The base price is now a tad over £70,000 and it has its sights on Bentley and Rolls Royce, so you know that the new Range Rover is a serious lump of metal.

That price probably means its target audience has slimmed again. The Mk 4 seems exclusively reserved for country gents, chief execs, overpaid footballers, and the odd not-yet-in-jail drug dealer. But don’t let that put you off…

How is it to drive?

Range Rover has always tried to offer the best of both worlds – on-road comfort and off-road competence – and it still ticks both of these boxes easily. Air-sprung suspension irons out the crinkles along winding B-roads, although hitting a pothole can be a bone-shuddering experience.

It’s still built like an outhouse, but pinned-back wing mirrors and a sharper windscreen make it the most aerodynamic Rangey yet. It has also shed 420kg, thanks to the switch to an all-aluminium frame, but only feels marginally lighter and more agile on the move.

Engine options

New to the line-up is a V6. The baby of the bunch, the three-litre 258hp diesel still has more than enough to pull 3.5t on the hook. And because it has been on the sort of weight loss programme Vanessa Feltz would be keen to endorse, the six cylinders offer the same performance as the old V8.

The line-up also includes a 510hp, 5-litre supercharged monster, a 375hp petrol and a 4.4-litre, 339hp diesel. Thirst-wise, it’s not too far behind its peers – after a day of mixed driving our V6 tallied close to 30mpg.

Transmission

Range Rover has enlisted the help of ZF to fine-tune the eight-speed auto. Changes are faint and well-blurred even when you put the pedal to the metal and the rpm needle into the red zone.

Off road, Land Rover’s automatic terrain response system makes off-roading almost idiot-proof.