A Tommy (British soldier) shepherding a drab green Landie (Land Rover) around the moors back in the late 1940s was a lucky guy. The British Army’s Land Rovers could go anywhere and do anything, and keep the lads in relative comfort doing so.

But I doubt that any of those soldiers would recognize what Land Rover has wrought these days – although they might love the matte gray paint scheme on our 2026 Range Rover Sport SE Dynamic. And I daresay this Rover could go over anything the Yorkshire Dales could throw at it, with heated leather seats and some moonroofs.

This is the almost top-tier luxury member in the venerable Land Rover clan. The fifth-generation Range Rover Sport is a tidier 194.7-inch version of the full-size (199-inch) Range Rover. This sleek aluminum-bodied shape was introduced in 2023, an aero-carved “sporty” size that lives on the big Range Rover’s same 118-inch wheelbase. The Sport is about two inches less in height, and a tad lighter: 4,506 vs. 5,240 pounds.

The wind-carved, tightly wrapped body design results in a pretty slick .29 coefficient of drag, despite its distinctive squared-off character. That begins with a slim black grille and thin slices of quad-element LED headlights with wispy DRL slashes that wrap around the blunt nose’s curved corners, lined up with the clamshell aluminum bonnet. There’s an aggressive lower grille and gaping intake over black-tipped air dam, with non-functional side intakes and more aero accents, LED fog light slits at the lower corners.

To prove the RR Sport can go off road, there’s minimal front and rear overhang, just right for a Rover with dreams of rock climbing. Tucked neatly (at least when suspension is lowered) into gently flared fenders are massive 23-inch Pirelli Scorpions that look more suited for on-road handling than off-road prowess. They ride on gloss black 10-bladed alloy wheels that neatly show off large disc brakes with Rover-badged calipers.

Faux black vents add surface tension to bonnet and fenders, with a bit of gloss on the matte paint job. It’s the only other shine on lower door sills that flare nicely under gentle side lines. Flush door handles pop out and light up when you unlock, although a frosty morning had me wonder if ice could thwart that in colder climates.

Above the beltline, glossy black rules the design. There are side mirrors with LED repeater turn signals with puddle lights that shine a Range Rover Sport sketch on the driveway, plus roof and pillars that shine. That roofline dips as it flows aft, while the beltline rises, tapering to join a sleek hatchback with long spoiler/shade. Slim taillights wrap tightly around rear corners, connected with a glossy bar with “Range Rover” in black. The lower bumper goes gloss black, tightly tucked with rectangular exhaust tips framing a brush guard.

The matte gray paint reflected back a gentle glow in the sun. Many liked the stealthy sci-fi look of the streamlined luxury mountain goat. When it dropped to its lowest (6 inches) height to ease onboarding, it did look a bit menacing.

2026 Range Rover Sport SE Dynamic Interior Is Sleek

Skinned it may be in aluminum, but the doors are substantial in weight. The bucket seats are supple, supportive, cocooning black leather with 22-way power adjust (controls on doors), heat and cooling. There’s stitched black leather on the dashboard, with smoked chrome accents, and black veneer wood on the doors.

The refined interior has a sleek, minimalist design with almost no real buttons bar start/stop and “Park” on a glossy black center console. The flat dash is split by thin air vents and the top of two glove boxes, plus two digital displays.
The thick leather-clad steering wheel has paddle shifters behind, and touch controls in front for audio, smart cruise, phone and more.

The new 12.3-inch interactive digital driver’s display behind it has configurable screens. There’s classic, with 170-mph speedometer and 7,000-rpm tach, the center showing navigation, audio, mileage, four-wheel-drive system and more. You can go widescreen navigation map with basic information, or a central digital speedometer with info displays left and right.

Dashboard center is a floating 13.7-inch touchscreen with navigation, audio, performance and mileage screens, apps, and more. A row of sliding touch-buttons on either side now adjust dual-zone temperature. More icons activate Drive mode, defrost and even volume control. But you have to use the Home icon to access most menus, then go a level or two deeper to access more, like vehicle height, auto-brake and auto-engine off.

Some icons take a tap or two to activate on start-up, like seat heating. The interface to handle radio station access and favorites is a bit clunky. But the 29-speaker, 1,430-watt Meridian sound system was superb.

