2024 Land Rover Range Rover P530 7 Seater

The king of luxury SUVs now seats seven, and that changes a few things

We drove the new Range Rover before and concluded it was a worthy successor to the old king. Now the king also comes with seven seats, and that changes a few things. For the first time, the Range Rover is available as a seven-seater.

The long-wheelbase seven-seat layout

Seven seats always means the long-wheelbase body. The extra length adds 200 mm, all of it in the second row, and you spot a long-wheelbase car instantly by its longer rear doors. The seven-seat layout does limit your engine choices, more on that shortly.

Engine: the new twin-turbo V8

The Range Rover keeps familiar engine flavours, further developed, with the hybrids gaining more battery assistance for efficiency. But the seven-seater sacrifices the hybrid battery space for those extra seats, leaving diesel and petrol options. Our car runs the 530 hp V8, though the beloved 5.0-litre supercharged unit is gone, replaced by a 4.4-litre twin-turbo in a hot-V layout. Swapping the supercharger for turbos was logical: as much as we loved the old V8, it drank too much and emitted too much CO2. The proof is in the numbers. Where the old V8 in a similar car managed 14 l/100 km at best and 16 to 17 over a week, we saw the new one dip to 10 and average 11.5, a huge reduction. The twin-scroll turbos still spool fast, and the wave of torque really shoves you forward. We remain diesel fans in big SUVs, but this V8 is a fine choice for the right market.

Interior: opulent, and now with a third row

Inside, this seven-seat Autobiography adds a few things to an already sumptuous cabin. The infotainment gains individual seat controls, and you can drop all the rear seats at the touch of a button to reveal a vast 2,050-litre boot. Everything else is pure opulence: the finest leather, handcrafted stitching, the floating dashboard and console, and soft-touch materials throughout. Even the third row is genuinely spacious and comfortable, with its own plush heated seats.

Ride and handling: floats like an S-Class

The suspension is in a class of its own. We set off convinced it wore 21-inch wheels, so well did it ride over bumps big and small, only to find it had 23-inch rims. It floats elegantly, wafting like an S-Class, and while there is obvious body roll, it never pushes you out of your seat, thanks to active twin-valve Bilstein dampers that react in 12 milliseconds. The steering keeps the old car's magic through its big spoke, and the rear-wheel steering genuinely shrinks a car that is 5,250 mm long, this is no MINI. If a tight spot still catches you out, the high-definition cameras place it precisely, and Advanced Tow Assist helps with tricky reversing when towing.

Price and the one catch

The seven-seater adds real versatility while keeping all the quality and character you expect. In Europe it starts at €190,940, just €2,690 more than the short-wheelbase car, which is little for what you gain. The only real downside is that you cannot have it as a hybrid, which will send some buyers to the regular Range Rover in markets where hybrids are taxed more kindly than pure petrol.

AutoNext Verdict

The seven-seat Range Rover P530 is exactly what it should be: the king of luxury SUVs, now able to carry the whole family in the same serene, opulent style. The new twin-turbo V8 is far cleaner than the supercharged unit it replaces, the third row is genuinely usable, and the ride still wafts like nothing else in the class.

The one compromise is the lack of a hybrid option, which matters in tax-sensitive markets. But if you need seven seats and refuse to give up Range Rover magic, this is the answer, and for only a small premium over the standard car. Long live the king.