Audi Q7
It’s big, and very in-your-face. It’s the kind of 4×4 Green Peace activists love to hate. And, you feel like a superstar when you drive it. This is Audi’s egocentric Q7.
It is big and brawny, and it is loaded with the latest technology, both in the plush cabin and under the vast bonnet. Yes, the Q7’s quattro four-wheel drive system, in conjunction with the air suspension system, ensure some off-road prowess, even though the big Audi doesn’t have low-range. But who wants to go off-road in a Q7, anyway? The vast majority of owners will use this machine only on tar and occassionally, a dirt road, where it fares very well.
Since we are talking “the million rand club”, we won’t waste time with the “entry-level” 3.6FSI AT model. Instead, we’ll move right along to the R1,42-million TDI V12. This Q7, available on special order, comes with a six-litre, V12 turbodiesel engine which borrows technology from Audi’s Le Mans 24 Hour race-winning cars. The V12 engine delivers a staggering 368 kW and 1000Nm of torque at 1750r/min – endowing it with supercar-like performance.
It is currently the world’s most powerful diesel production car.
In short:
LW choice: 6.0 TDI V12 Tiptronic
Price: R1 426 000
Engine: 6,0-litre, V12, twin-turbo
Power: 368 kW @ 4000r/min
Torque: 1000Nm @ 1750r/min
Economy: 14,3 litres/100km
Off-road: Not a good idea
Maintenance plan: Five years/100 000km
BMW X5
Over the past decade BMW’s X5 has proven to be a huge sales success for the Bavarian manufacturer. The X5 offers a compelling and versatile option in the SUV segment. Although it can do a little bit of 4×4 if it really needs to, it is much more at home on tar and gravel – including twisty mountain passes. And this is one of the X5’s biggest selling points: The dynamics of the driving experience. It is sporty, it is composed, it is refined – it’s really good.
Add good quality, loads of luxury and safety features, and a lot of “image” for the image concious, and it’s no wonder this BMW has been selling like hotcakes.
But let’s talk power, and let’s talk X5 M. Its twin-turbo V8 petrol engine delivers a stunning 408 kW of power and 680 Nm of torque at only 1500r/min. That’s a whole lot of horses, which results in a sub five-second 0-100km/h time. Whether this plush SUV is truly deserving of the highly revered “M” badge, which had always been reserved for BMW’s hard-core performance cars, remains a moot point amongst purists.
Bu the fact remains: This is one amazing performance machine.
In short:
LW choice: X5 M
Price: R1 255 500
Engine: 4,4-litre, V8, twin-turbo
Power: 408 kW @ 6000r/min
Torque: 680Nm @ 1500r/min
Economy: 17,5 litres/100km
Off-road: Not a good idea
Ground clearance: Approximitely 210mm
Maintenance plan: Five years/100 000km
Range Rover Sport
The theory seemed doomed, in 2005: Take a Discovery 3, and throw a slightly altered and smaller version of a Range Rover body onto the Disco’s drivetrain. Make it sporty, luxurious, trendy, and powerful. And call it: Range Rover Sport.
Since then the Sport has raked in the sales. Apparently it regularly outsells the cheaper Disco 3 in the US market. A recent poll on a Landy website indicated that more than half of the Sport owners were in the 20-35 year old age group, indicating the fashion appeal of this machine.
But the Sport is also about 4×4. Thanks to its Discovery underpinnings, it is a true off-roader, with huge 4×4 potential. It gets the Terrain Response system, low-range? the works. But the Sport’s standard wheels and tyres (trendy low-profile numbers) unfortunately limits its off-road ability.
Talk big power, and the five-litre V8 version is the way to roll. This supercharged engine, borrowed from Jaguar, delivers a stomping 375 kW of power and 625 Nm of torque at 2500r/min. However, the Sport is no lightweight, so instead of a robot-to-robot racer, it is rather its ability to chase the horizon on the open road that is highly impressive.
In short:
LW choice: 5.0 V8 SC AT LE
Price: R1 018 600
Engine: 5,0-litre, V8, supercharged
Power: 375 kW @ 6000r/min
Torque: 625Nm @ 2500r/min
Economy: 17,1 litres/100km
Off-road: It can go all the way – with off-road wheels and tyres
Maintenance plan: Five years/100 000km
Range Rover
It’s the vehicle that brought class and luxury to the 4×4 market. It happened in 1970, when a need was indentified amongst UK-based farmers for a slightly more upmarket and comfortable option to the utilitarian Land Rover. The country gentlemen also needed a real 4×4, that could go where the Land Rover went. So the Range Rover was born. The first model was bigger and more comfortable than the Landy, but one could still use a hosepipe to rinse out a muddy interior.
Today the Range Rover presides at the top echelon of the 4×4 market. It’s still got the 4×4 ability, but now it also has all the bells and whistles, the leather, the wood, and even a LCD-based virtual instrument panel.
Enter the 5.0 V8 SC AT Autobiography edition – which takes the luxury even further.
A full leather interior (including the roof-lining, and the edging for the floor carpets!), a 14-piece real wood veneer trim option, unique 20-inch wheels, exclusive interior and exterior colour options, Adaptive Dynamics handling package? and a 375 kW and 625Nm, supercharged V8 under the bonnet.
As far as sophistication, exclusivity, ability and performance go, it doesn’t get much better than this.
