The Range Rover Sport is one of the best luxury SUVs on sale – but it's not without serious competition.
So if you want a big, comfortable and decadent way to travel, what are your other options? Check out these 10 Range Rover Sport alternatives to find out. And remember to view our huge range of nearly new and used cars available at Motorpoint.
Porsche Cayenne
You could argue the 'Sport' in the Range Rover Sport's name is as out of place as a tapeworm in your salad – the juvenile Range Rover is more of a straight-line cruiser than an out-and-out sports SUV. The Porsche Cayenne swings firmly the other way, with a properly engaging driving experience and a chassis that actively encourages you to drive it like a yobbo in the bends. Where the Range Rover Sport handles well but doesn't actively encourage fast cornering, the Porsche pushes its glasses to the tip of its nose and utters "ist das all you haff got?". Pick one of the sportier Cayenne models – the V8-powered GTS is our favourite – and you'll be stunned at how sportscar-like it feels. Sure, the interior doesn't have quite the same cosseting feel of the Range Rover Sport, but you might not care when you're busy burning rubber.
Range Rover
The elephant in the Range Rover Sport's orangery is its bigger brother – the full-fat Range Rover. It's a tad bigger than the Sport, more comfortable, has more luxurious appointments in the cabin, more luggage space and irons out bumps with even more aplomb. So why would anyone pick the Sport? Well, on the new market, the Range Rover Sport is nearly £30,000 cheaper than the full-on Range Rover. Spend even more and you can have the long-wheelbase (LWB) Range Rover with seven seats. Few cars this side of a Bentley Bentayga or Rolls-Royce Cullinan can match the latest Range Rover for comfort and a general sense of wellbeing, but it does share a reputation for poor reliability with the Range Rover Sport.
BMW X5
If the Porsche Cayenne is the sportiest-feeling car on this list and the Range Rover one of the waftiest, then the BMW X5 strikes somewhere in the middle. It's still a crushingly brilliant mile-muncher, but it's also entertaining in the corners. We're not the biggest fan of BMW's latest infotainment systems – we found them to be among the most distracting infotainment systems out there – but the X5's cabin is otherwise a wonderful cocoon for long drives. Like the Range Rover Sport, it comes with a choice of powerful petrol, diesel or plug-in-hybrid engines, and the X5's split tailgate lets your kids sit comfortably on the lip of the boot while they kick you in the chin with their muddy wellies. Bliss.
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Lexus RX
Arguably one of the most underrated cars on sale, the Lexus RX takes a pleasing approach to the large SUV game, with a range of actually-efficient hybrid and plug-in-hybrid powertrains and a truly delightful interior. Sure, the RX's huge 14-inch infotainment screen is de rigeur these days, but the quality of the Lexus' leather and interior materials really does match the more expensive Range Rover Sport. There's a sense that the Lexus' interior hasn't been thrown together on a production line, but masterfully crafted with incredibly tight tolerances. The RX isn't going to thrill you on a country road, and the 461-litre boot is significantly smaller than the 647-litre one in the Range Rover Sport. But if efficiency, style and – well, just being a bit different – matter to you, then pick the Lexus.
Audi Q7
The Q7 throws some practicality-shaped punches right into the Range Rover Sport's smug face, thanks to a whopping 780-litre boot and the option to seat up to seven people. You can't have that big boot space and use all seven seats at the same time, but it's nice to have the flexibility. Otherwise, the Q7 loses out to the Range Rover Sport in terms of cabin feel-good factor, but you still have a range of powerful diesel and petrol engines in the Audi. It feels airy inside, it's comfortable on long trips, and the 3.0-litre diesel options are about as efficient as in the Range Rover Sport, so expect mid-30s on a long drive.
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Mercedes GLE
If you're in the market for a Range Rover Sport then there's a good chance that looks are important to you – and the Mercedes GLE is about as much of a statement car as the Range Rover. Like the Q7, it's available as a seven seater, but be prepared to only fit kids in the third row. Otherwise the cabin is spacious, luxurious and super comfortable, and light steering means it isn't a pain to drive around town. Engine options include petrol, diesel and a plug-in hybrid which can travel about 40 miles on electric power in the real world – some way off the Range Rover Sport's 65-mile capacity.
Maserati Levante
After something totally different? May we cautiously suggest the Maserati Levante – a supposedly luxury family SUV that wins kudos by having an engine lineup partially provided by Ferrari. The Levante initially came with a choice of a petrol V6 or V8 engines developed by the red Italian sportscar brand, and in later years was offered with a humdrum 2.0-litre petrol mild-hybrid and a 3.0-litre V6 diesel. It makes a fine noise with the V6 or V8 engines, but the Levante feels disappointingly dated inside compared to the Range Rover Sport, with some cheap-feeling components shared with lesser models from the now-defunct FCA group. Despite the Levante's Italian heritage, it doesn't handle with much panache either. But you can say "I'll take the Maserati". For whatever that's worth.
Land Rover Defender 110
If you're looking to make a Range Rover Sport-sized statement but have a pair of Hunter wellies for winter walks then check out the Defender 110. Smaller than the ginormous eight-seat Defender 130, the 110 still give you acres of room for the family and muddy clobber in the boot. It doesn't handle as sharply as the Range Rover Sport, but it feels just as imposing out on the road – you really tower over other cars. It's as capable as the Range Rover Sport off-road with the right tyres, and has an interior that's made out of more family-friendly materials than the Range. Everything's more-or-less wipe-clean, and you get an almost identical engine choice to the Range Rover Sport, including six-cylinder petrols or diesels and plug-in-hybrid options.
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Volvo XC90
The Swedish alternative to a Range Rover Sport. The XC90 has only just had its first visual update in almost 10 years, which is testament to its timeless design, complete with 'Thor's Hammer' daytime running light signatures and boxy back-end. It's a spacious family SUV with similar boot space to the Range Rover Sport (with the Volvo's third-row flipped down), and a largely relaxing ride quality even on bumpy roads. The interior can come clad in some animal-friendly cloth options, but a Range Rover does have more of a feel-good factor, by a small margin. The XC90 also offers plug-in-hybrid options, but it doesn't have the smooth six and eight-cylinder engine options of the Range Rover – it's four cylinders only.
Shop used Volvo XC90 models at Motorpoint
BMW iX
An electric left-field alternative, the BMW iX was the Munich brand's first attempt at a big electric SUV. And it knocks it out of the park in terms of pure cabin refinement and luxury. We once sat at the car's limited top speed of 124mph for 15 minutes on the Autobahn outside Munich and could still whisper sweet nothings to our service-station Bratwurst. The cabin's mostly conventional BMW – a bit drab – save for the squircular steering wheel. The iX's 500-litre boot is a bit smaller than most cars on this list, and early entry-level models would only manage about 240 miles on a charge – this was increased to 350 miles in later models with a bigger battery.
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Save big on big SUVs
If you're just after a big SUV then check out our list of the best big SUVs, and if the above cars are a bit… inexpensive, then check out our definitive list of the best luxury SUVs.
