2013 Land Rover Range Rover
When you will be reading these lines, I will have come back from under the rainy skies of Morocco. Luckily, I wasn’t there for a vacation; I had been invited to test one of the most capable SUV on the planet, the brand new 2013 Land Rover Range Rover.
It’s in Morocco, in the sand hills, under a torrential rain and on Mount Atlas that the Range Rover got to show off its new talents and at the same time, impress the amateur drivers like me. Because let’s face it, even though I’ve always been a fan of the luxury utilitary, this time it surpassed my expectations…and my courage.
A well-known look
You won’t feel lost when looking at the new Range Rover. Though it has been completely reworked, its silhouette remains almost identical to the previous generation’s. You have to take a closer look to notice that the line of the roof is more inclined towards the rear, that the ensemble does not quite have the same dimensions. It is easier to notice the changes to the front grille, which has been made more refined and the headlamps that leave more space to the LEDs.
Changes are also radical in the cabin. A few good words about the Meridian multimedia system which transforms the cabin into a concert hall. But it also presents a very surprising ergonomic feature: the central screen allows for the passenger to watch a movie…all the while the driver is following the indications on the GPS. It took my passenger an I a few seconds to understand each other: he was telling me about the movie he was watching and I was desperately trying to understand how it related to the map I was viewing. Finally, moving our heads to the side, we finally understood what was going on.
Of sand, rain and rocks
On the roads of Morocco, like everywhere else, the huge V8 purred at every acceleration. But as we also wished to enjoy the off roading capacities, we got to travel a few kilometers of sans hill and impressive rocks. All of it under 50 mm of rain in less then 3 hours. Thanks to its now automatic All Terrain system, the Range Rover can go anywhere. On the sand hills, we had to struggle with the uncooperative soft sand, but the power of the all-wheel drive system (and my quality as a driver, obviously) got the best of the obstacles.
On the rocks, the Range Rover showed off its bigger clearing: it successfully crossed what looked like a wall without showing any sing of weakness. And I managed to make it to the top of the mountain without any great difficulty, except for the chills it gave me. The huge SUV made it where I wouldn’t have, by myself. We also had to cross wide ponds left by the rain: not a problem, the Rover can deal with up to 90cm of water.
Courtesy of Auto Net
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