If you want to climb over boulders while eating caviar on a cracker, this is your ride. Later, you might even want to drag race a Camaro while taking a short-cut across a creek bed.
The Range Rover, Land Rover's top-dog luxury SUV, is so coveted by owners these days that your best chance of snagging one is placing an order and then setting your alarm for next spring.
According to a report this week by Cars.com, the average Range Rover spends only about nine days on a dealer's lot, making it one of the fastest-selling vehicles on Earth. What makes this extraordinary is that the new Range Rover has been out for two years, while the cars at the top of the fast-selling list -- like the just re-designed 2015 Toyota Camry and 2015 Ford Mustang -- have barely hit the ground. The Range Rover has reached such heights of popularity by being several things at once: an all-terrain SUV, a virtual limousine and a rocket ship. When all that comes wrapped in the same sheet metal, well, what more is there to want?
The Range Rover is the top dog in the Land Rover SUV line.James Vandermerwe, general manager at Chattanooga Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover, let us test drive a new Range Rover Supercharged last week, one of the first Range Rovers he has received that wasn't pre-ordered by a customer. Our Santorini Black tester comes with Land Rover's potent 510-horsepower supercharged engine. The base engine is a supercharged V-6 that makes 340 horsepower.
Don't be confused by the over-lapping "Rover" names. The Range Rover is is the flagship SUV of the British Land Rover brand, known for its rugged, pricey -- and extremely trendy -- SUVs. Our supercharged V-8 tester has a lofty sticker price of $112,690. The cheapest Range Rover is $84,225, before options. A special autobiography edition Range Rover starts at $137,675 for those who require the big-boy V-8 along with "extended interior trim and veneer palettes." (That's the automotive equivalent of a better wine list.) There are even pricier long wheel-based versions of the V-8 Land Rovers that, when fully optioned, can tickle $200,000.
STYLING AND COMFORT
Range Rovers of yore had all the styling subtlety of a Wheaties box on wheels. The tall, squared-off stance is still the first visual clue that the tall SUV up ahead is a Range Rover.
The new design is still a bit boxy, but in the way that a jewel box full of gem stones is boxy. The trademark three vertical body lines cut in the front door panels and the signature floating roof, make the Range Rover unmistakable. The sans serif "Range Rover" chrome lettering on the hood is also distinctive to the brand. Twenty-one inch wheels complete the classy, exterior look.
Inside, the five-passenger Range Rover is the epitome of good taste. Wood veneers highlight the center stack and steering wheel. Most Range Rover customers will special order their vehicles to fit their personal tastes. Land Rover estimates that there are some 18,000 combinations of interior and exterior options.
Our tester included soft, Oxford leather seats (heated of course), laminated glass panels and a 380-watt, 13 speaker sound system. Virtual gauges appear on a 12-inch screen behind the beefy steering wheel. Our Range Rover also comes with an enormous panoramic, glass roof that has about the same footprint as a twin mattress. There are four separate climate zones in the Range Rover, to ensure passenger comfort.
FAST FACTSModel: 2014 Range Rover Supercharged Exterior color: Santorini Black Interior color: Ebony Engine: 5.0-liter, supercharged V-8 Horsepower: 510 Transmission: 8-speed automatic Fuel economy: 19 mpg highway, 14 mpg city Dealer: Jaguar/Land Rover/Porsche Chattanooga Price (as tested): $112,690
The motorized, two-part rear hatch opens from both the top and bottom, like a giant mouth ready to swallow your cargo. A full-size spare hides under the cargo compartment floor in case you get a little carried away with the bouldering. Legroom for rear-seat passengers has expanded 4.7 inches according to Land Rover.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
In its latest iteration the Range Rover is lighter and bigger than before, a nice trick if you can pull it off. New aluminum body and chassis parts account for most of the weight savings. Still, the big SUV's curb weight approaches three tons, so one wouldn't expect it to twist and sway in a crosswind.
Even carrying all that weight, the Supercharged Range Rover can charge from zero-to-60 mph in just 4.7 seconds. On our leisurely test drive on I-75 last week, the Range Rover was Tesla-quiet until I stepped on the stainless-steel accelerator pedal. Instantly, the big V-8 sprang to life and shoved me back in my seat as the Range Rover whooshed into the passing lane.
But there's more than brute power at play here. The Range Rover's sophisticated electronic air suspension results in nimble handling. Also, the silky eight-speed transmission shifts almost imperceptibly.
When the weather turns icy, the Range Rover's all-wheel-drive system is one of the best in the business. For those who want to test the big SUV off the beaten path, the Range Rover all-terrain controls can be set for sand, rocks, mud or snow. My all-wheel-drive Toyota, by contrast, has settings for rocks, paper and scissors.
BOTTOM LINE
When the bottom line on any vehicle is over six figures, it has a limited customer base. But the fact that a new Range Rover is so hard to find tells you that the luxury SUV has hit all its targets.
The good news for the rest of us is that today's luxury option is tomorrow's standard feature. Ten years from now, much of what you'd consider opulent technology in the Range Rover may be solidly mainstream.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645. Follow him on Twitter @TFPCOLUMNIST. Subscribe to his Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/mkennedycolumnist.