Summary
- The LWB SV Serenity model is the most powerful, luxurious, and spacious Range Rover available, offering a serene and refined driving and passenger experience.
- This model features a $20,000 Signature Suite, which includes 24-way Executive Class seats. The two rear seats are separated by a luxurious center console.
- Despite its hefty price tag, the Range Rover LWB SV Serenity offers a unique product: Minimal and modern design, advanced off-roading capabilities, and a wide range of customization options, making it stand out in the luxury SUV market.
While many manufacturers have jumped on the fast moving SUV trend, rare are those that have had the time to build a sense of legacy around their long-standing, flagship SUV models. With over 50 years of history, Range Rover is one of the few benchmark vehicles that has set the tone for what an SUV should be. Add to that a few bonus points for being a royalty and celebrity favorite, enhancing the car’s prestigious image.
During this half-century, Land Rover only released five iterations of the Range Rover, with the current model released in 2022. You can tailor the Range Rover experience to your liking, as the British SUV comes in many trims: There’s the diesel (in certain markets), there’s the hybrid, and of course the petrol. But what if what you wanted was even more space, even more power, and simply… even more Range Rover? Well, this is precisely what the long wheelbase (LWB) model is for. Push the specifications even further and what you get is a Range Rover LWB SV Serenity; a lengthy name that stands for the most powerful, the most luxurious and the most spacious Range Rover you can currently get.
Keeping The Range Rover Design Codes Alive, But More Modern And Minimal
The new Range Rover keeps all of the Range Rover design codes: A boxy silhouette accompanied by a falling roofline, a strong beltline and a rising sill line, the three trademark features that make the Range Rover instantly recognizable. And you still get the same squarish, yet modernized headlights. However, it’s the RR's rear that gets a major design upgrade, with new thin and vertical tail lights that remain black when turned off. They blend in with the black bar across the rear of the car for a minimal and polished look.
For the SV Serenity, the car gets some fancy details, such as the two-tone silver and bronze badge on the bonnet. The two-tone color scheme is also present on the 23-inch stylized diamond wheels, as well as on the sill line and the roof. You will also notice that for the SV model, a body colored SV badge replaces the traditional Land Rover badge at the back and that echoes some of the luxurious materials used inside.
A Roaring V8, Off-Roading Capabilities, And Ultra-Smooth Cruising
To make things clear, this specific Range Rover model isn't only a car you would want to drive, but a car (truck?) you’d want to be driven in. However, for days when you would need to take matters into your own hands, here is what it is like behind the wheel.
The Range Rover SV comes with a 4.4L turbocharged V-8 engine producing a massive 606 hp from 5,855 to 7,000 rpm, and 553 lb-ft of torque that’s available between 1,800 and 5,400 rpm. That'll scoot the 6,000-pound-plus beast to 60 in 4.4 seconds.
On the highway, overtakes are easy: Give it a bit of throttle and the SV’s V-8 engine awakens with a roaring sound. There’s a powerful acceleration that pushes the massive SUV forward, but it’s nothing too sudden. The ride feels silky smooth thanks to the electric air suspension fitted to the car, making vibrations and road imperfections disappear. With the Range Rover’s massive presence and with the way the car floats over bumps and cracks, you could compare the experience to that of a yacht gliding on a calm ocean.
In the city, maneuvering the LWB model is much easier than you’d expect. The Range Rover’s all-wheel steering allows for a small turning circle of 37.8 feet (36 feet for the standard wheelbase, the smallest turning circle ever for a Land Rover SUV). As for steering, the Range Rover’s electric steering is on the lighter side but remains quite linear, which makes the driving effortless overall.
While the overwhelming majority of owners will not take their luxury SUV off the beaten path, the Range Rover remains a very capable car. The SV is no diesel, but it’s also torquier, allowing you to get out of any tricky terrain. Add to that Land Rover’s all-wheel drive transmission system that distributes torque between front and rear axles for optimum traction. The Range Rover comes with all of the tech that would allow the car to go through mud, snow, sand, rocky terrains and more.'
Just pick from the six terrain modes available, for a chassis set-up that is most fitting to your driving situation and up to 11.6 inches of ground clearance. Even if you happen to go through water, the Range Rover can do it too, with a wading depth of 35.4 inches.
