And that last point, of course, is crucial for a road trip. I started later
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| Heated seats, dual-zone temperature, and six CDs in the changer. Perfect. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
than I had hoped, not unusual for me mind you, but I didn't want to end up in the middle of a snowstorm after sunset. Road tunes were in order, but only after setting the automatic climate control to that optimal temperature that keeps all extremities comfortable but doesn't lull a driver to sleep - different in almost every car, as I've learned. Heated seat set to high, via a crafty set of two-mode buttons incorporated within the centre of each dual-side temperature dial, I pulled six of my favourite CDs out of their cases and slotted them into the CD changer one by one, and proceeded to wake up my senses to "China Grove", the first track on the "Best of the Doobies" album - yes, I'm a boomer, can you tell?
The road from my North Shore home, over the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, originally called the Second Narrows Bridge (renamed in 1994 to honour the 27 workers who lost their lives on June 17, 1958 during its construction), through the outer reaches of East Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and then over the Port Mann Bridge into Surrey and beyond
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| The Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, in all its glory. (Photo: Port of Vancouver) |
to Langley, Aldergrove, and the rest of the "cities" that just seem to blend into what we all simply call the Valley; one of the richest tracts of rainforest-nurtured farmland in the world. I've driven it hundreds of times, mind you, so the splendor of the region is most often lost on me, my sole thought at the time being how to maximize time so that I might arrive at my client's office with enough time in hand to meet them face-to-face for the first time, learn a little bit more about their business, and then join them for dinner.
While driving a luxury car along this stretch of freeway, such as
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| The 390 horsepower supercharged V8 provides instant throttle response. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
the Jaguar XKR that the aforementioned dealership just happened to have on display in its showroom the day before, would no doubt offer greater comfort thanks to a more compliant suspension setup, and would be capable of higher speeds despite being equipped with what is very nearly the same supercharged 4.2-litre engine - the Sport "making do" with 390-horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque while the XJR V8 puts out a slightly more engaging 400-horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque - I wasn't held back by the Land Rover. Once up to speed its 80 km/h-plus passing
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| Under that hood is some serious passing power. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
power found no rivals, or at least none that were willing to try. Of course, there are a number of super-SUVs that can take the Sport Supercharged in acceleration tests, and others that will outperform it in the corners, but I don't think that Land Rover created it to be the world's fastest SUV anyway. Let Porsche and its
Cayenne Turbo, plus Dodge and the
Grand Cherokee SRT8 fight that battle. Only the former is capable off-road, and there's a pretty sound argument among SUV enthusiasts that neither vehicle looks as attractive as the Sport, or for that matter is executed to such a high level of style and refinement inside the cabin.
