2026 Range Rover Sport: Perfect for dukes and gangsters

The Range Rover Sport, especially in D350 guise, delivers its performance with a quiet confidence, combining diesel power, impressive refinement and genuine all-terrain ability.

This in turn, is wrapped in a good-looking, bespoke package, one that feels equally comfortable pulling up outside a five-star hotel or heading into the countryside for a weekend away.

Eddie Horniman, the Duke of Halstead, with his Range Rover Sport. Picture: Supplied

The Gentlemen

You need not look further than Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen series on Netflix for justification and understanding of where Range Rover’s classy Sport fits into society.

In the series, Eddie Horniman, the Duke of Halstead, stumbles upon the marijuana empire inherited by Susie Glass, daughter of crime boss Bobby Glass, who is serving time in jail.

Their opulent and somewhat exciting lifestyles are thrown together as a result of this chance discovery of marijuana growing on the estate of the duke.

From there on, it is mayhem, bullets, swords, bloodshed and copious use of the C word in typical Guy Ritchie fashion.

23-inch gloss black wheels look the part on the Range Rover Sport. Picture: Mark Jones

Range Rover Sport star of the show

But the one thing petrol heads will appreciate, apart from the gore and vulgar language, are the vehicles used by the duke and Miss Glass.

There are a host of Bentleys, BMWs, Porsches and Rollers to the full range of Land Rovers, including the Range Rover Sport you see here.

They might use their Range Rover Sports for different reasons like transporting bodies, but the D350 Dynamic HSE here is arguably one of the most appealing derivatives in the range for us slightly more normal folk.

Why? Because it offers the everyday qualities of effortless acceleration, long-distance comfort, a commanding driving position and the ability to cover serious kilometres without constantly searching for a fuel station.

The Range Rover Sport is large and imposing as is expected. Picture: Mark Jones

That sweet diesel engine

Land Rover’s long-serving 3.0 litre V6 turbodiesel is the star of the drive show. Now supported by a 48 volt mild-hybrid system it produces 258kW and 700Nm.

You never feel like you have to rev it to get the best out of it. There is so much torque way down low it’s simply far better to enjoy the endless shove in a cultured way.

But if you do want to get a move on, much like our local blue light brigade like to do, then a 0-100km/h time of 5.9 seconds is on the cards. As is a top speed of 234km/h.

Making the best of the easy and smooth shifting eight-speed automatic transmission, we were able to achieve a fuel consumption that came in at just under 9.0 litres per 100km.

Interior options for a dynamic and refined driving experience are on offer. Picture: Mark Jones

First-class drive

If the power delivery is not enough to convince of the class of the Range Rover Sport, then the standard adaptive air suspension and ride quality offered by it will do so.

The way this SUV absorb the imperfections of ordinary roads, even with 23-inch low-profile tyres fitted, is next level.

If you find yourself approaching some sort of mountain pass or sequence of long highway bends, the suspension hunkers down and gives more than sufficient feedback for a truly sporty drive.

Luxurious interior

Climbing inside, the D350 HSE Sport delivers a completely polished, minimalist atmosphere expected of a modern Range Rover.

High-quality upholstery, a modern dashboard layout and a large, 13.3-inch curved infotainment touchscreen add to the feel that this is British luxury at its best.

Tech on board covers most of anything you could ever need in an SUV of this nature, such as a premium Meridian audio system, 3D surround-view camera, and a head-up display, to name but a few.

Where this Range Rover Sport falls into the Chinese trap is that there are no conventional controls for settings such as aircon control, etc.

Everything is hidden behind a screen in the infotainment system. While it might look good, it is a pain to operate on the move. Us older folk like physical buttons.

Personalise your Range Rover Sport with a full range of options. Picture: Mark Jones

Why do we have it?

The Range Rover Sport has not changed since 2024, when our digital motoring man, Charl Bosch, had it on test.

Why do we have it again, then, you may ask? The simple answer is Charl loved the colour and since I hadn’t driven it, we asked for it and got it.

So, if you have R154 100 for this paint job, which is called Velocity Blue, and another R22 100 for the signature digital LED lights, and R81 900 for the black exterior pack to go with the base price of R2 601 700, you will be driving one of the best-looking and most complete luxury SUVs on the road today.