Main screen graphics are clear, but wash out a bit in the sun. Say “Range Rover,” and the AI voice command easily handles most requests verbally, although I had to wait for a beep to start speaking. There’s also wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Wi-Fi hot spot, HD radio and a phone charging pad under the sliding upper center console door.

The wide center console offers a stubby gearshift as well as cup holders under a sliding door aft of those. You can slide them to access storage underneath, with twin USB ports. There’s more storage under the wide center armrest. There’s also height-adjustable armrests that pivot down outboard of the console.

The rear bench has great head room under a second moonroof, after a slight duck under tapering roof line. There’s adequate knee space as well as power reclining seatback, full climate controls, and armrest with cup holders. The power rear hatch opens high to access a 31.9-cu.ft. storage area, with cargo area buttons to lower the 60/40 split seatbacks. And like a real off-roader, there are black rubber mats for human feet and the cargo area.

2026 Range Rover Sport Offers Multiple Powertrain Choices

Range Rover Sports can be had with gas hybrid engines, a plug-in hybrid, or our tester’s BMW-sourced twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 with 523 hp, 553 lb. ft. of torque, and an 8-speed automatic transmission. There’s multi-mode four-wheel-drive with low range, hill descent and dual locking differentials. And there’s Eco, Normal, Dynamic and multiple off-road drive mode settings as well as a Sport Shift mode.

Range Rover says the Sport can hit 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. In Eco mode, throttle dialed back for fuel economy, we moved off gently at first, then hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. In Eco the sporty exhaust note is muted. In Dynamic mode, with gearshift slapped into Sport shift, throttle tip-in was very quick, as were upshifts. The Range Rover Sport moved out quick to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds with a slightly meatier exhaust note. In Dynamic, it reared up, dug in all four Pirellis and whipped each upshift quickly. Downshifts were quick, a bit of throttle blip – sporty. We averaged as high as 22 mpg.

The 2023 First Edition Sport I previously tested launched to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds in Dynamic/Sport Shift. Eco saw 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, and an indicated 21 mpg. FYI: that plug-in Range Rover Sport hybrid can get 75 miles of claimed electric range from its 38kWh battery.

Platform architecture has up to 35 percent higher torsional stiffness than the previous model. It has an automatic air suspension with switchable volume air springs, twin-valve active dampers, active roll control, all-wheel steering and active differential with torque vectoring by braking. Even with low-profile 23-inch rubber, which could transmit bumps to your hands and seat in some, the Range Rover Sport was refined on almost all surfaces. Dynamically stiff, there was no body or frame rattle over bumps, the suspension soaking it up with quickly-damped rebound.

There was a bit of body roll in tighter turns when its on-road ground clearance is at 8.5 inches. But the Sport held on neutrally when powered around an expressway ramp in Dynamic mode, shifting power as needed to reveal a very stable handler. Push harder in a tight right-hander and the SUV showed up. We had more understeer, traction control nudging it in shape. Power steering had a very precise on-center feel in all drive modes, with a bit of buffering in Comfort mode. There was a nice, direct feel in Dynamic and a very tight turning radius. The big disc brakes offered decent pedal feel and real bite on hard braking from 60 mph, with some nose dive and a bit of fade after some hard use.

We know, many who own an Range Rover Sport may never head off-road, but we did. And the RR Sport retains its Land Rover heritage through Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl and Configurable off-road modes. You just have to delve down into some menus to get those.

2026 Range Rover Sport Rises To 11.1 Inches Of Clearance For Off-Roading

Maximum off-road height is 11.1 inches and is accomplished with a screen tap. Even with street-biased Pirellis, I tackled some rutted sand and bumpy grass and it went everywhere we pointed it with no slip. It had a refined ride over ruts. I’m told that it can also wade up to 2-ft., 8 in. deep. It raises from 8.5 inches of ground clearance to its maximum in seconds and does so automatically in some off-road modes.

A unique main screen option shows a simulation of what’s under the hood so you can “see” what you’re going over. There are displays for altitude, front and center diff lock status, steering angle, and roll angles. It also shows steering angle and hill descent control.

Safety systems include emergency braking, 3D surround camera with parking sensors, wade sensing and adaptive off-road cruise control that lets the driver set speed and comfort level over rough surfaces to focus on steering. Smart cruise maintains speed and distance from the car in front.

