2014 Range Rover Sport vs. 2014 BMW X5

When it comes to testing two premium luxury SUVs that can push their price-tags into six figures, one thing is certain: neither is going to stink up the place. That’s why comparing the all-new 2014 BMW X5 and just-as-new Land Rover Range Rover Sport is like deciding between crème brûlée and crème caramel…they’re both delicious (and highly caloric). But alas, they have very different characters.

Style Statements

If you can only drive one at a time, and if it was my money, I’d go with the Land Rover Range Rover Sport. Why? The 2014 BMW X5’s new exterior is dowdier than before, with slab sides and a blunter nose. We wouldn’t say the X5 is unattractive, but its design relies on things like nifty LED lights and various decorative ornaments on the fasciae and body-sides to dress up the styling. Like flat-front khakis and a pastel polo shirt; the X5 is country-club correct, if not terribly interesting.

The Range Rover Sport has plenty of decoration on the exterior too. This includes sleek LED lighting at the front and rear, as well as a chunky fender vent. The chiseled shape is simply more distinctive than the BMW. Range Rover also offers countless customization opportunities, including an available contrast-color roof treatment. The clear fashion-statement winner here is definitely the Rover.

Cabin Comfort

Both of these vehicles have opulent cabins, with even more premium materials and features on the options lists. But the Bimmer bests the Range Rover Sport in two key areas: space (there’s more of it, with room for up to seven passengers) and the control interface. BMW has worked for years to perfect its hockey-puck-and-screen iDrive infotainment system, and now it works brilliantly. It has split-screen functionality and an available touch pad, on which you may scrawl characters that the system can translate when inputting, say, phone numbers or destinations for the navigation system.

 

The Range Rover Sport can only seat five, and for infotainment, it uses a touch screen interface that can’t multitask terribly well and is annoyingly slow to respond to inputs. That said, the seats are wonderful (as they are in the Bimmer, to be fair), and Rover’s boxy interior design is quite regal and British in character. By contrast, the X5’s cabin is modern and sleek – but its business-like sterility can also work against it. In terms of luxury and style, this contest is a draw.

Performance

On the road, the BMW is pretty much faultless. It accelerates effortlessly, especially with the torque-rich diesel V-6 or the optional twin-turbocharged V-8 engine. Next to the Range Rover Sport, it offers livelier handling and better fuel economy. It is whisper quiet and glides over bumps like the luxury vehicle it is. They don’t call BMWs the Ultimate Driving Machines for nothing.

Even with its base supercharged V-6, the Range Rover Sport can certainly move, yet contrary to its name, it’s hardly sporty. Despite being much lighter than the outgoing model, the Rover still feels a bit cumbersome to drive. Of course, the Rover reigns when driving in mud or over sand dunes –  but let’s be honest, off-road prowess is irrelevant to most customers (who’s wants to risk scratching that beautiful paint or clonking one of those massive alloy wheels against a tree stump?). As an SUV, with all of the capability that implies, the Range Rover Sport is the real deal.

For on-the-beaten-path performance, however, we give the BMW the nod.

Winner: 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

Deciding between these luxury sport utilities comes down to an emotional connection to the vehicle. After all, that’s something a person ought to have when plunking down $60K—$100K for a vehicle. Did we find ourselves more excited about hopping into the cool and functional X5, or the character-rich Range Rover Sport? In terms of overall character, the Range Rover Sport is the winner.