Range Rover Sport review - more entertaining than you might expect - Performance and 0-60 time

In truth, SUVs don’t need to be this fast. The 503bhp V8 petrol we’ve tested hits 60mph in a claimed 5 seconds, but given the startling weight transfer on a full-bore start, it feels faster yet. In most driving scenarios you’ll not get close to unleashing all of its horsepower, but on the occasions you do rev out a couple of its gears, it’s shockingly rapid.

The performance from its far saner diesel-powered choices is a little more sober, though still brisk for a car that weighs the best part of 2.5 tons. The entry level SDV6 diesel has a top speed of 138mph, its SDV8 stable mate topping out at 140mph, while the tardiest 0-60 time in the range is 6.8 seconds – little slower than a Golf GTI.

'The Range Rover Sport SVR, meanwhile, bucks the current trend for downsized, turbocharged engines and instead uses a 5-litre supercharged V8. It’s lifted from the comically overpowered Jaguar F-type R, but even its 542bhp is not enough.' Dan Prosser, road test editor, evo 212.