The 2025 Range Rover Autobiography blends first-class luxury with serious off-road credentials.
With a twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet, limousine-level ride quality and cutting-edge tech, it’s as comfortable crossing the Nullarbor as it is cruising Collins Street.
While few owners will point one towards the Canning Stock Route, the hardware – triple locking diffs, dual-range transfer case, height-adjustable suspension and a 900mm wading depth – is all there.
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But low profile tyres and a less than stellar reputation for reliability make the top-shelf Rangie a tough sell to serious off-road adventurers.
Still, it’s worth a look at what the top end of town has access to in the way of 4WD opulence.
Range Rover Autobiography: Price and equipment
There was a time when a Range Rover was a single luxury model, the first of its luxury breed.
These days, that original luxury SUV is now a family. And while there’s a Range Rover Evoque (small), Velar (sleeker and sportier) and Sport (err, still sporty but also practical) it’s the plain old Range Rover that tops the family tree.
It still wears those familiar Land Rover badges but is never really referred to as a Land Rover.
Life at the top doesn’t come cheap and the (big) Range Rover kicks off at $258,489 plus on-road costs for the D350 HSE (the alpha-numeric combo denotes petrol or diesel and how much horsepower it punches out, followed by the trim level).
Step up to the V8-powered P530 and it starts at $290,338 plus on-roads for the HSE.
The Autobiography model we sampled is $331,434 plus ORCs, to which you can add a third row of seats ($339,314 plus ORCs) or a longer wheelbase for more luxurious five-seat legroom ($337,614 plus ORCs).
If you want more then Land Rover can deliver with the P615 (a more powerful, sportier V8) that sells for up to $443,436 plus ORCs.
There’s even a Bespoke Orpheus Edition ($533,670 plus ORCs) to really take you into uber luxury territory.
Obvious rivals include the Bentley Bentayga, Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, Mercedes-Benz GLS, Lexus LX, BMW X7 and Audi Q7.
Land Rover would argue none match the off-road nous matched with top-end luxury that the Range Rover has refined over more than half a century.
The Autobiography comes packed with all the trimmings you’d find in a top-shelf limousine.
Standard equipment includes 22-inch alloy wheels, smart key entry, adjustable height air suspension with adaptive dampers, four-wheel steering, matrix LED headlights, doors that suck themselves closed, power adjustable steering wheel, heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, electrically adjustable front seats (with memory settings for outboard seats), heated and cooled front seats, electrically folding rear arm rest, four-zone climate control, powered tailgate, powered luggage cover and a thumping 35-speaker Meridian sound system.
A curved 13.1-inch touchscreen sets the scene and dominates the minimalist dash that otherwise lets natural materials reinforce the luxury story.
It incorporates wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the screen layout packing in more apps that usual.
There’s also a head-up display and digital instrument cluster.
Ours was also fitted with optional 11.4-inch rear infotainment screens ($6850) that include headphones and a pair of HDMI ports in the centre console to allow devices to send data to them (integrating YouTube and other streaming services seems to make more sense).
Another option fitted to ours was the AC power outlet that allows you to juice up household items.
The Meridian Signature sound system is also worth a mention. It incorporates 34 regular speakers – including speakers in the roof – and a subwoofer for crisp, clear 3D sound. There’s “cabin correction” and noise cancelling as well as “Meridian Digital Dither Shaping” designed to deliver a more natural sound.
The Range Rover also has over-the-air software functionality and a connected app to monitor the car remotely.
The leather is the real deal (and seriously sumptuous) as is the wood and splashes of metallic highlights.
There’s also no shortage of electric assistance to everything, from the seat adjustment front and rear to the central arm rest and split tailgate. An electric sun blind for the roof teams with electrically retracting side blinds to ensure you won’t have to exert yourself to get privacy. Each of the door handles also retracts flush to the body.
There’s also a full-size spare wheel.
As with most cars at this rarefied end of the luxury market there’s a plethora of options and the ability to tailor and customise everything from exterior colours and wheels to the leather and roof lining.
You can choose a fridge for the centre console and a “Tailgate Event Suite” that adds leather cushions, speakers and lighting to the fold-down tailgate.
Ours was also fitted with 23-inch alloy wheels and massaging outboard seats (four in total) and electrically adjustable rear seats with memory buttons.
The Range Rover also has the first five years or 130,000km of servicing included. Servicing is condition based so intervals are variable depending on how the car is driven.
It is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.
Range Rover Autobiography: Under the bonnet
The latest Range Rover is available with diesel engines and for those looking to hit the open road they’re the logical choice.
But our P530 model was fitted with a 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 marketed as “Ingenium” but supplied by BMW. It’s matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission constantly driving all four wheels.
There’s mild hybrid assistance to help lower fuel use, although clearly the focus here is on performance and luxury refinement.
The engine pumps out a heady 390kW and is backed by 750Nm of torque, the latter produced from as low as 2000rpm.
It’s claimed to reach 100km/h in 4.6 seconds on the way to a top speed of 250km/h.
Range Rover Autobiography: On the road
Starting the engine of the Range Rover Autobiography gives you an idea of what to expect.
There’s barely a rumble, the silky smooth V8 gently waking with a refined thrum.
It’s impressively quiet and beautifully refined, which is all in keeping with the air of luxury. The stop-start system is seamless when it shuts things down when stationary.
There’s no shortage of thrust, either.
