We went out to the dealership and were greeted by a nice older man that was anxious to sell us a Range Rover Sport. He had two golden teeth in the front. Not that it has anything to do with the car... but still an interesting bit of information. We then told him we wanted to test drive the Range Rover Sport and he went and grabbed one for us to go play with. While he was gone another sales rep was somewhat skeptical of some mid-20's-year-olds driving up in a Ford Taurus Wagon (aka Beige Bomber) and upgrading to a $55,000 car. Don't know why... I know tons of people get good credit and make a stupid purchase. It happens all the time! Then the salesman made me sign a paper saying I would return the car in 30 minutes or experience a very slow painful death (his words). Needless to say, it wasn't too long of a test drive... but we got our 30 minutes worth.
It's an SUV. Its got some get up and go but nothing worth noting. The turbo charger adds 90 HP so... that might be a bit more fun.
We didn't venture to take it off roading (irate salesman was not on the agenda). But it seemed like it would been a gem of a toy off roading. On the road... it wouldn't be my first choice. Seemed bouncy when driving and swerving/turn sharply (at least that is our hypothesis). There were a ton of sweet options to change the way it drove... but you'll have to wait for features until that.
This car screams I'm a rich boy off-roading poser. Not that there is anything wrong with that.. but made for those who want to off road (or pretend to) in luxury. No better car I've found out there for that niche.
Its a fun drive, but I think there are more exciting test drives out there. We will keep you posted.
This had a lot of nifty features. I'm always a fan of the integrated nav system. It also allowed you to change the way it drives based on road conditions (ie snow, rock, mountain, ocean, cloud, you get the point). Now is it effective or just a sales gimmick... don't know. But it at least makes you feel cool. It also has something that will guide your speed down a really steep slope and all you have to do is steer. As hilly as 28th street is in Grand Rapids though... we didn't get a chance to see if for ourselves.