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2023 Land Rover Range Rover SUVOTY Review: A Fine and Fancy SUV
Passing the luxury-SUV smell test. Literally.

Pros
Looks expensive
Smells expensive
Performs as a Range Rover should

Cons
It is expensive
Closely resembles the old one
Base engine not nearly as nice as the optional one

The 2023 Land Rover Range Rover is a feast for the senses. Words like "looks," "feels," "sounds," and even "smells" were common in our SUV of the Year judges' notes. Land Rover's attempts to bring the Range Rover into the über-luxe stratosphere looks to have paid off in a big way.

It's tempting to dismiss the new Range Rover as a subtle redesign of a well-worn classic, but the new range-topping Land Rover is an extensive rework of the time-tested formula. There's a new modular architecture (a derivative of the platform underpinning the 2021 SUV of the Year-winning Land Rover Defender), which in turn allows for more powertrain options, wheelbase lengths, and seating configurations than any Range Rover in the previous 54 years. The 2023 Range Rover is offered in standard- and long-wheelbase forms, with two or three rows, in four-, five-, and seven-seat configurations, with two powertrain options at launch (and a plug-in hybrid on the way), and featuring more interior colors, materials, and trim options than we can count.

Although the Range Rover looks stately but reserved from the sidewalk, the inside is a revelation. "This interior is incredible," associate editor Alex Leanse said. "Gorgeous materials are everywhere; this door panel is sculptural, looking more like an art piece crafted from metal and leather. Even minor touchpoints are finished superbly."

Land Rover focused on simplifying the Range Rover's interior, reducing hard buttons and moving many functions to its 13.1-inch curved infotainment display. Such a change usually gives us pause, but even this one feels considered. All of the basic functions are on the display's left side, so drivers must position their right hand just inches off the wheel to tap the screen, while the display's haptic feedback and subtle convex glass replicate the positive feedback of real buttons.

"It even smells expensive in here," associate editor Duncan Brady said. That's because it is. Range Rover prices start at $105,975 and can top off at nearly $220,000, making it less of a value for most buyers but attractive for those who cross-shop the new Rangie with Bentleys, Maybachs, and Rolls-Royces.

Category

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Motor

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