For a car eclipsing 2.5 tonnes (2510kg to be precise) the P530 leaps enthusiastically.
There’s stout pulling power across the rev range and the V8 synchronises nicely with the eight-speed auto.
Yet while it’s loaded with grunt it goes against the grain of what the Range Rover is all about: wispy luxury.
It’s the sort of car that encourages you to drive it gently and enjoy the serenity, right down to the very quiet cabin.
Speaking of which, the air suspension is beautifully supple. Even on low profile tyres it smothers all but the sharpest bumps.
It leans more than your average limo through corners, at least in Comfort mode.
You can dial up Dynamic mode to sharpen things up and tighten the steering, but that also seems to go against the whole ethos of its relaxed nature.
At least it demonstrates that the car is ultimately impressively well sorted on the road, something it backs up with top-shelf comfort.
Four-wheel steering also helps with around town manoeuvrability. Tight carparks and narrow streets are that little bit easier courtesy of the all-wheel steering system.
Range Rover Autobiography: Off-road
Yes, the Range Rover Autobiography can go off-road, but would you?
We’re guessing the closest most will get to mud will be the carpark at Flemington Race Course or the polo. Or possibly the gravel driveway to the hobby farm.
We’re not expecting to see many pounding a path to Cape York or trudging up Big Red.
Still, it’s got the hardware – and software – to make rough road life easier.
It starts with a dual-range transfer case and three locking differentials.
The Range Rover also has some tricky software, including what controls the electronically locking differentials. They cleverly lock and unlock automatically, allowing the extra traction when locked without the cornering compromises od traditional lockers when you need to turn.
There’s also a selection of pre-programmed off-road modes – Auto, Comfort, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl and Wade – that tailor everything from the traction control and throttle response to when the differentials locks and the steering feel. It’ll also adjust the ride comfort.
There are also four configurable drive modes that allow people to set their own drive modes.
Kudos to Land Rover for giving owners that level of detail, but we can’t imagine too many wanting any more adjustments than what the pre-programmed modes already offer.
As for the more serious off-road credentials, the Range Rover has an approach angle of 26.1 degrees and a departure angle of 24.5 degrees. The ramp over angle is 21.4 degrees.
The ground clearance in regular mode is 219mm but that stretches to a towering 295mm when in its highest off-road setting. And in that max off-road mode the angle also get more aggressive; approach and departure angles are 34.7 degrees and 29.0 degrees.
It can also wade through up to 900mm of water.
So, how does all that stack up off-road?
No idea… I didn’t dare take such SUV extravagance beyond the black-top.
Range Rover Autobiography: Towing and load capacity
The Range Rover is rated to tow 3.5 tonnes (plug-in hybrid models top out at three tonnes).
The 3380kg gross vehicle mass leaves it with a generous payload of 870kg.
Even better is that the gross combination mass (the weight of the car, trailer and everything in them) is 6880kg. That means you can tow a 3.5 tonne trailer and still have up to 870kg to play with. That said, you need to account for the towball downweight; the 350kg pushing down on the back of the car counts as payload, so reduces what you can carry to a still-useful 520kg.
It makes it a useful device for those who need to haul heavy loads.
Range Rover Autobiography: The verdict
The Range Rover Autobiography has morphed from a luxurious off-roader into a limousine that happens to be an SUV.
It’s also a car that now competes with the likes of the Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLS for SUV supremacy. To some extent the big Rangie is also locking bumpers with things such as the Bentley Bentayga and Aston Martin DBX.
If it’s a limo you’re chasing then the Rangie is a brilliant way to do it in high-riding style.
It’s an accomplished car to drive, too – on-road, at least – with a sumptuous ride and luxury oozing from every pore and pixel.
There’s the occasional misstep, such as the touchscreen that’s trying to do too much and the off-road ability that seems to have been included more in spirit rather than because owners will genuinely want to get their mega SUV bounding over boulders.
There’s something else that needs to be tabled: reliability.
Land Rovers have a reputation for failing to function, something that can get expensive once the warranty has ended.
And there’s a lot that can go wrong in the latest Range Rover.
That said, it’s a beautiful and opulent car when new and a reputation for solid residuals means it’s likely to be worth more than your average limousine a few years down the track. And it well and truly takes the luxury SUV fight to arguably bigger names in the luxury sphere.
Score: 8/10
The good
- Genuine limousine luxury in a distinctive SUV body
- Dizzying array of options and customisation allows you to tailor it exactly to your liking
- Immensely capable driving experience that beautifully nails the luxury brief
- Serious off-road hardware and software for challenging conditions
The bad
- It’s crazy expensive and options can quickly add up
- Road-focused tyres and delicate finishes limit extreme off-road practicality
- Land Rover’s reputation for reliability makes remote touring less enticing
Range Rover Autobiography P530 price and specifications
Price: $331,434 plus on-road costs
Body: Large SUV
Engine/drivetrain: 4.4-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol
Power: 390kW
Torque: 750Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
4WD system: Full-time with dual-range transfer case
Tyres: 285/40 R23 (optional tyres; standard: 285/45 R22)
Ground clearance: 219-295mm
Approach/departure/rampover angles: 26.1/24.5/21.4 degrees
Weight: 2510kg
Gross vehicle mass: 3380kg
Payload: 870kg
Tow capacity: 3500kg
Gross combination mass: 6880kg
Fuel consumption: 11.1L/100km
Fuel tank capacity: 90L
Expected real-world fuel range: 579km
