Say Hello To The New Semi-Autonomous Range Rover

Want to know what the best luxury car in the world is? It’s not a Rolls Royce, it’s not a Bentley, nor is it some kind of S-Class Mercedes. To my mind, it’s the Range Rover. As it’s an SUV it’s well endowed in terms of space, has masses of suspension travel to remain smooth and composed over the gnarliest of roads, all with a cabin that’s dripping with luxury. And now, there’s a new one.

Well, not quite new - the 2017 Range Rover represents more of a refresh. And what Land Rover really wants to shout about here is all the driver assistance systems. As standard you get the ‘Advanced Driver Assistance Systems’ with more common features like cruise control, lane departure warning and autonomous emergency braking. Spec the Drive Pack though, and things start to get interesting.

This gives the Range a system that can recognise traffic signs, meaning it can adjust the speed accordingly. Drive Pro Pack goes one step further, as it’s able to take control of the steering. It’s able to countersteer if you’re about to move into another lane and into another vehicle, and can provide “gentle, corrective steering input if it detects the vehicle is drifting across the white lines.” So spec Drive Pro, and you’ve got yourself a semi-autonomous Range Rover.

In other tech news, the Range Rover gains a ‘Low Traction Launch’ system to control torque when you’re booting it on slippery surfaces like grass or ice, plus the new ‘InControl Touch Pro’ infotainment system. The addition of the latter is particularly good news - as we found when using it in the Jaguar F-Pace, it’s a massive step up from the clunky, frustrating system it replaces.

There’s news in the engine department too, with the Range Rover gaining the option of Jaguar Land Rover’s 3.0-litre supercharged V6. With 335bhp on offer it’ll get you from 0-60mph in a reasonable 7.1 seconds, but if you don’t mind being on first name terms with your local petrol station attendant, there is still a 542bhp supercharged V8 available - this time in the new ‘SVAutobiography Dynamic’ - that’ll do the same in 5.1. The Dynamic also sits 8mm lower on heavily revised suspension, in the interests of making a more driver-focused package.

Want one? Prices start at £76,350 for the TDV6 Vogue, and you’ll need at least £132,800 for an SVAutobiography Dynamic.

It’ll go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2016.