The verdict: The redesigned 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport is gorgeous, but the elegance it exudes ends abruptly at its styling; in everyday use, the SUV is awkward, with unrefined road manners, confounding controls and odd ergonomic quirks.
Versus the competition: The Range Rover Sport competes in the crowded luxury mid-size SUV class, but it’s missing the “luxury” part when it comes to its cabin and driving refinement. Its slick new multimedia system, however, is a standout in the class.
The 2023 Range Rover Sport is the Land Rover family’s middle child, slotting between the larger Range Rover and the smaller Range Rover Velar and Evoque models. For 2023, the SUV enters its third generation with gorgeous new exterior styling and an updated cabin, as well as technology revisions and new powertrains for higher trims. (See it compared with the outgoing model.) It competes against the likes of the Audi Q8, BMW X6 and Porsche Cayenne; see them compared.
Related: 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport: New Powertrains and Tech, EV En Route
The Range Rover Sport is available in four trims: SE, SE Dynamic, Autobiography and a performance-oriented First Edition. For this review, I tested a base SE model.
Hiccups at Go Time
The Range Rover Sport’s polished and sleek new styling is highlighted by smoother body lines, a higher shoulder line, updated lower fenders and new flush door handles. It set my expectations high, so I was especially let down by its sometimes uncivilized road manners.
Several powertrains are available, and each pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard. My test SE model had a turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder with mild-hybrid technology good for 355 horsepower (395 hp in the SE Dynamic trim). It’s a lovely powertrain … eventually. From a stop, it’s awkward, with pronounced lag that translates into unrefined and annoying lurching every time you start off.
Once you get up to speed, though, there’s ample reserves for strong passing and merging power, and delivery is smooth and prompt. On the highway, the Range Rover Sport’s power dynamics are great, and the engine has a throaty, refined sound to match. Other available engines include a new 3.0-liter six-cylinder plug-in hybrid with 434 hp and an estimated all-electric range of 48 miles (in the Autobiography trim), and a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 with 523 hp (First Edition). An all-electric model will be introduced for 2024.
The Range Rover Sport’s ride and handling disappoint. Land Rover says all trims have chassis system upgrades and a standard adaptive air suspension, but I could use a smoother ride. My model rode on optional 22-inch wheels, and the ride was both firm and busy, with a jumpiness over bumps that traveled through the cabin.
The Range Rover Sport does feel more maneuverable than its size suggests, likely thanks in part to all-wheel steering that allows the rear wheels to turn in the opposite direction of the front wheels by up to 7.3 degrees. Its turning circle is reduced to 36 feet for 2023, which is an improvement over the old model’s’s 41-foot turning circle — and 2 feet less than the smaller Range Rover Evoque’s. In corners, however, there’s a tippy proclivity that’s not surprising given the SUV’s height. Body lean is also pronounced.
I did not take the Range Rover Sport off-road, but it sure can go there. Land Rover’s Terrain Response system adds adaptive off-road cruise control for 2023, which allows the system to manage vehicle speed while the driver focuses on steering. It joins driver-selectable modes that include Mud and Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl and Grass/Gravel/Snow.
Underwhelming Cabin, Ergonomic Challenges
The disconnect I felt between the Range Rover Sport’s exterior design and its driving experience followed me into the cabin. While the outside sets you up for opulence, I was let down by the Sport’s generic interior.
The leather seats and surfaces felt nice, but the odd speaker-skin-like dash and door trim and its drab ebony-on-ebony color palette struck me as tone-deaf for a luxury vehicle. There are two-tone interiors available that would probably impart more of an upscale vibe, but considering the as-tested price of the car I drove was around $90,000, I expected more.
I can overlook boring, but I can’t excuse the ergonomic oddities that made it a challenge to get comfortable in the cabin. Quirks abound, such as door handles and door locks that are set so low they require an awkward stretch. The touchscreen multimedia system is also placed too low in the center of the dash. I even struggled to find a comfortable seating position; sometimes, lots of seat adjustments don’t add up to more comfort.
Although I found the touchscreen too low, I did like using the system. The Range Rover Sport’s infotainment setup got a much-needed update for 2023, and the new version looks modern and has intuitive menus; the outgoing model’s dual touchscreens have been swapped for the same 13.1-inch tablet-style display that’s found in the Range Rover. The new Range Rover Sport also has standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, which worked seamlessly during my test. Wireless charging and built-in Amazon Alexa with advanced voice recognition are also standard.
Although the 2023 Range Rover Sport has more physical buttons than the old version, touch-sensitive controls are still abundant. I struggled with the touch-sensitive climate controls in particular: They aren’t as responsive as the screen, and some of the interfaces were confusing. For example, there are two large dials used for multiple functions, and I never grew totally accustomed to them. You spin the dials to change the temperature, but push them in to choose the heated seats and pull them out to control the fan speed. All this takes too much concentration when you’re driving, though I imagine it would get less annoying over time.
It’d be nice if the climate controls were better integrated into the touchscreen so you didn’t have to use the confusing ones. The home screen can be configured with different widgets for quick access, but climate isn’t one of them. In fact, there are only a couple of climate-related things that can be done on the screen, such as changing which vents are in use. You can see how much energy the heated steering wheel uses, but you can’t use the screen to turn it on.
I also found the digital gauge cluster to be too aggressive; it’s huge, resulting in distracting information-overload. The 13.7-inch screen mirrors the layout of the center touchscreen and allows drivers to customize the three-panel layout. To my eyes, it was too busy.
Interior Room
Up front, small-items storage is a strength. Highlights include a power-opening double glove box, a large bin under the gear selector, and a sizable console box with a tray. Storage is also strong in the back, where the middle section folds down into an armrest featuring a big storage area and cupholders.
Backseat legroom grows by an inch over 2022, and both headroom and legroom are ample for three passengers. The backseat power reclines and power folds, and three car seats fit across the seat. The Range Rover Sport earned high grades in our Car Seat Check thanks to its exposed lower Latch anchors, easy-access top tether anchors and ample rear legroom.
Cargo volume is also up a bit for 2023; by the brand’s measurements, this Range Rover Sport has 32 cubic feet of cargo space, up from 28 cubic feet. That’s more than the Q8 (31 cubic feet), X6 (27) and Cayenne (27).
Safety and Pricing
The 2023 Range Rover Sport comes with a variety of standard safety and driver-assist systems, such as automatic emergency braking, a 3D 360-degree camera system, front and rear parking sensors, wade sensing, a ground-view system, adaptive cruise control, a driver condition monitor, lane departure steering assist and traffic sign recognition.
Prices start at $84,475 (all prices include destination) for the base SE trim; my test vehicle was around $90,000 after add-ons including the upgraded 22-inch wheels, a special paint color, Wi-Fi plan and cold weather package. All of the 2023 model’s updates come at a pretty steep cost, however; the base price is up significantly over the outgoing version’s $72,250 starting price. The competition is more modestly priced, with base versions of the 2023 Q8, X6 and Cayenne all starting in the low-$70,000s.
The 2023 Range Rover Sport may work best for shoppers who like the Land Rover brand but can’t quite stomach the larger Range Rover’s price (2024 models start at $108,875). For other shoppers looking for a mid-size luxury SUV, competitors will deliver a better luxury experience.
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- Shop for a 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
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