Should you buy a used Range Rover Sport II (L464)?

If you enjoy driving and appreciate great off-road performance, the Range Rover Sport deserves to be near the top of your list. There’s an impressive range of abilities with this SUV considering it has to compete with the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5.

What sets the Sport apart is the way it drives – forget its size, because it’s agile and steers with far more composure than the larger and more luxurious Range Rover, and does so while remaining comfortable.

We’d fight shy of unreservedly recommending it, though, as there are some quality and reliability concerns that continue to dog the Sport. And some of the infotainment functions are off the pace. But overall, this likeable SUV is more endearing than the image suggests – even if it’s far from being the logical choice in this market sector.

The pick of the bunch is the SDV6 diesel due to its strong performance and high level of availability across the range of trim levels. It’s also one of the most inexpensive engines to run. In terms of trim levels, HSE comes with all the kit you could want, but HSE Dynamic brings the best handling.

What we like about the Range Rover Sport

Distinctive, unique character that’s less thuggish than before, but still feels confident and safe. Genuinely good handling, especially with the Dynamic chassis, and the ‘heavy 4x4 weight’ guilt for a vehicle over 2100kg feels less obnoxious when so many family EVs are just as heavy. It’s lighter than most double-cab pickups (and can tow just as much).

What we don’t like

Questionable reliability, particularly on early V6 diesels (which is frustrating, as that’s the best engine in the real world), touch screen interface not an improvement, the existence of the 2.0-litre diesel SD4, high insurance costs