Photos: Jinson Abraham, Suneesh Suresh
January 15th was the day when team FWD was to test-drive the new beast on town, the Range Rover Vogue. Being a SUV fan myself I was looking forward to this like anything. By 7:15 in the morning, as we waited eagerly for some 10 minutes in the Vyttila showroom, she arrived slowly looking like the harbinger of the next generation of SUVs. A mammoth figure deigned with looks that could kill. Range Rover Vogue, dubbed as the most luxurious SUV in the world definitely appeared to be so.The first thing that caught our eyes is those large panels on the font. It gives that premium look and certainly standouts. The LED lights of the car are definitely better than any of its predecessor. Now this one has dropped 39% body weight from its earlier versions. But it still looks as strong as ever. If you look at the bottom, you can see that it is the Aluminum shell that is used. It is more expensive but, definitely more eco friendly. It probably helped in reducing the weight too. The gills on the sides of the car appear as a very cool design. I am being told that one can customize the color to their will. The boot space I see in this car is the biggest I have seen in any car. I don’t want to throw at you with numbers and specifications for now. But I assure you this is the real deal. The car is definitely longer and wider than its previous versions. The top is all panoramic roof—which is a nice sophisticated touch I feel. If you really want to experience the luxury of this premium class car then you have to be in it. The first thing you notice when you embank the vehicle is the soft closing doors. Now that is how luxury vehicles should be. There is a lot of leg space in all the five seats which increases the travel comfort. The dashboard looks classier with lesser buttons. And it has a touch screen too. But the feature which won my heart was the seat massager—which I switched
As the journey commenced the only thing missing was the noise. The car motored like whisper even when we raced to 0-100 in 7.5 seconds. Like I hinted before, I’ll be going a little easy on stats and specifications. The fuel efficiency is better than its previous models but, a person who will be paying to buy such luxury will not be buying it for its mileage.Steering wheels are nice and give a firm grip. Makes you feel you have power over the vehicle. The acceleration is as smooth as it can be. The stability and traction control that I got from the car is better than any I have driven. Now since the car has lost a heap lot of weight, I would say this probably has the most efficient V8 engine in Indian SUVs.Our journey from the showroom from Chakkaapaambu to Startup Village gave us an opportunity to test the car on up and down roads. The exclusive features, high performance makes it all worth. Basically, the car has been accompanied by a much better and improved comfort and safety features, along with classic performance on and off-road. We also had an analysis done by some experts. Here is there scrutiny on the car.
Exteriors
The exteriors of the Land Rover Range Rover Vogue have been improved as compared
Interiors
The interiors of the Land Rover Range Rover Vogue are of top-notch quality. It feels deluxe and premium all through the ride. The subtly maintained in this diesel variant of the Range Rover is perfect and doesn’t disappoint you at any level. In the front cabin, the company has reduced the buttons and made the car more user-friendly and less complicated. The company has changed the interiors to an extent as well and blessed the car with reworked steering wheel dipped in brown and beige color combo. The centre console also has the same colored hints and the gear knob has more modish design. On the whole, the interiors of the car have been inspired from Range Rover Evoque and other new Jaguar cars.
Comfort Features
The new touch screen system comprising of music, TV and navigation options is just fabulous. the elective Meridian music system that fabricates 1700W via 27 speakers makes the infotainment section of the car top-notch . It has a spacious front row and a multifunctional steering wheel. While the four zone automatic climate control is superb. The rear AC vents ensure high-end cooling for the other passengers as well. The cabin restricts the outside sound, which means it’s a peaceful ride all along.
Engine
Under the bonnet, Land Rover Range Rover Vogue comes with a very powerful and rock-solid 4.4 litre of turbo V8 diesel engine that has been tweaked a bit on performance levels and fuel efficient. The major change occurred to the engine is because of the all-aluminium construction of the car’s chassis. It improved the acceleration and pickup of the car. The high power and torque churned out by the car is excellent. The eight-speed self shifting ZF transmission coupled with the 4.4 litre of V8 diesel engine takes the fuel efficiency higher on the graph. The gearshifts here are extremely smooth and make the driving experience for the owner quite mind-boggling.
Safety features
The safety features in Land Rover Range Rover Vogue are technologically advanced and ensure the safety of the passengers as well as of the car as well. The strong body structure keeps the capacity to absorb maximum force .To further ensure the safety, the car come with airbags for the occupants, central locking system, EBD, ABS, brake assist, strong brakes for front and rear , 20 inches of bold and strong alloy wheels and seat belts for all passengers. All these features are successful in making 2013 Range Rover Diesel a safe and sound car
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE
2993 cc, Diesel, 245 bhp
@ 4000 RPM Power
4367 cc, Diesel, 334 bhp
@ 3500 RPM Power
4999 cc, Petrol, 503 bhp
@ 6000 RPM Power
Gearboxes
8-speed, Automatic, AWD
Seating Capacity
4 seater
5 seater
Steering
Power Steering