2026 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Reviews, Pricing & Specs

For three generations, the Range Rover Sport has kept a distinctive, elegant appearance that other automakers have imitated but never replicated. The steeply angled windshield and rear window, with a roofline that gently falls to the tailgate, large upright body sections and minimal creases, are the hallmarks of Range Rover design. The pop-out door handles and wide taillight strip are trendy styling elements. The clamshell hood rests atop a narrow section of lights and a small grille, which are part of a tall and very blunt front end. Unlike many SUVs, the Range Rover Sport appears narrow and tall rather than wide and short. Those dimensions are better for both off-road driving and interior headroom.

All manner of paint colors and wheels are available. The SV Carbon makes its presence known with a two-tone hood with exposed carbon fiber, more carbon garnishes across the grille and bumper, the flanks, and even the exhaust finishers. Gloss, matte, or forged (which gives the carbon a chopped up appearance, as opposed to the neat twilled design most people are familiar with) finishes are available. Enormous 23-inch carbon wheels advertise the SV’s exceptional performance credibility. From afar, they appear to be ordinary dark wheels, but up close, the delicate weaves across every spoke and hub are a work of art. That, along with the rarity of carbon wheels, helps to justify their $10,000 cost. Add another $10,000 for carbon ceramic brakes, which are the largest fitted to any new vehicle (the front rotors measure more than 17 inches in diameter). In our test car's launch spec with Sunrise Copper paint—which ranges from a dark merlot to a deep golden-tinged red as the light changes—the effect was suitably bold and tasteful against the bronze calipers (five more colors are available). Using Land Rover's SV Bespoke program, buyers can also order off-the-book colors (paint to sample, ChromaFlair, and more).

The interior design is an evolution of the last generation that debuted for 2014, including the classic double gloveboxes set in a sharply angled dash. But now, the minimalist aesthetic is too minimal. Land Rover removed all of its finely-damped physical controls, such as the cool metal Terrain Response selector that rose from the console, all of the stereo controls, and all the climate controls. Multi-function dials with the clever integrated displays that control temperature, seat heating, and seat cooling are for the back seats only. They should be up front.

Instead of aluminum and wood, black plastic pervades the center stack and console. It's cold and barren in some respects, but the look and feel of what is present—particularly the seat controls that float on the door panels, the steering wheel, and the seats—are top notch. Ultrafabrics are a no-cost option, which combine vinyl and cloth in a not-too-convincing replication of leather. For anyone who makes a mess inside the car, however, it's a worthy choice. Clean-up is a snap compared to leather, especially the softer semi-aniline leather available on upper Range Rover Sport trims. A variety of headliners, with faux suede (faux in this case being a good thing) and contrasting fabrics, is also available.

Land Rover offers three powertrains (each with two states of tune) depending on the trim. Every gas-only trim comes as a mild hybrid, which pairs a small battery and a 48-volt electrical system to reduce the load on the engine and allow seamless stops and restarts. An eight-speed automatic transmission, full-time four-wheel drive (4WD), and locking center and rear differentials are standard. A low-range transfer case is also standard on all but the base SE and the top SV trim levels. An active rear differential—which, unlike the locking function for off-road use is meant to improve cornering performance on the road—is standard on all but the SE and Dynamic SE trims.

The standard engine on the SE is a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six with 355 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. The Dynamic SE adds an electric supercharger that provides more immediate response and more output, at 395 hp and 406 lb-ft. A plug-in hybrid powertrain with this engine, a 32-kilowatt-hour battery pack, and an electric motor between the engine and transmission allow up to 53 miles of EPA-rated gas-free driving. That's more than any midsize plug-in SUV, and total output climbs to 454 hp and 487 lb-ft in hybrid mode. It's available on the Dynamic SE and standard on the Battersea Edition.

A BMW-built V8 is also available. The same 4.4-liter twin-turbo engine found in top trims of the X5 and X7, it’s a gem of smoothness and tugboat-level thrust, with 523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque on tap. Shoppers need to buy the Twenty Edition (which celebrates 20 years of Range Rover Sport production) or the Autobiography to get it.

The final boss is beneath the hood of any of the three SV trims: 626 hp from the BMW V8 with a revised ECU tune, a new intake, and a sport exhaust system that growls and pops at random. It's not half as wild or ear-splittingly loud as the previous-generation Range Rover Sport SVR, but the acceleration is tremendous and the gearbox bangs off shifts without hesitation. The base six-cylinder powertrain is EPA-rated at 22 mpg combined (20 mpg city and 25 mpg highway). Fuel economy drops to 19 mpg combined (16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway) with the V8 (SV models get 22 mpg highway), while plug-in hybrids offer 21 mpg combined when the battery is depleted.

Every Range Rover Sport comes with adaptive dampers and air springs, which in classic Land Rover fashion, can lower and raise at the driver's whim or do it automatically depending on speed or the selected driving mode. Off-road, the air suspension can raise the vehicle more than 11 inches off the ground and allow the Sport to drive through nearly three feet of water. The SV we tested can go off-road, but not with its staggered Michelin Pilot Sport 4 all-season tires, which measure a huge 305 millimeters wide at the rear. Buyers should make sure they budget appropriately. These Land Rover-spec Michelins are the only tire option for the carbon wheels, they can't be rotated, and they cost almost $3,000 a set. Summer-rated Pilots are even more expensive.