In short:
LW choice: 5.0 V8 SC AT Autobiography
Price: R1 394 000
Engine: 5-litre, V8, supercharged
Power: 375 kW @ 6000r/min
Torque: 625 Nm @ 2500r/min
Economy: 17,1 litres/100km
Off-road: Any time, any place
Maintenance plan: Five years/100 000km
Lexus LX
The Lexus LX570 is one awesome piece of 4×4 machinery. Period. Based on the Toyota Land Cruiser 200, it gets the full compliment of 4×4 gear, including the low range, the locking bits? the whole caboodle. The exterior styling has also been tweaked, but the LX is still very much Cruiser 200. Inside it is all leather and wood, electric this and electric that (even the middle row of seats offer electric adjustment), there is space galore, and the ride is as refined and plush as one would expect from a Lexus.
In the performance department the Lexus beats the Cruiser 200 hands down. The LX gets Toyota’s awesome 5,7-litre V8 engine, and it delivers 270 kW and 530 Nm of torque – versus 202 kW and 410Nm from the Cruiser 200’s 4,7-litre V8.
So performance is very brisk, without being startingly quick. It’s rather on the open road, with a heavy trailer or caravan in tow, where this Lexus’ true character will come to the fore. It should also be unstoppable in sand and in the desert, with all those horses unleashed, working in perfect unison with the highly capable 4×4 drivetrain.
In short:
LW choice: LX570 AT
Price: R1 085 000
Engine: 5,7-litre, V8
Power: 270 kW @ 5600r/min
Torque: 530 Nm @ 3600r/min
Economy: 15,8 litres/100km
Off-road: Any time, any place
Maintenance plan: Four years/100 000km
Mercedes-Benz ML
Mercedes-Benz’s ML, originally launched in 1998, wasn’t very well received by Merc purists and Joe Public – the American-made ML’s build quality was not up to Merc’s high standards. But Mercedes-Benz big wigs clearly took note of this chink in the ML’s armour, and spent about R4,5-billion to upgrade its factory in Alabama, in the United States, ahead of the launch of the second-generation ML, in 2005. When the new model was launched, the quality issues had clearly been addressed.
Today the ML range is as popular as ever, and besides for being highly practical, luxurious, refined, it’s also quite the fashion statement. Although few MLs will ever head off-road, the vehicle is a capable off-roader, with low-range gearing. Add the optional “Off Road” pack, and this Merc boasts quite unbelievable off-road prowess.
Topping the ML range is the 63 AMG.
Powered by a naturally-aspirated and high revving 6,2-litre V8 engine, hand-built by AMG in Germany, the ML63 is one seriously fast SUV. It will do 0-100km/h in under five seconds! But although the ML63 offers an exhilirating on-road ride, it’s best to steer clear of most dirt roads, and any kind of 4×4 obstacle.
In short:
LW choice: ML63 AMG Speedshift
Price: R1 169 000
Engine: 6,2-litre, V8
Power: 375 kW @ 6800r/min
Torque: 630 Nm @ 5200r/min
Economy: 16,6 litres/100km
Off-road: Not a good idea
Maintenance plan: Six years/120 000km
Mercedes-Benz GL
The GL, aimed mainly at the US market, made its international debut in 2006. It is said that the GL was specifially developed to replace the legendary but 25 year-old Gelandewagen, or G-Class. But apparently Gelandewagen owners and fans did not appreciate the idea, and Mercedes decided that the G-class would remain in production.
So, if the GL was supposed to replace the G-Wagon, it should be pretty sharp in the 4×4 department, right? It is. The GL gets it all, courtesy of Merc’s Off-Road Pro package, which is standard. It gets the 4MATIC 4×4 system with 4ETS, the Airmatic air suspension which allows ground clearance of up to 307mm, low-range, and various electronic traction aids. It can certainly do off-road, and we know of a few that are used as overlanders.
In the cabin it is also state-of-the-art, with the latest passenger safety systems, all the luxuries, and electric this, and electric that.
The GL500 is powered by a naturally aspirated 5,5-litre V8 engine that delivers 285 kW and 530 Nm of torque. With a 0-100km/h time of 6,5 seconds, it may not be as quick as the ML63, but it is certainly fast enough for most mortals.
In short:
LW choice: GL500 7G-Tronic
Price: R1 013 000
Engine: 5,5-litre, V8
Power: 285 kW @ 6000r/min
Torque: 530 Nm @ 2800r/min
Economy: 15,2 litres/100km
Off-road: Any time, any place
Maintenance plan: Six years/120 000km
Porsche Cayenne
In the late Nineties, the sportscar marketplace was a tough one. Porsche needed to move with the times, or become “the marketing department for some giant automaker”, as the then newly appointed bossman Wendelin Wiedeking is famously quoted as stating.
Shock and horror from some Porsche purists followed after the company announced it will be producing? an SUV. But Wiedeking was clearly a visionary. Today the highly successful Cayenne is hailed by some as the vehicle that turned Porsche’s fortunes around.
The latest Cayenne, launched earlier this year, boasts a more modern jacket, and looks more “Porsche” than the original model. But the Cayenne still blends luxury, technology (like a new 8-speed auto gearbox!), pukka 4×4 abilities, performance and the revered “Porsche” image into one versatile package. It can transport a pack of kids, tow the horsebox, and it can chase the horizon and tackle the twisties like a sportscar.
Talking about sportscar: the Cayenne Turbo is exactly that, in the shape of an SUV. It’s twin turbocharged V8 engine has 368 kW and 700Nm of torque. It will reach a top speed of 280km/h, and go from 0-100km/h in 4,7 seconds. This is definitely? a Porsche!
In short:
LW choice: Turbo Tiptronic
Price: R1 430 000
Engine: 4,8-litre, V8, twin-turbo
Power: 368 kW @ 6000r/min
Torque: 700 Nm @ 2250r/min
Economy: 15 litres/100km
Off-road: It can, but we’d rather not
Maintenance plan: Three years/90 000km