Range Rover vs Range Rover. Old vs New

The handling heads well towards the sporty end of the spectrum in comparison to the L322, but it’s still not exactly scintillating. The steering is direct but somewhat lifeless, but the composure of the chassis, the speed at which it recovers from directional changes, mean that, for an SUV, it’s breathtaking in its talent.

It’s not just the driving though. I’m not 100 percent convinced by the exterior looks – it’s a bit too sleek for a Range Rover in my book – but the interior is really, really good. The leather is soft and supple, the plastics as solid as a rock, the Meridian sound system superb. The only criticism I have is of the wheel-mounted paddles for the transmission, which are the horrible two-part plasticky bits swiped from the Jaguar parts bin. A car this good deserves better than that.

On the cruise back the L405 is quieter, smoother and that extra bit more comfortable as it wafts its way across emirates with ease. The seats surround me, unlike the L322 which merely supports. Being in the Range Rover on a cruise is being insulated and protected from the world.

The day finishes back in the city, and again the new car excels. It maintains that bulky presence that so many Range Rover fans love, but the steering is much lighter at low speeds, and the turning circle tighter, so manoeuvring is vastly more simple than in the 2006 car. It’s still enormous, of course, but it just doesn’t feel it when you don’t want it to.

Overall the L322 feels like a modern car, and a good one at that. The underpinnings are 11 years old but you wouldn’t guess it from the drive. Perhaps as it’s not a sports car it’s aged better in terms of its dynamic ability than something more tuned to on-road precision, but there are far worse SUVs that have been released within the last 18 months than this.

But the L405 isn’t one of them. The looks remain a subjective matter – personally, I prefer the external aesthetics of the older car. And the price too – the L322 was $96.651, while the L405 clocks in at a stonking $168,527. In all other areas however, the new car has taken a big leap from the old. The interior is more luxurious, the technology absolutely cutting edge, both in terms of entertainment and function. A car this large really shouldn’t drive this well. And what’s particularly impressive is that it can pair excellent on-road performance with what we already know is superb ability away from the flat stuff. Land Rover really has excelled itself with the new Range Rover, and it’s honestly hard to see how they could improve things much further in the future. Mind you, we said that about the last one…

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