Land Rover Range Rover Sport

MSRP: $57,725
Angle of approach/departure: 37/30 degrees
Ground clearance: 6.8 inches
Turning radius: 19 feet

2008 Land Rover Range Rover Sport + click to enlarge | view gallery >

The Range Rover Sport might be Land Rover’s sportiest, most road-friendly SUV yet, but it’s certainly no slouch off-road. Priced between the rugged LR3 and the ultra-luxurious Range Rover, the sleeker, more rakish Sport offers an alternative to performance SUVs like the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne, while still offering Land Rover off-road levels.

The high-performance Sport has a 300-hp 4.4-liter V8, but the supercharged version wrings 390 hp for sport-sedan performance, if you can get over sitting up so high. What’s surprising, given the on-road capabilities, is that the Sport comes with nearly all of the off-road features and ability of its more rugged-looking siblings, including the multimode air suspension and Terrain Response. Although the Range Rover might be more off-road focused, the Sport actually boasts better approach and departure angles.

Unfortunately, the Sport brings less usable interior room than might be expected — much less than the similarly sized LR3 — which is the price to pay for the attention-getting exterior design.