At 80-plus inches wide, the Rover kisses paint on either side of these narrow business district lanes. For once, my upbringing in an old East Coast town pays dividends, and the Range Rover’s myriad electronic whiskers were surprisingly tolerant of my comfort with putting bits of the car just an inch or two from 400-year-old stonework. Nary a curb was kissed.
The transition to farmland and industrial space happens abruptly. There’s no step down to the vast sprawl we’re used to outside American urban centers, just a snap cut from multistory commie-style blocks built atop single-story parking shelters to virtual emptiness. It’s dry — uncommonly so, locals and frequent visitors tell us. Our safety briefing included a note to avoid parking on or near patches of grass when venturing off the route in search of photo backdrops.
The lanes in Spain may cause a wider SUV pain, but the asphalt itself is blissfully smooth. This spared the 23-inch wheels from putting a foot wrong and let the Range Rover Sport’s air suspension positively shine. Sure, this may have been easy mode for the big SUV but I’m still inclined to give it excellent marks for ride quality.
Sure, this thing can wheel; but even with its multitude of cameras, the guides on hand to direct us through the trickier bits were the only true guarantee that we didn’t mar the Sport’s pretty red finish. And despite its performance in this highly controlled scenario, this combination of 23-inch wheels and rubber band tires would be the first to go if anything like this might be a regular encounter.