2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE Td6 Review

Over in Europe, the diesel engine is king. This is partly because back in the 90’s, the Kyoto Protocol was signed, which required certain nations to drop their CO2 emissions by eight percent over the course of 15 years. So, the European automakers used this signing as a chance to push diesel cars, due to its low C02 output. Well, it worked and diesels can be found almost everywhere in Europe. However, in the United States, diesel sales lag behind standard gasoline cars, partially because automakers don’t push them as much and because diesel has always been regarded as being more expensive. But after driving the new 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE Td6, and various other diesels, I wish we’d get more serious about these engines.

Our Range Rover Sport HSE Td6’s Specs

Exterior: Indus Silver
Trim: Almond, Espresso, Almond, Ivory
Options
- Front Climate Comfort & Visibility Package
- Driver Assistance Package
- Extra Duty Package
- Tow Package
- 825 Watt Meridian Premium Audio
- Sliding Panoramic Roof
- Adaptive Cruise Control w/ Queue Assist
MSRP: $66,450
Tested Price: $79,797

On the outside, this new Range Rover Sport HSE Td6 looks just like any normal Range Rover. In fact, you’d never know by looking at it that it had a turbocharged V6 diesel engine under it’s hood if it weren’t for the “Td6” badge. To keep it simple, this model looks just as you’d expect from a new Range Rover Sport: sporty with some toned muscles.

When driving most diesel models, you can hear the signature sound of the engine. With Range Rover’s Td6, I had to listen closely to hear the ‘tick’ of the diesel engine. Is this a bad thing? Not at all. In fact, my entire time spent behind the wheel was quiet and enjoyable as ever. Complimenting the lack of road noise were the lush Oxford perforated leather seats, heads-up display from the Driver Assistance Package ($2,900), Shadow Zebrano wood trim and more. The only time I did find myself noticing the engine when driving was when the intelligent start/stop system kicked on, which I eventually turned off.

Being a diesel, I was expected lopsided specs when it came to horsepower and torque. Typically, you’ll more horsepower than torque in gasoline engine, but with diesels, torque wins out. As for this Td6, torque was rated at 443 lb-ft, with horsepower at 254 hp, reaffirming my assumption. This power isn’t going to rocket you around town quite like gasoline-fed supercharged 3.0-liter LR-V6, but it’s not far off– 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds for the Td6 and 6.9 seconds for the LR-V6. At the end of the day, this Range Rover was built for all things off of the road, as made clear with the Terrain Response System. With this system, the driver can pick from different modes that will adjust the SUV’s settings appropriately. These settings include: General, Snow, Mud and Sand. If you’re like me, you’ll be using the Range Rover’s ability to raise and lower the vehicle through air suspension with a push of a button at random moments at stop lights– it’s fun seeing the looks on peoples’ faces as the fancy SUV next to them raises itself out of the blue.

My time with Land Rover’s new Range Rover Sport HSE Td6 were enjoyable to say the least. It’s smooth, comfortable, provides decent power and gets looks from passersby. But, being in one of Florida’s most densely populated counties, it’d be a shame to keep this off-roader cooped up on the road. But, a little road trip never hurt any one.