The aim, as chassis engineer Mike Cross tells it, was to gently lift the Range Rover Sport’s game. And lifted it has indeed been in many areas. This is a subtly and thoughtfully enhanced SUV – albeit one that, in supercharged V8 petrol guise at least, isn’t exactly in tune with the times.

But then social responsibility has never been the Range Rover Sport’s calling card, and that hasn’t prevented flocks of people buying them. Besides, the new one gives you some favourable stats with which to batter non-believers. It’s cleaner and more efficient, quieter and smoother. And 118bhp more powerful. Best keep that one quiet. The 0-60mph time has had 1.3sec lopped from it too, making this direct-injection 5-litre off-roader as fast as a Focus RS to 60mph and probably beyond.

You’d never guess it weighs the thick side of two and a half tons when you gun it in a straight line, so ably does it pile on speed. The nose lifts as the suspension compresses, there’s a seismic rumble from the V8 and you get the feeling that, if off-road racing specialists Bowler made a luxury car, it would behave a lot like this – mostly civilised, but with just a hint of bare-knuckle boxer.

The 503bhp V8 is shared with the Jaguar XFR, as are, more surprisingly, the Bilstein continually variable active dampers. These automatically adjust to suit your driving, and for the most part they handle the corner of Warwickshire where we’re testing the Sport just fine. Being air-sprung, there’s an underlying firmness to the Rangey’s ride, but wheel control and body composure are good enough to give you the confidence to build purposeful cross-country pace.

However, the revised RRS is no Cayenne in the twisties. Cornering lean may be minimised by the active dampers, and steering response may well have been improved by stiffer suspension bushes, but there’s zero feel through the light helm and the technology soon fails to disguise the car’s sheer bulk. Having been lulled into a false sense of security by the snappier gearbox, opulent new cabin and outrageously gutsy V8, you’re soon reminded that this sports SUV isn’t actually that sporty. But Land Rover makes no claims to that effect, billing it a ‘sports tourer’. Treat it as such and it makes much more sense.