With these grippy tires, plus a completely revised air suspension system that's firmer, rides lower, and has special dampers that are all interconnected via a series of hydraulic lines, the SV Carbon's handling is terrifyingly good. These dampers replace the anti-roll bars and allow for extremely fast and precise wheel control. They also reduce body roll, pitch, and dive to almost nothing, which is supernatural in a 5,500-pound, top-heavy SUV. Drivers should disregard everything they know about Range Rovers being straight-line, cushy cruisers. The SV Carbon handles at the level of Porsche, Aston, and all the greatest high-performance SUVs on sale—full stop. That it can also deliver a creamy, hushed ride in the normal driving mode is the cherry on top. As for the brakes, they never quit, and unlike many carbon ceramics, the pedal feel is not overly firm and the stopping power when the rotors are cool is not diminished.

The five-seat Range Rover Sport offers a lot of space, with ample legroom and headroom in all outboard positions. Each of those seats is heated and electrically reclines, with the front row adding 20-way power adjustment, ventilation, and memory. The exterior mirrors are large and visibility is generous from all angles. The 31.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats is generous for a midsize SUV, and an available cargo divider in the floor can be raised and locked to prevent smaller items from moving. Near the seat controls in the cargo area are buttons to raise or lower the vehicle, which can help when lining up a trailer or lifting heavy objects (it also works when the engine is switched off).

However, the 53 cubic feet available with the rear seats folded is small for any midsize SUV and much smaller than many compacts. So too is the narrow door opening for rear passengers, because the massive wheels intrude into the cabin. That's the penalty for having giant wheels, air springs, cross-linked hydraulic dampers, and some seriously thick aluminum suspension components. The benefit of this over-engineering—aside from incredible roadholding and immense off-road capability—is towing capacity. At 7,716 pounds, the Range Rover Sport beats every SUV in its class. Plug-in hybrid models are rated for 6,614 pounds due to the added weight of their battery packs, which is still substantial for a unibody vehicle.

The real functional problem is the lack of physical controls, as most functions are hidden in the touchscreen. Using climate control is a multi-page affair, the air vents cannot be opened or closed without entering a separate sub-page, choosing a driving mode is another deep-dive into the screen, audio volume is controlled by a virtual slider on the far right of the display, the door-lock buttons are buried in the dark recesses by the driver's and front passengers' knees and the handles, finished in a dark chrome, are just as invisible. Land Rover used to be tech-forward but always user-friendly. That's out the window.

The same software on the 13.1-inch display that makes basic functionality so difficult is also adept at managing features that are only accessed on occasion—or never. The Wade Sensing app can detect standing water of just a few inches, then measure the amount up to a pre-set maximum limit. The 4x4i app shows the stroke level of each spring, the amount of locking of the differentials, altitude, and explains how all the Terrain Response modes actually work. "Body and Soul" seats with vibrating speakers that sync to the current music can be adjusted in another app. The settings menus are also clear and logical.

For everyday tech, Apple CarPlay works fantastically in full screen. So does the factory navigation and audio interface. The instrument panel is another win, with configurable layouts that don't overwhelm and menus that are purposefully limited and brief. The surround-view cameras—with an underbody view that Land Rover pioneered—are very clear. The Meridian Signature stereo is another bright point, but it's not as sonically clear and punchy as the equivalent in the full-size Range Rover, even at the Sport SV’s $200,000 price.

Standard safety features include: automatic emergency braking, forward-collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, a surround-view camera system, front and rear parking sensors, traffic-sign recognition, blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alert, and a driver-attention monitor. There are no safety option packages on higher trims and there is no hands-free driving system.

The Range Rover Sport does not come with front knee airbags, a front central airbag that acts as the front passenger's left side airbag, or rear side airbags. No crash-test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) were available at the time of writing. The Euro NCAP gave the Range Rover Sport a five-star rating, but that’s not an apples-to-apples comparison with the U.S. standards.

The 2026 Range Rover Sport starts at $85,550 for the SE with a $1,850 destination charge. The Dynamic SE is $92,650, the Dynamic SE plug-in hybrid is $96,950, and the Twenty Edition with the same plug-in hybrid system is more than $110,000. The V8 models command around $120,000, while the SV is a $150,000-plus proposition. Our SV Carbon came with more optional carbon fiber—including the wheels—and carbon-ceramic brakes for a grand total of $202,525.

That puts the Range Rover Sport well beyond a comparably-equipped Mercedes-Benz GLE, BMW X5, and Audi Q8. It's instead aligned with the Porsche Cayenne and, at the SV Carbon's price, a compelling buy against a one- to three-year-old Aston Martin DBX or Lamborghini Urus. We wish Land Rover returned to its more substantial physical cabin controls and more luxurious woods and metals, but otherwise, the Range Rover Sport is a very impressive vehicle that just costs a terrific amount of money.