The new Range Rover is upon us, offering Californian hip-hop stars, Chelsea-based parents, agricultural oligarchs and the odd lord and lady a powerful off-road vehicle that, according to most reviews, builds well on its predecessor.
As you would expect for the updating of the Land Rover flagship product, there are a number of significant improvements. It has an aluminium monocoque body, the first of any SUV, which adds strength and reduces weight a great deal – to the tune of 420kg. This, and a number of other changes, have improved performance, ride quality and fuel economy.
But at £71,295 for the entry level version (there are lots of optional extras, as with previous models), what does the Range Rover have that a cheaper rival doesn't? Let's have a look...
BMW X5, from £45,050
Critics say this vehicle is great on the road, but when pushed to its very limits does not have the muscle of the Range Rover. The cabin interior gained top marks, but the exterior has been derided as blocky or slab-like. For heroic, handsome mud-spattering antics on precarious hillsides, the Range Rover wins out.
Porsche Cayenne, from £44,379
Another German rival for the 4x4 top spot, this one possibly having saved Porsche from oblivion. Popular and great on the road, the Cayenne is however unlikely to win any SUV beauty pageants and is pretty rubbish at towing when compared to its Merseyside behemoth rival. Nice hi-tech toys in the cabin though.
Infiniti FX, from £46,750
Another capable, well-priced off-roader, but what you gain in the wallet, you lose in the attractive design stakes. Modest boot and nothing special when it comes to pulling a tractor out of the mud, if you want a real off road monster that will hardly ever have you calling your car breakdown cover provider, pay the extra 23 grand and keep it British (well Indian-British, at least).
Breakdown Cover from 
