In vogue

PARK up the Range Rover Vogue and inevitably you will come back to it with at least one couple looking in through the window. It's that sort of vehicle, a masterpiece in feel-good factor, an aspirant's dream, a show-off's delight.

It's all smart, rugged and expensive. It's an automotive Rolex watch, and yes, other manufacturers do offer cheap copies.

But this is the real thing with 50 years of heritage behind it. It's not fake fur, it's the fox's brush and the people who ride around in one don't give a damn about what other people think.

It's a work of art appealing directly to the wallets of those who can afford the £60,000 price tag.

Land Rover went to extreme lengths to make the new Range Rover new but traditional at the same time. One glance is enough, it couldn't be anything else.

Inside is opulent in the extreme, the high set driving seats swathed in leather, the general materials top notch with echoes of famous sea craft of the past.

As a car the top of the range Vogue is a marketing masterpiece designed in every way to get the buyers buying and to sicken those who can't afford the bill. But the question remains, what's it like as a car? Hype aside, badge removed, price tag forgotten, what is it like to drive?

Surprisingly, pretty ordinary is the answer. It just isn't great shakes in any quarter. It's not bad but neither is it brilliant - which won't bother 99 per cent of buyers one jot as they are in it for the image.

The petrol power unit is the well proven 4.4 litre V8 that sits under the bonnet of many a BMW saloon. With 282bhp and 320lbft of torque on tap, it is 30 per cent more powerful than the old 4.6 V8 it replaces. It had to be modified to cope with the Range Rover's off-road capacity - namely angles of lean of 35 degrees traverse and 45 degree inclines. There also had to be extra waterproofing so the vehicle can wade through water up to 560mm deep - hence the air intakes are on the side like fish gills.

The Range Rover is also a weighty motor with barn door aerodynamics. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get more than 16 miles per gallon, which seems strange as the 7 Series BMW which uses the same engine manages the upper 20s.

The V8 sounds and feels powerful and performance isn't bad - top speed is a creditable 130mph - as long as you can afford the fuel, which no doubt real owners can.

But that weight causes more problems than just poor fuel consumption. Through the bends it feels heavy and is slow to respond to steering input. There's also a fair degree of cabin roll and stopping the Range Rover can be a heart-thumping affair.

Off road it is supposed to be one of the most capable mud-pluggers around. But it fails to inspire confidence because of the din it makes getting about.

Hill descent control uses all manner of electronic wizardry to cope with slippery conditions. Unfortunately, as it hisses, groans and grates its way round, the driver is left feeling a tad remote and out of control as it sets the speed at which tricky hills are taken.

Jump in most basic off-roaders and they will climb virtual walls on tickover. Try that in the Range Rover and nothing happens, there is no creep and it has to be blasted up the inclines.

Given the car's limitations, I have to take my hat off to Land Rover, which has successfully dressed up a pretty ordinary car so that it is desired by the world's rich and famous.

Updated: 10:42 Friday, January 17, 2003