• Excellent Pivi Pro infotainment
• Elegant, high-quality cabin
• Excellent long-distance comfort

How is the quality and layout?

As you’d expect from a car sitting near the top of the Range Rover model line-up, the Range Rover Sport’s interior oozes class. All the trims and materials used are really tactile, lending it an air of quality that’s up there with the BMW X5 or Audi Q7. Quite a feat considering quality hasn’t always been Land Rover’s strongest suit. We’re also impressed by how close it feels to the more expensive, full-sized Range Rover.

Compared with the aforementioned Range Rover, the Sport’s interior feels more cocooning – as though you’re sat in the car rather than on it, helped by a lower seating position and higher windowline. The centre console is higher too, with controls oriented more horizontally than vertically. For most drivers, that kind of layout feels comfortable, logical, and unintimidating in such a large car.

As is the way these days, the Sport’s interior is dominated by the infotainment display. Fortunately, it’s a fantastic system that’s easy to learn your way around. Lower down, there’s a pair of climate control dials – which we like to see – along with a set of buttons for the air con’s major functions. The panel feels a little cheap and isn’t that nice to use – older Range Rovers had a screen here that looked better but functionally wasn’t.

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Infotainment and tech

The dashboard is dominated by two screens – a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster for the driver and an 11.3-inch touchscreen display for the Pivi Pro infotainment system – which is a massively leap on from older Land Rover systems. Both are among the best in the business to use, with pin-sharp clarity and an interface that’s largely very simple to use. One or two functions are a couple of button presses further away than we’d like, though, marking it down from a perfect 10.

The standard stereo sounds absolutely fantastic and there are more powerful, brand-name alternatives available on the options list, though they cost a pretty penny. A rear seat entertainment system with two screens is also available.

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Comfort

• Very comfortable up front
• Supportive, well-shaped seats
• Rear passengers are well catered for

The Range Rover Sport’s front seats adjust in just about every way you can imagine, providing excellent support. They’re also wide enough to make even very large people feel secure without hemming them in. The rear seats are equally good, and all passengers enjoy a good view out through big windows. And it goes without saying that overall comfort is outstanding on even the longest of journeys.

The luxurious surroundings can be optionally swathed in so-called ‘Ultrafabric’ – an animal-free alternative to leather that feels lovely to the touch. All seats can be heated and chilled, with optional or standard massaging function, further enhancing comfort.

The car’s engines make themselves heard under hard acceleration, but they’re otherwise extremely smooth and refined. The ride quality is serene and very little outside noise gets through to the interior. We think the Sport is much more refined than rivals such as the Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes GLE.