As someone born and raised in Essex, I’m no stranger to the Range Rover moniker. In my childhood years, before Instagram and reality TV, I was glued to car magazines in which you could browse the latest modified Range Rovers from the likes of Kahn and Overfinch in the classifieds.
The first Range Rover prototype broke cover in 1969, code-named: Velar. Its appeal was instant, combining permanent 4-wheel drive, a split tailgate and elegant modern design. Whilst I would have preferred to have owned the original three-door Range, the four-door iteration released in 1981 boasted all the nostalgia I craved.
Launched in May, the Range Rover Sport enters its third iteration. With it comes a sense that it has always been there. It fits. I mean, for many of the younger generation, it actually has always been there.
The grandfather of the segment is the Land Rover Range Rover. Not the Range Rover Sport, not the Velar, not even the Discovery. The full fat, bonnet at shoulder height, wafting armchair that is the Range Rover.