► It’s month 12 with our Range Rover Sport
► Projects its own RR-branded puddle light
► Sounds like a gimmick, but we love it
I first saw the simple designer’s sketch of the Range Rover Sport projected by its own puddle light two and a half years ago, when I parked a prototype outside an Australian roadhouse, en route from Melbourne to Lake Eyre. It was the first time I’d exited a Sport in the dark, and even after an Outback-sized day at the wheel this clever (but not especially expensive) idea won a girly ‘ooh!’ from me and photographer Mark Bramley.
It sounds like a gimmick, but the car industry desperately seeks out ‘surprise and delight’ features like this. When you can hear the surprise and delight, you know you have a winner. Land Rover’s design department has been on fire of late (not literally), its work central to the brand’s global success. As one very senior industry figure said to me recently, perhaps with a hint of jealousy, ‘do you think they sell all those Range Rovers in China for their off-road ability?’
As an ‘owner’, and even after almost a year, the appeal of those looks isn’t wearing off. This might sound like a backhanded compliment, but I love the way this car looks at night, when you get to see the sculptural complexity and jewel-like detailing of the lamps. Inside, the subtle blue ambient lighting resists the temptation (succumbed-to by some other premium brands) to turn the cabin into Studio 54, circa 1977.
And those puddle lights? I no longer squeal with delight, but I still love them. And unlike in the Outback, in a dark and dismal British winter I find I actually need them.
Logbook: Range Rover Sport
Price: £66,250
As tested: £75,607
Miles this month: 737
Total miles: 14,700
Our mpg: 26.1
Official mpg: 37.7
Fuel this month: £141.03
Extra costs: £0
From the driving seat
+ Rivals the BMW X5 for on-road performance
+ 288bhp 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel has since been upgraded but still adequate
+ On the right tyres, near-unstoppable off-road