Desire on 4 Wheels

In strictly motoring terms, this part of the world lends itself to some strange generalisations. Here's a few from my list: you don't mess with a Nissan Patrol on the road to Abu Dhabi, real men don't drive Beetles (unless they are florists), soccer moms will drive crossovers, Ford Mustangs have to get there faster than you, bikers must rocket through an empty neighbourhood just because there's no one about at three in the morning, Japanese tin cans trotting along at 80km/h will not get out of the fast lane without being hustled. And everyone wants to drive a Range Rover.

Now, in the line of duty, I've driven home a few cars that I'm unlikely to own in this lifetime - to the point that the porter of my appartment block has, on more than one occasion, been inquisitive about the nature of my profession. Those around me can get a little indifferent now to my weekend rides. OK, apart from maybe the DB9. But the Range Rover Sport did a lot to cement my generalisation from the first paragraph. And why not? It's the quintessential vehicle of choice for the well-heeled. A city teeming with people tripping over their hopes and aspirations is the Range Rover's natural habitat. Let Jeep Wranglers tackle the dunes.

Minutes into settling in the well-appointed interiors of the Range Rover Sport, it is plain to see what the fuss is all about. Comfy leather seats, wooden accents, a navigation system, a rear-view camera and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon Logic stereo with a six-CD changer and a provision to hook up your iPod - all the trappings of a luxury car you will find in here. I have my reservations about the touch screen entertainment and navigation interface. I don't like the idea of interfaces that require you to do a week-long orientation programme just to figure out how to work the GPS. But apart from that, pretty much everything else in the cabin is flawless.

The new Range Rover Sport has a 5-litre V8 Supercharged engine capable of generating 510bhp@5,750rpm. Steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, Brembo front brakes, and a dynamic suspension system to enhance on-road and off-road handling come standard on the Sport.

What this allows you to do, despite the size and weight of this SUV, is rocket past traffic. The poise and ride quality is such that on highways it's almost impossible to tell how fast you are going. So, if I have to find something to whinge about here, it's that the car has a tendency to collect speeding tickets if you don't exercise caution.

For long the Range Rover's offroading capability has seen it hold a slight edge over its Teuton rivals. The Sport rides on a permanent 4WD system. The car's terrain response system is simple enough - it adjusts the powertrain, suspension and electronics to optimise traction based on five distinct settings - general, grass/gravel/snow, mud and ruts, sand and rock crawl. If off-roading is now a recreational sport, might as well make it easy.

To sum up, the Range Rover Sport is everything you expect it to be - a plush, powerful, luxury SUV with a road presence like nothing else. Does (to your ego) exactly what it says on the tin.

QUICK SPEC

Engine: 5-litre V8 supercharged
Horsepower: 510bhp
Transmission: six-speed automatic
0-100km/h: in 6 seconds
Top speed: 220km/h
Cost: Dh395,000 onwards, call Al Tayer Motors, 04-303-7070 for more details.