17 May 2022

New 2022 Range Rover Sport arrives with PHEV power

The new Range Rover Sport follows its iconic big brother with a jump in quality and a choice of plug-in hybrid powertrains

Where a new Range Rover leads, a new Range Rover Sport will surely follow, and only a matter of weeks after our first five-star verdict on Land Rover’s new range topper, along comes its bigger-selling, slightly smaller brother. It'll be on sale soon ahead of arriving in UK in showrooms this September. Like its bigger brother, the Range Rover Sport features familiar family styling cues, but with a new sense of minimalism and modernity – so it’s no surprise that Jaguar Land Rover creative director, Gerry McGovern says it follows his modernist design philosophy. “It blends Range Rover luxury and capability with sporting character,” says McGovern. “It’s a redefinition of sporting luxury.”

At a glance, the new car is clearly still a Range Rover Sport, both in proportion and detail. Put the outgoing car next to it, however, and the differences are far more marked. The new Sport is larger, especially inside, with a 75mm increase in wheelbase, yet it hides its bulk well with a short front overhang and a slightly longer overhang at the back – all supposedly to enhance a sense of movement.

The design team talks about three key lines to the car: the roofline slopes downwards towards a larger rear spoiler over the back window; the waistline is more angled – they call it an architectural horizon – with no window finishers and seamless, flush-fitting glass; then there’s the lower line that sweeps upwards, with all three converging at the back. 25 Flush-fitting door handles help to clean up the sides, while at the front the slimmest LED headlights fitted to a Land Rover (which can feature 1.3 million micromirrors inside) sit astride a slim, visor-like grille.