Range Rover Long Wheelbase: “Master of all that it surveys”

Priced from: £110,150
Price as tested: £143,400
Available: Now

For those who always turn left whenever they board a flight, the Range Rover Autobiography Black aims to bring a touch of business-class travel to the road. We elected to test whether this could be the executive express that is the jack of all trades and the master of all.

The Range Rover is hardly known for its diminutive dimensions and if you thought that the biggest could not get any bigger, then you will need to think again with the launch of this new Long Wheelbase version. The standard Range Rover despite its size cannot offer the limousine-like levels of rear space that other luxury saloons can. This Long Wheelbase version counters this by offering a 200 mm extension at the rear but also allows the Range Rover brand to be further taken upmarket by offering the type of interior layout that one would normally associate with a marque like Bentley. When you consider that over 80% of all Range Rovers sold are exported, often into key emerging markets where status is attached to being driven rather than driving yourself, it makes sound business sense that Land Rover target such markets with their most premium of premium SUVs. It is a fast developing market too, with plans by Bentley, Maserati, Lamborghini and even Rolls-Royce to shortly offer competing products. Welcome to the dawn of the Über-SUV.

The Long Wheelbase model you see pictured here is the flagship Autobiography Black version, which has since been succeeded by the SVAutobiography model. Finished in Loire Blue and complimented by a Navy and Ivory interior with an Ebony Macassar veneer it was a textbook example in restrained good taste. There was nothing restrained about the rear interior though which was better appointed than my lounge at home. Thanks to an Executive Seat option (£2,500), both rear seats could recline by 17-degrees at the touch of a button and could reach the parts that others could not by offering not only heating and cooling, but also an in-built massage function to soothe away those hectic days. One’s inner calm could also be further restored by reaching for the in-built Champagne chiller complete with necessary flute storage to toast to perhaps another successful day in the office. Throw in a Rear Seat Entertainment pack (£1,500) which offers each rear passenger their own screen, complete with wireless headphones so that they can fully immerse themselves in their favourite DVD or digital TV programme and you have a back-seat that is a haven for peace and tranquility.

When the focus is more on business than pleasure, a pair of electrically deployable tables can be summoned at will to glide silently out of their central storage unit to provide a mounting for your laptop or tablet whilst offering integrated USB sockets so that you can charge whilst on the go.

Elsewhere the interior is classic Range Rover which emphasises heavily on British Craftsmanship with perforated Semi-Aniline leather that is buttery soft to the touch and expensive smelling to the nose. The mixture of wooden veneer along with exquisite aluminium details make it a very elegant living space that feels incredibly spacious thanks to a high leather-lined roof, large side windows area and a full length panoramic roof.

After dark the interior ambiance glows according to your mood thanks to a large array of different mood lighting shades. Devilish red, hot pink or contemporary purple (my choice) to name but a few are only ever a dial turn away. Combine this with a 29-speaker, 1700 watt Meridian Audio that can make your hair stand on its end and you can have a night out without actually leaving the car.

The front passengers are not forgotten either thanks to Land Rover’s acclaimed ‘Dual-View’ central touchscreen, which allows the passenger to catch up on the television news whilst the driver simultaneously follows the satellite navigation on the same screen. Very, very clever.

When it comes to departure you simply pilot this land-castle as to which way you want to go, as saying that you drive a Range Rover tends to undermine the wonderful commanding driving position that it offers. You sit up high and upright which affords a great view of the road ahead and despite its size, it never intimidates. Of course there may be some sweaty palm moments when say manoeuvring in a multi-storey car park, but out on the open road progress is effortless. The steering is direct and the handling is not the sailing boat affair you may imagine, thanks to an all-aluminium construction which keeps the car’s mass surprisingly well controlled. The TDV8 Diesel engine is fabulous offering locomotive levels of pulling power combined with a turbine-smoothness. Fuel economy is better than you may expect as well. Coming back into London after a lengthy motorway journey from the Midlands, I was within a whisker of achieving 40 miles per gallon. For a car of this size, that is extraordinary. Yes you can have a petrol V8, but the diesel offers such an enticing proposition that it renders the petrol version, at least in the UK, redundant in my view.

Externally there are more design flourishes for this flagship Range Rover to mark it out from the rest of the range: Unique 21 or 22 inch alloy wheels, the option of two-tone paint, clear LED rear lights and additional chrome work. These little touches all add up to help distinguish this as being the most premium of premium SUVs.

What has always made the Range Rover so special of course is its go-anywhere ability. After all, here is a car that can wade through water at depths of nearly one metre and despite the extra dimensions this Long Wheelbase version retains this incredible off-road capability. Of course the likelihood of a busy executive commanding his driver to make haste into the nearest river is unlikely. However, as with the fire blanket in your weekend retreat, the chances are you will never use it but the fact that it is there is comforting. In somewhere like China though where the road network is of a very poor condition outside urban areas, such ability will be used more often than not, which is why SUVs are in such demand there.

The only downside in offering all of this ability is that getting in and out gracefully is not as easy as with a conventional luxury saloon. There is an ‘Access Mode’ which lowers the suspension to facilitate ingress but nevertheless it is still quite a step up. That said if HM Queen Elizabeth II manages it with her Range Rover, then there is no reason why the rest of us should struggle.

My only other possible complaint is that the large wheels on our test car (22 inch) tend to hurt the low speed ride around town, which is surprising given this particular Range Rover’s likely urban domain. But this is the price you pay in having such attractive wheels fitted, which really help to bring out the design attributes of the car. Once up to speed though the air-suspension provides all the cushioning you could ever need, offering a magic carpet-like ride where the only body movement you feel is your own as you stretch out into your reclined, heated and massaged seat.

The Range Rover is the ultimate luxury vehicle that elevates itself above the competition by being the only such car that can whisk you to city meetings in the week and salmon fishing in the wilds of Scotland come the weekend. The fully-electric split tailgate even doubles as a handy perch for two when strapping on your pair of Hunter Wellington Boots.

Make no mistake, until the new Rolls-Royce or Bentley SUV’s arrive, this is the luxury car that is the jack of all trades and the master of all that it surveys.