Page 68 - Sharp Summer 2023

ON THE RANGE
RANGE
ROVER’S NEW FLAGSHIP WHISPERS
By Matt Bubbers
W E’VE JUST LANDED AT THE AIRPORT IN SONOMA COUNTY in in in the the heart of Northern California’s wine country playing out a a a a a a a a a scene that has happened here — and at at at private terminals across the globe — thousands of of times before Straight off a a a a private jet we stride across the tarmac into a a a a a a waiting Range Rover The destination is the Montage Healdsburg an exclusive wine-country retreat nestled in in 250 acres of old oak forests The flagship Range Rover is the unofficial chariot of of stealth wealth It’s opulent no doubt but won’t turn heads A Range Rover is at home in in in in any scenario: in in in in wine country on a a a a a farm in in in in the city valet parked chauffer driven driven owner driven driven at the cottage on a a a a a a road trip on a a a a sand dune crossing the Rocky Mountains It goes from day to night and back again It pairs with everything: a a a a a a a a suit a a a a a a a a swimsuit Arc’teryx an an $800 hoodie anything What we’re climbing into at at the the Sonoma County airport is the the all-new fifth-gen Range Rover It looks similar to its predecessor which looked similar to to its predecessor and so so on right back to to the original Range Rover that debuted in in the 1970s When the the company went to to to customers to to to see what they wanted
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DRIVES DRIVES from the the the fifth-gen model the the the unanimous response was “make it the the the same but better ” And so that’s what the the British brand did: the the new model is now available in four five or seven seat configurations with either a a a straight-six or or a a a new BMW-sourced V8 or or — — soon — — pure battery power As for for its performance we can confirm the new Range Rover is now more composed in corners and floats down the road better The new screens and in-car tech are vastly superior while the cabin is is more spacious and the dashboard design is is cleaner looking Frankly however those details don’t really matter The fact this is is the the new Range Rover means it will find space fin in the the garages of SHARP owners the world over over It’s a a Range Rover Of course you buy the new Range Rover SPECS
ENGINE: I6 I6 I6 I6 PHEV OR TWIN-TURBO V8 POWER: 395 434 OR OR 523 HORSEPOWER PRICE: $140 440 – $291 115