A Range Rover designed specifically with on-road use in mind? Surely some mistake.

Whatever view you might have about 4x4s, one incontrovertible fact is that for all its bulk, the Range Rover is a mighty performer off-road. So enthusiasts held their breath when the design brief behind the Range Rover Sport was to produce Land Rover's best-performing and best-handling vehicle on-road.

They need not have worried. While the fifth card in the Land Rover pack is more compact, more agile and more performance-oriented, it can still hack it on the rough stuff.

The engine choice focuses on the sharp competition stacking up at the top-end of the sports utility market and Land Rover opted to blow its rivals away with a 4.2-litre, 390 horsepower, Jaguar-derived, supercharged V8-powered range-topper. The aim was to produce the fastest and best-accelerating vehicle that Land Rover has ever made. It worked.

Though the normally aspirated 4.4-litre V8, and the turbodiesel 2.7-litre V6 version tested here, might not match the ultimate pace of the top-of-the-range model, they still offer an elusive blend of exciting performance car and the versatility and go-anywhere ability of a Land Rover. They also use the same six-speed automatic gearbox and full-time four-wheel-drive system as the supercharged model.

The wheelbase is six inches shorter than the Range Rover and the air-sprung suspension has been tuned for on-road use, aimed at reducing body-roll and increasing driver feedback. An optional computer-controlled active anti-roll system senses cornering forces and then acts to reduce lean one of the key reasons why the 2.5-tonne vehicle has the agility and handling of a much smaller sporty vehicle.

The Range Rover Sport is one of the most aerodynamic of all SUVs. Although packed with recognisable Range Rover cues, the windscreen is more steeply raked, the roofline is lower and sloped, the glass is flush fitting, the characteristic Range Rover bonnet castellations have been smoothed away and the vehicle sits lower. While it looks a little different, it is just as classy inside, with a mix of leather, wood and metallic finishes and a cockpit designed around the driver. It is also packed with technology, including Adaptive Cruise Control, which maintains a set distance from the car in front, bi-xenon swivelling front lighting and the latest generation satellite navigation, both on- and off-road.

It might not be the biggest vehicle that Land Rover has ever made, but the the Range Rover Sport is certainly its best driver's vehicle so far.

Auto facts Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 HSE

  • Price: £44,500
  • Insurance group: 14
  • Fuel consumption (Combined): 27.7mpg
  • Top speed: 120mph
  • Length: 478.8cm/188.5in
  • Width: 198.3cm/78in
  • Fuel tank capacity: 18.5 gallons/84 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 271g/km
  • Warranty: 3 years/unlimited mileage
  • Towing limit: 3,500kg