The Sport looks sportier than either the purposeful LR3 or the stately Range Rover and those looks are not deceiving. It is, in fact, spirited, sporty, and relatively agile. And while it offers impressive off-road capability, it's designed as an on-road vehicle comfortable cruising at high speeds and negotiating crowded urban streets.

As its name suggests, the Sport's emphasis is on handling. Its design supports this.

The Range Rover Sport is built on a shorter wheelbase than the LR3 and Range Rover. Though all three share the same basic structure, the Sport stretches just 108 inches from the front to the rear wheels compared with 113 inches for the other two models. And while the LR3 and Range Rover offer seven-passenger seating, the Sport seats five people.

The Sport falls between the LR3 and Range Rover from a pricing standpoint, also. The $58,000 Sport costs $20,000 less than the full-size Range Rover, and about as much as a fully loaded LR3.

The Range Rover Sport was all-new for 2006. Land Rover has made no changes since then, except to add more standard equipment each year.

New for 2008 are standard power folding exterior mirrors, an eight-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, power tilt-and-telescope steering, and some new interior trim and materials.