Range Rover (2012-2022) review - Practicality, comfort and boot space

While its looks have evolved, the Range Rover's principles of rugged usability and practicality have remained, and this is what gives it an advantage over more traditional luxury car rivals. 

With the extra height the Range Rover has over its rivals, it feels truly massive in the back and gives a fantastic view. One downside of its sheer size, though, is that it’s still quite a climb up into the car, but recent updates now mean you can lower the air suspension to ‘access’ height at the touch of a button to make getting in and out easier. Even so, it's not quite as easy to do so as in a BMW 7 Series or Audi A8.

The Range Rover also gets a space-saver spare wheel as standard, with a full-size replacement  only available for the SVAutobiography Dynamic version. What's more, the electronically deployable tow-bar is also an extra.

Size

While the current model debuted much sleeker styling than its predecessor, it remains a physically huge vehicle. It is just 1mm short of the full five metres in length and more than 2.2 metres wide, with the door mirrors in place. 

It is also 1,835mm tall, comfortably higher than most crossovers that purport to have SUV-like driving positions. Sitting behind the steering wheel of the Range Rover is a very commanding place to be – you are higher than pretty much everything else on the road, save the largest vans, buses and lorries. This gives a great view out and a safe, secure feeling when you’re out on the road.

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Leg room, head room & passenger space

In the standard-wheelbase Range Rover, space in the rear is fine. There's more room than you’ll find in a Bentley Bentayga, with plenty of width, and a flat floor that leaves enough foot space for three people to sit alongside each other in comfort. If that's still not enough, the long-wheelbase model gets 200mm extra length.

If the front passenger is willing to edge their seat forward a bit, a six-foot passenger can pretty much stretch their legs out in the Long Wheelbase Range Rover, especially if they make use of the leg rest and recline the rear seat.

Boot

With all its seats in place, the Range Rover can hold 900 litres of luggage – 390 litres more than either the Audi A8 or Mercedes S-Class – but folding those seats down (which can be done at the touch of a button) frees up a vast 1,943 litres. Interestingly, the Long Wheelbase car doesn’t offer any more boot space – all the extra inches are given over to the rear-seat passengers. 

The classic Range Rover split tailgate allows you to open one or both parts as needed: leaving the bottom half in place makes it easy to pop smaller items straight into the boot, while lowering it gives you a useful temporary seating area.

Towing

Similar to the Ranger Rover Sport the Range Rover has a good range of towing capacities, starting at 2,500kg for plug-in hybrid version and going all the way to 3,500kg for other versions.