Logbook: Range Rover Sport 3.0 SDV6 HSE Dynamic
Engine: 2993cc 24v twin turbodiesel v6, 288bhp @ 4000rpm, 442lb ft @ 2000rpm
Gearbox: 8-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Stats: 6.8sec 0-62mph, 138mph, 199g/km
Price: £66,250
As tested: £75,607
Miles this month: 2643
Total miles: 8856
Our mpg: 27.0
Official mpg: 37.7
Fuel this month: £453.52
Extra costs: £0