The base price of a Range Rover Sport SE with turbocharged 3-liter/, 355-hp inline-six mild-hybrid engine is $83,700; our Range Rover Sport Autobiography starts at $120,900 with Carpathian Gray alloy wheels ($1,750), 23-inch black alloy wheels ($1,850), rubber floor mats ($760), for a total $125,260.

Bottom line: Stealthy, sleek and luxurious, with decent tech and serious off-road ability. See you on the moors.

2026 Range Rover Sport SE Dynamic Specifications

Vehicle type – mid-size 5-passenger luxury all-wheel-drive SUV

Base price – $120,900 (as tested – $125,260)

Engine type – Twin-turbo V-8

Displacement – 4.4-liter

Horsepower (net) – 523 @ 5,300 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) – 553 @ 1,800 rpm

Transmission – 8-speed automatic with paddle/sport shift

Wheelbase – 118 inches

Overall length – 195 inches

Overall width – 81 inches

Height – 72 inches

Front headroom – 38.8 inches

Front legroom – 40 inches

Rear headroom – 39 inches

Rear legroom – 38 inches

Ground clearance – 8.5 to 11.1 inches

Cargo capacity – 31.9 cu. ft./53 w/3rd row folded

Towing capacity – up to 7,716 lbs.

Curb weight – 4,506 lbs.

Mileage rating – 15 mpg city/21 mpg highway

The post 2026 Range Rover Sport Comfortably Tackles Off-Road appeared first on EV Rider.

We stalked down the rural dirt road, dust lightly coating the stealthy semi-matte Carpathian Gray paint on our Land Rover Defender 130.

We were on the lookout for that perfect MFS – Main Photo Site – as this latest version of the venerable Rover Car Company’s iconic four-wheel-drive vehicle looked better suited for hunting UFOs.

This Defender is the 78-year-old descendant of the original 1947 “Land Rover” Series 1, a very basic 2-seater with flat metal fenders. A 4-door was added, the mainstay of cross-Sahara journeys and safaris. That “Landie” morphed into the Defender 90 and 110 in the 1990s. And in 2023, this “longest” 5-door joined a 2-door Defender 90 and 4-door 110

Time to hunt those UFOs.

Defender 130 Styling Analysis

The Defender 130’s sleek boxy shape is a cleanly-hewn square atop square, with some rounded edges that hint at the original Series I. Its 211-inch length is just over 13 inches longer than the Defender 110 – all added aft of the rear axle to change 2-row/5-seats into 3-row/7-seats. Everywhere I took it, it got looks, starting with the matte paint and intimidating grille with hooded headlights.

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This generation of Defender is only a year-and-a-half old, so there’s no changes in design. But with just over 43,000 of this generation’s three lengths sold in 2024 and into this year, they are a bit rare. And that matte paint job is a rare one, especially well matched with a gloss black hood whose color flows down into the flat grille’s slit upper and middle intakes, lightened with a silver bar bearing the Land Rover badge. There’s a mesh lower bumper intake, slits extending left and right under glassed-in LED headlights with half-circle DRLs that give a hooded glare. The silver brush guard hides tiny LED fog lights with perforated side intake accents. And yes, those are twin diamond plate-like accents on the long hood – they are composite.

More gloss black frames bumper corners, side sills and squared-off fender flares that frame edgy 5-spoke black wheels shod in 22-inch Continental Contact rubber. Aft of the front wheels, functional fender vents say “DEFENDER” on simple flanks with nary a detail other than design edges running under window sills, then become rear fender shoulders.

Rear fenders end in sharp corners with stacked lights that pay serious homage to the 1960’s Series II. Up top there’s a gloss black roof with a long moonroof. On the sides there are tinted windows with matte black body-colored panels aft of the long rear doors, which add some detail interest.

As for the inches added to the 130’s rear, some thought it made the SUV’s keister look too big. But the long, smooth shape’s roof looks low and cool, also a homage to the rounded long roof of the old Series II “Landie.” The spare hangs off the side-hinged rear door in a hard-shell cover over dual sporty double-tip exhausts. As for the body, it’s steel in the fenders, the rest is a lighter alloy.

