Test Drive

During our ride along the busy San Francisco freeways, what immediately struck us was the quietness of the 2006 Range Rover’s interior. Noise and vibration engineers used their magic to remove unwanted noises, but kept a pleasant engine sound that’s audible when you push on the throttle. Not surprisingly, this is much more noticeable in the supercharged version, but not as loud as the Porsche Cayenne S and Turbo. Added tranquility is the result of isolating the center transmission cradle, adding extensive noise reduction pads in the cabin and under the hood, and tuning the intake and exhaust to enhance the quality of the engine sound. Laminated front glass and re-profiled A-post finishers reduce wind noise, as well. It was along the twisty roads north of the city that we began to appreciate the revised chassis of the 2006 Range Rover. New springs, new dampers and engine mounts, and larger anti-roll bars create the most behaved on-road ride that Land Rover has ever produced, making it heads above another off-road mountain goat – the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Steering response has been tweaked for better on-center feel, and for the first time in a Range Rover, you can carve a turn without mid-corner correction, not always the case in past models.