It's a peculiarity of the way Land Rover sees its products that the Range Rover is barely thought of internally as an off-roader despite its undoubted off-road credentials. Of the models created in recent years (and obviously excepting the Defender), the company considers the Discovery to be its "workhorse" product and thinks of the Range Rover as a luxury vehicle which happens almost incidentally to be a stormer of a 4x4. In quoting record sales figures for 2004 of 32,493 units, Land Rover compares this favourably with other luxury cars rather than off-roaders it does not consider to be true rivals.Following revisions for the 2006 model year, the car tested here is the most luxurious of the lot. It's also the most powerful thanks to the arrival of the increasingly ubiquitous 4.2-litre supercharged V8 engine originally developed for Jaguar and later used in, for example, the Range Rover Sport. As in its other applications, this unit produces a maximum of 400bhp, but for the Range Rover its low-range torque has been improved.Despite the emphasis on luxury, this is clearly an attempt to improve the car's already celebrated off-road ability; likewise, the engine will continue to operate at most un-Jaguarlike angles, and there is more waterproofing and protection from dust and rocks than you would ever expect to find in a saloon car.As mentioned above, though, off-road ability is not really a priority for the car (and in fact it's worth noting that Land Rover has not carried over the more advanced 4x4 transmission technology and electronics which were introduced last year in the third-generation Discovery). So, although the new six-speed automatic transmission, uprated Brembo brakes, revised steering and improved air suspension all contribute more or less to the Range Rover's performance on muddy slopes, the real benefit in all cases comes on tarmac.It would be quite impossible to disguise the enormous height and weight of this car, but a pretty good job has been made of it all the same. While there's no getting away from the substantial (but well-controlled) amount of body lean, the Range Rover handles reasonably well, all things considered, and has surprisingly good ride quality both over crests and across patches of badly-surfaced road.More impressive yet, though, is the extra sense of refinement created by the lack of noise. Although the interior design is completely unchanged, the 2006 car is quieter from the passengers' point of view than its predecessors, thanks partly to a reduction in mechanical chattering and partly to improved window design which cuts wind noise down to levels which seem spookily low for a car with the aerodynamic properties of a studio flat.Ironically, the one thing that spoils the refinement issue is the whine of the supercharger, which in operation sounds as unpleasantly nasal in this car as it does in all the others. Its effectiveness is not open to question, though, since on full boost this Range Rover hurls itself towards the horizon in a way that the turbo diesel and naturally-aspirated petrol versions can't begin to match.Sharp-eyed observers will appreciate this potential even when the car is standing still. 2006 model-year cars all get new front bumpers, headlamps, power vents and rear light clusters (which look great but are confusing to following traffic because it's difficult to see the indicators when the brake lights are on). The supercharged version stands out further thanks to 20" alloy wheels and mesh front grille and power vents.The list of available equipment is exceptional, of course, and now includes a separate entertainment system for rear-seat passengers. For a car which is doing so well in the luxury market, you would expect nothing less. I might add that off-road performance remains superb - not quite up to Discovery standards but better (thanks to improved ground clearance) than the Sport - but in the 35th anniversary year of the Range Rover that fact seems almost irrelevant. Engine 4197cc, 8 cylinders Power 400bhp Transmission 6-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 16.0mpg / 376g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 7.1 seconds Top speed 130mph Price £72,995 Details correct at publication date
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