Defender’s Interior Features Room For Up To 7

Despite being an off-roader at its core, the 130’s air shocks bring its 8.6-inch ground clearance a bit lower. Defender’s leather and cloth seats are easy to slide into. Dusty boots rested on shaped rubber floor mats as we enjoyed comfortable heated/cooled power buckets. There’s even grab handles integrated into the gray dashboard’s ends to help hoist oneself up.

The thick leather-wrapped steering wheel has power adjustments with stereo, cruise, phone and information display buttons. The wide color gauge display under the padded hood can show a central 7,000-rpm tach with digital speedometer dead center, or 150-mph speedometer and tach. Either gets an info screen added to the mix with navigation info, audio, trip, 4-wheel-drive/wheel angle status, and more. You can toggle in a navigation map in either.

Cool fact – a structural magnesium alloy beam runs horizontally across the dashboard, providing rigidity as well as a lightweight mounting point for instruments and controls. It also gets an embossed buff gray panel bearing the “DEFENDER” name, an upper stitched leather bar becoming a grab handle, while the lower part is a rubberized shelf for small stuff, almost all the way across.

At the dash’s center is a large 11.4-inch-wide touchscreen for navigation, audio, all-round and overhead camera display, off-road wheel angle/dangle info, plus apps and more. It even shows an “under-the-hood” augmented camera – it delays the nose camera image just a bit so you know what stump you’re passing over. There’s a USB port near the embossed DEFENDER name, with colored accent lighting. It’s in door map pockets too.

The wide screen is crisp and quick to use. Many functions are hands-free with “Hey Land Rover” voice commands — but it can’t understand me with the windows open at speed. A lot of needed functions are a tap or two into some menus – and there’s a lot of icons to tap for features that include Wi-Fi, wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto. The Meridian sound system is pretty good.

The center console and door panels are dark gray, with Torx bolts for a rugged look. There are grippy cup holders, a cellphone inductive charger slot behind them, and a storage drawer in front of them that’s deep enough to hold a soda bottle. Under the stitched leather armrest is a small refrigerator.

Dash center, a stubby electronic gearshift lever mounted next to dual-zone temperature control knobs that double as temperature displays — tap each to activate heated or cooled seats. That panel also has the drive mode’s main button — tap it and the on- and off-road mode buttons quickly appear on the screen above. Other functions like suspension lift, hill descent control, traction control, and auto-engine off are grouped to the left of the central button panel for fairly easy access.

The long back doors really ease access to dual captain’s chairs with nice head and leg room for adults, plus climate control and USB ports. The seats slide fore and aft, with room in between for access to livable rear seats, again roomy enough due to that tail stretch. Everybody in back gets a/c vents and USB ports. This will handle six adults comfortably. A seventh can be squeezed in the middle backrow. It helps if center row occupants give up a bit of leg room to help those in back.

Our Defender had the middle row captain chairs but its also available with a middle bench seat, upping seating capacity to 8.

With all seats occupied, there’s only a slim, (13.7 cubic foot) cargo area in back. Tap some cargo-area buttons, and the third row splits and drops flat for added space; you can remotely drop second row captains chairbacks for 80.9-cu-ft. It is a high lift over to get stuff back there, with some slim under-floor space – but the Defender has buttons in the cargo area to raise or lower the tail for easier loading.

You can lower all windows and open the sunroof with the key fob; and among all those camera modes is the ability to display a 360-degree video of the Landie as it’s driven.

This Defender pops when it comes to power. A supercharged V-8 with 5-liters offers 493 hp and 450 lb. ft. of torque to all-wheel-drive with twin-speed transfer cases and an 8-speed automatic with sport and manual (paddle) shift. Other Defender 130s have a turbocharged inline 6 mild-hybrid with 296 hp, or a turbocharged inline 6 mild\-hybrid with 395 hp. Our Land Rover is rated to tow up to 8,200 lbs.

Defender 130 Is One Thirsty SUV

The V-8 barks to healthy life out of those pipes. There’s Eco Drive Mode, and also Dynamic, Comfort and off-road modes for sand, mud, even wading. Eco still allows that V-8 to move this 5,860-lb. SUV quickly – launch is fast off the line. It has a hiss of front wheel spin en route to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds with smooth upshifts. There’s decent passing power when requested, and the auto-engine off system is fairly transparent in use, no jerks when it restarts at a stoplight. But even cruising a lot in Eco mode, the best we saw was 16 mpg on premium.

