Range Rover Sport SVR: Blistering 0-62 mph on ANY surface (+ video)

The Range Rover Sport SVR is a very quick SUV on the road, but Land Rover prove the SVR can also offer blistering acceleration off-road too.

There are plenty of premium SUVs on the market to choose from, and some, like the Range Rover SVR, have so much power at their disposal they will show most things on the road a clean pair of heels.

But the Range Rover SVR has something the other powerful SUVs don’t: Off-road ability.

But buyers of a car like the RRS SVR are buying it not to actually go offroad, but because they can boast it can. Yes, Land Rover’s USP is a big sales weapon even though it’s a USP almost no owner will benefit from.

But because the edge that Land Rover has over its competition is the ability to perform, and perform astonishingly well, on any surface, LR has decided to demonstrate just how impressively the Range Rover Sport SVR can accelerate regardless of what’s beneath its wheels. 

The benchmark for the test was an outing to Rockingham, where the RRS SVR – in Dynamic mode – set a 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds. Which, for a more than two tonne SUV is ridiculous.

Outing two was just over the road at Land Rover’s Rockingham Experience, where the surface to be tackled was wet grass.

Sticking the SVR in to Grass/Gravel/Snow on the Terrain Response softened the throttle response, smoothed the gear changes, preloaded the central diff and brought in the traction control earlier. The result? A 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds. On wet grass.

Following that impressive outing, Land Rover went to play in a quarry for a run on a gravelly surface, with Terrain Response still in Grass/Gravel/Snow, and turned in a time of 5.3 seconds.

With no snow in the West Midlands, Land Rover decamped to their winter testing facility in Arjeplog (that’s snowy, cold Northern Sweden), left the Terrain Response in Grass/Gravel/Snow, and managed a time of 11.3 seconds. Which on a snow and ice track – still on standard fit Michelin 275/45 R21 All Season Tyres – is bonkers.

The next outing was to The Vale of Neath in South Wales to Walters Arena for some mud, with Terrain Response in Mud & Ruts to raise the suspension and allow more tyre slip, where the SVR turned in a time to 62mph of 6.5 seconds.

Finally it was time for wet sand, so off Land Rover went to old Top Gear’s beach of choice, Pendine Sands, to pit the SVR against the wet sand.

Putting Terrain Response in to Sand sharpened throttle responses for a quick build-up of torque, and held on to the gears for longer and locked the central diff, resulting in a time to 62 mph of 5.5 seconds. 

Having proved beyond question that the Range Rover Sport SVR can perform on any surface, Land Rover rammed home the point that their USP is alive and well in the SVR with an impressive rock crawl outing.

On dry, smooth tarmac, the Range Rover Sport SVR may have competition. But on any other surface it’s simply peerless.

Range Rover Sport SVR Off-Road Performance Video