2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

Range Rover Sport

First introduced as a 2006 model, the Range Rover Sport shares a platform with the LR4. The front brakes for the naturally aspirated vehicle are four-piston units mated to 14.2-inch ventilated front discs, while the rear brakes are single-piston units and with 13.8-inch rotors. The supercharged model sports 15-inch discs with six-piston calipers in the front, and 14.3-inch discs with single-piston calipers in the rear.

Because the Range Rover Sport was designed with strong on-road performance in mind, it features the "Dynamic Response" suspension system delivers flat cornering, tight body control, and sharp steering response.

An adaptive front lighting system with bi-xenon headlights that turn to follow steering inputs are standard on the supercharged model and optionally available on the Range Rover Sport HSE.

Not much changes for the 2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. It's tempting to dismiss the 2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport as Land Rover Lite, a luxury SUV posturing as the progeny of a line of vehicles with an impeccable off-road heritage. The Range Rover Sport is Land Rover's transparent attempt to attract a well-heeled urban set more interested in all-weather mobility than all-terrain adventure.

In reality, the Range Rover Sport shares more in common with the former Land Rover LR3 than the top-of-the-line Range Rover. The Sport is almost 8 inches shorter than the Range Rover and offers nearly 2.5 inches less ground clearance. Even if Range Rover Sport owners never go off-road, the Sport is more willing to dirty its boots than most of its competitors.

Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2011 Range Rover Sport is a five-passenger SUV available in HSE and Supercharged trim levels.

An optional Luxury package adds 20-inch wheels, a heated windshield, heated washer jets, heated front and rear seats, available piano black trim, premium leather upholstery, additional driver seat adjustments and a cooler box. A rear-seat entertainment system is available for all models, but adaptive cruise control is optional on the Supercharged only.

Range Rover Sport HSE models are powered by a 5.0-liter V8 that produces 375 hp and 375 pound-feet of torque. All Range Rover Sport models feature full-time four-wheel-drive with a two-speed transfer case and Terrain Response. Properly equipped, Range Rover Sport models can tow up to 7,700 pounds.

The 2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport is equipped with antilock disc brakes (more powerful Brembo brakes are fitted to the supercharged model), hill-descent control, front-seat side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags. Supercharged models equipped with an adaptive cruise control system also benefit from a collision mitigation system. The optional Vision Assist package adds blind-spot monitoring, adaptive front lighting, automatic high-beam assist and multi-camera parking assist.

In Edmunds brake testing, a Range Rover Sport Supercharged slowed from 60 mph to zero in 123 feet, an impressive result for an SUV that weighs nearly 6,000 pounds.

The Range Rover Sport takes this a step further with elevated stadium-style seating for rear passengers, affording them the same view. Although the Range Rover Sport doesn't radiate the same Old World luxury charm as the more traveled top-line Range Rover, it still feels rich and contemporary. Even though the 2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport is billed as a more nimble sibling to the top-of-the-line Range Rover, it still weighs about 5,500 pounds, about 1,000 pounds more than an Infiniti FX50.

Choosing on-road performance over hard-core off-road capability, the 2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport is smaller, sleeker, and more defined than its larger brother, the Range Rover.

Though it's a thoroughly modern design, the Range Rover Sport's proportions, and many of its cues, recall the original, go-anywhere mountain goat that started the brand.

Like most expensive, low-volume vehicles, the Range Rover Sport hasn't been crash tested by the NHTSA or IIHS. As with its safety features, the entertainment and luxury options on the Range Rover Sport are plentiful; HSE models come nicely equipped, while supercharged models throw the book of technology at the options sheet. With all of this performance and luxury, the Range Rover Sport is a heavy vehicle, and its fuel economy ratings reflect that, as well as its immense performance.