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Tap in Dynamic mode, notch the shifter left into “Sport,” and the exhaust note gets rortier as the Defender jumps off the line to hit 60 mph in 5.2 seconds – quicker, precise upshifts, and a hint of crackling overrun from the pipes when you back off. Paddle shifts are very quick up or down. There’s even a bit of supercharger whine, while Dynamic mode also sharpens steering feel, as the suspension firms up a bit as well – it’s the most fun mode to drive in.

For comparison, a test of the 2023 Defender 130– with that 395-hp mild hybrid six – hit 60 mph in Eco in 6.8 seconds, and 6.4 in Sport mode – just about 17 mpg.

Our 2,000-mile-old Defender 130 rides on a Short-Long-arm suspension with double wishbone twin lower links in front, and an integral link in back, plus electronic air suspension with adaptive dynamics. The result was a firm ride over any surface, but just posh enough to smooth over cobblestones, potholes and speed bumps. Big bumps were handled with quick, well-damped rebound, a tad of after-bounce. This is no sports sedan with its almost 6.5-foot height. So there’s a bit of lean, but mostly neutral and secure as its multi-mode 4-wheel-drive manages power distribution between the front and rear axles.

The electronic power assisted rack and pinion steering was direct, a bit too much boost, but well-weighted with a solid centering feel. It’s not overly sensitive off-road, and offered a tight turning radius. The 14.3-inch front/13.8-inch rear disc brakes offered a decent bite high up on the pedal, good adjustability and solid stops with a bit of nose dive, but no fade after repeated hard use.

Going tally-ho on tarmac is one thing – a Landie is designed to handle off-road, with Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud, Sand, and Rock Crawl modes, height-adjustable suspension, and Terrain Response system varying front/rear and side-to-side power distribution for sure-footed off-road use. Running over a pockmarked hard-pack dirt lot and it easily absorbed bumps with no head-bobbing. I tackled a deep grass and sand field with some landscaped bumps.

Air suspension gave us 11.5-inches of ground clearance, while the “under-the-hood” camera view showed some gopher holes, thick weeds and dirt lumps that we easily traversed, some sliding over skidplates underneath. The Defender easily handled heavy rain, but we didn’t get to test its ability to wade through up to 35.4 inches of water. We can say that its aluminum-intensive architecture and torsional rigidity meant nary a sound over any bump.

FYI – there’s a 30-degree approach angle and a 24.5-inch departure angle, pretty good despite the extra tail length.

2025 Land Rover Defender 130 V-8 Pricing

A base Land Rover Defender 130 S with less-powerful engine starts at $74,850. Our Defender 130 V-8 starts at $118,900 with lots of standards, and options like: $5,155 matte protective finish on the $1,485 Carpathian Gray exterior with accents; $1,000 for  heated/cooled second-row seats; and some other extras for a total of $130,418.

Bottom line: It looks like no other big people hauler, with a Land Rover’s off-road ability and a lush enough on-road experience.

2025 Land Rover Defender 130 V-8 Specifications

Full-size 7-passenger four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicle

Base price $118,900 ($130,418 as tested)

Engine type – Supercharged V-8

Displacement – 5-liter

Horsepower (net) – 493 @ 6,000-6,500 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) – 450@ 2,500 to 5,000 rpm

Transmission – 8-speed automatic

Wheelbase – 119 inches

Overall length – 211.7 inches

Overall width – 79.1 inches

Height – 77.6 inches

Ground clearance: 8.6 to 11.4 inches

Front headroom – 40.6 inches w/moonroof

Front legroom – 44.5 inches

Second row headroom – 38.4 inches

Second row legroom – 42 inches

Rear headroom – 38.4 inches

Rear legroom – 38.4 inches

Cargo capacity – 13.7 cu. ft./43.5 w/3rd row folded/80.9 w/2nd and 3rd row folded

Towing capacity – up to 8,200 lbs.

Curb weight –5,860 lbs.

Fuel capacity – 23.8 gallons

Mileage rating – 14-mpg city/19-mpg highway

The post Land Rover Defender 130 Hops Off Road With Ease appeared first on EV Rider.