It is also possible to push the Range Rover around a few corners, despite its 5,975-lb weight. The suspension helps the car feel balanced at all times, keeping the cornering experience quite refined, and even if you do push the car a little harder, passengers won’t be thrown around. The sounds coming from the V-8 make the driving more exciting, if that’s what you’re after.
The V-8 may mean more roaring and more power, but this also equates to an increased fuel consumption. Though Land Rover did not disclose fuel consumption numbers for the S-V model, it should remain close to those of the V8, with an average of 11 MPG in the city and 18 on the highway. For the entirety of the three days we drove this V8 SV model, we averaged 13 MPG throughout an itinerary that included a mix of city, highway, and mountain pass driving. Needless to say, it was expensive at the pump.
A Serene, Luxury Suite That You Won’t Find Anywhere Else
“Serenity” being the key word for this Range Rover model, Land Rover gave it all to create the most soothing and luxurious experience for all passengers. The Range Rover curates two different atmospheres depending on where you are seated. At the front, the tan leather seats create a warm ambiance, while the white leather seats at the back offer a calming, serene environment.
This is completed with unique materials used for the SV Serenity: the steering, the foldable tray table and cup holder covers are made of sustainably sourced wood, while the gear knob and various buttons at the front use gloss white ceramic. The front seats could benefit from more leg room, but both driver and front passenger do get the same creature comforts as rear passengers, with heated and ventilated seats and an integrated massage option.
The SV Serenity’s highlight is undoubtedly the “Signature Suite” option for the rear seats. The Signature Suite is essentially the Range Rover’s luxury four-seater configuration (you can get the LWB with seven seats), with a rear center console that creates two separate suites for each passenger at the back. The suite including the luxury 24-way “Executive Class” seats does not come cheap and will cost you a base price of $19,740, to which additional customization is possible. With such a price tag, we do wish the suite also offered a button for the doors to close automatically.
While rear benches with a small center console instead of a fifth seat are more commonly found, rarer are luxury SUVs with a full separation between the rear seats. They're xtremely comfortable, and having your very own space just like you would on first class airline seats gives the Range Rover a serious advantage over its competition. The Range Rover’s rear center console comes with a spacious, retractable table, as well as a cupholder compartment and a fridge. All these features can be controlled via the eight-inch touchscreen integrated in the suite’s center console, including your seat adjustments.
If you’re familiar with the Jaguar Land Rover infotainment system, it’s undeniably one of the most user-friendly and most visually pleasing interfaces out there, and you will happily find it here as well. The infotainment screen and the digital dashboard are easy to interact with but most importantly, the Range Rover offers a satisfying experience for rear passengers.
The optional 11.4-inch touchscreens provide a crisp and vibrant image, while the touchscreen controller surpasses what other manufacturers usually offer for rear passengers. Continuing with more tech and other gadgets, the SV Serenity comes with a Meridian sound system with 35 speakers including one in each headrest. The rear seats also get an SV headset each.
Our Verdict On The Range Rover LWB SV Serenity
With all of the luxuries it offers, the Range Rover LWB SV Serenity competes with the likes of the Bentley Bentayga EWB and the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, but it’s also a vehicle that stands out from its competition by just feeling different from what is already out there. The SV Serenity is a top-of-the-line product, but it does not lose its Range Rover nature. It’s a vehicle where genuine luxury and serious offloading capabilities cohabit under one roof.
With a base MSRP of $234,000, the SV Serenity easily crosses the $250,000 mark when checking all the option boxes from seats to wheels, not forgetting the $20K suite. There is a huge price gap when compared to the entry level Range Rover that starts at $107,400, but unlike its competition that focuses on narrower variations of their SUV models, the company offers a much wider range of possibilities for a wider spectrum of customer profiles.
Where the SV truly shines is in its design. The LWB gives the Range Rover an imposing presence on the road, but its minimalist design helps balance it out. Completing the modern exterior, theSerenity offers a unique, serene and truly luxurious cabin without being outrageously opulent. Without a doubt, the SV Serenity is the ultimate vehicle for those who wish to keep their wealth private, a high-end experience in a refined, discrete—and fast when needed—cocoon.
