The word “icon” may be thrown around too easily in the automotive world. But no one could deny it to Land Rover’s Range Rover. The most recognizable British SUV has kept its classic proportions and posh-but-rugged attitude since it first appeared more than 50 half a century ago. A brand new one is coming. But its designers haven’t messed with what works, though for the first time, it will be available in a 3-row configuration.
Also in keeping with its eccentric British roots, the all-new Range Rover bows as a 2022 model alongside the current generation Range Rover, which is also being sold as a 2022 model. This new generation makes its debut with a pair of gas engine options, with a pure electric and plug-in hybrid coming later.
Lineup and Pricing
The base 2022 Range Rover P400 SE models come equipped with a 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder engine mated to a mild hybrid system. Together, they make 395 horsepower. MPG figures are not yet available. The P400 SE starts at $104,000 while a 3-row 7-passenger long-wheelbase version costs $110,000.
P530 SE, Autobiography, and First Edition models are powered by a new 523-horsepower, 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8 sourced from BMW. It’s the same engine found in a number of BMW’s M high-performance models. The P530 SE stickers at $118,700, with its 7-passenger LWB variant coming in at $6,000 more.
The Autobiography models begin at $152,000, with $2,000 increments for the LWB 7-passenger and a 2-row 4-passenger LWB model with executive rear seating topping out at $156,000.
The luxuriously appointed First Edition models carry respective prices of $158,000 and $163,500 for standard and LWB versions.
Power goes through Range Rover’s intelligent All-Wheel-Drive system, which “monitors grip levels and driver inputs 100 times a second to predictively distribute torque between the front and rear axles, and across the rear axle, for optimum traction on and off-road.”
Standard all-wheel steering gives it a tighter turning radius than smaller Land Rover SUVs — even the subcompact Evoque.
Plug-in Hybrid, Pure Electric Model Coming
Most of the automotive industry is going electric. Range Rover will match them soon. The brand will introduce a plug-in hybrid version of this car for the 2023 model year. That one, Rover says, will be good for 434 horsepower and “up to 62 miles of near-silent pure-electric driving” before its gasoline engine turns on.
A pure electric model will follow in 2024.
The Classic Silhouette
Never having seen one, you’d instantly know exactly what the 2022 Range Rover is. Land Rover calls it “a contemporary interpretation of its trademark profile,” and that description is fair play.
It keeps the classic sleek, yet boxy proportions of the original Range Rover. But designers updated the look with rounding at the very corners, flush-mounted door handles, and a trace outline of the big vents that characterized the last edition.
The split tailgate remains, even when most competitors have switched to one-piece liftgates.
Minimalist Cabin
Inside, Rover has taken a few notes from Tesla, of all places. The new Cabin has the cleanest lines of any Range Rover, with a huge 13.1-inch central touchscreen that seems to float above an uncluttered dashboard. It provides haptic feedback to the touch. A pair of dials allow you to control climate settings without paging through menus.
Amazon Alexa compatibility also lets you do it with voice commands. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard.
Owners can customize a 13.7-inch, 3-panel driver’s instrument display to show whatever information the driver prefers, including mimicking the analog instruments of older Range Rovers.
An optional Meridien sound system uses headrest-mounted speakers to cancel out noises, creating “personal quiet zones similar to the effect when using high-end headphones.”
Class of 2022: All the New and Redesigned Cars, Trucks, and SUVs
