Range Rover 2023 review: Autobiography LWB 7-seat

The Autobiography sits high in the Range Rover line-up and only the SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) models command higher prices.

Our Range Rover Autobiography was the long-wheelbase with the twin-turbo petrol V8 engine and has a list price of $312,193.

The standard features include retractable door handles with a proximity key, the LED headlights and tail-lights, a power tailgate and the panoramic sunroof.

The LWB 7 seat Range Rover Autobiography wears a price tag of $312,193. (Image: Dean McCartney)

Inside, 'Caraway' perforated semi-aniline leather seats are standard, too. So is a 13.1-inch screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus sat nav. There’s a fully digital driver display, a head-up display, wireless phone charging, and a Meridian 'Signature' sound system.

Four-zone climate control is standard and will keep the kids comfortable in the back, while the sun shades will project them from that giant fireball in the sky. 

Up front there are heated and cooled seats which also massage, while the outboard rear seats are heated and power adjustable.

Upfront is 13.1-inch multimedia screen and fully digital driver display. (Image: Dean McCartney)

Our Autobiography was the seven-seater and it’s only about $1600 more than the five-seat version.

Ours had a few options fitted - there are the 23-inch wheels, the standard alloys are 22-inch, there’s also the black contrasting roof and the privacy glass which is so dark it’s almost impossible to look in. 

All up the total list price for ours came to $318,603.

Range Rovers have been a family favourite for decades and they’ve been doing school runs and trips away long before other brands even thought about producing SUVs for families.

So what you’re buying is Land Rover’s decades of knowing how to make a family SUV and you can tell by little things such as, how wide the doors open, how easy it is to get in and out of (even for little kids), the flat floor, the good visibility (thanks to low window sills), and then there’s the space and cabin storage. Stuff other brands seem to be still working out.

The second row seats in the Autobiography have electric sun shades, dual-zone climate control and the window seats are power adjustable and heated.

My eight-year old couldn’t resist playing with his electric sunshade and the seat adjustment, but fortunately the driver has an override switch which let me turn off his 'seat privileges’ as he called it. 

Being the long wheelbase means the rear doors are long and heavy. So while the eight-year old could open them, he had trouble closing them. 

The long wheelbase offers unrivalled legroom in the back and that meant my wife and I could put our own seats back further for our own comfort -even with a baby seat behind us.

Enormous door pockets, a giant centre console storage area, cupholders in all three rows, USB ports, wireless phone charging and in our case an optional domestic power outlet ($130) made this a comfortable, roomy, well equipped cabin.

Sure, the third row isn’t exactly spacious, but I’ve never met one that is. 

The intelligent seat folding system is remarkable. From the boot or side doors you can electronically adjust the second and third rows - either to raise them or lower them so they are flat for storage.

With all seats in place there is 229 litres of cargo space still left in the boot, but with those back seats folded flat you have 713 litres of capacity - and that’s just up to the cargo cover. 

The Range Rover Autobiography has air suspension and this means the SUV can lower itself to an 'Access' height to make it even easier to get in and out.

The 4.4-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 is a perfect match for the Range Rover Autobiography.

There’s enormous power at 390kW and a colossal 750Nm of torque, but it’s delivered so smoothly and without sounding like Armageddon is beginning.

You might here the engine referred to as the P530. That signifies it’s petrol and makes about 530 horsepower. 

The Range Rover Autobiography cranks out a whopping 390kW of power and 750Nm of torque. (Image: Dean McCartney)

All that grunt means that despite weighing more than 2.7 tonnes, this SUV can hurl itself from a stand still to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. 

An eight-speed automatic sends the drive to all four wheels. And making this SUV incredibly capable off-road is an excellent four-wheel drive system with a low range gear, plus a maximum ground clearance (thanks to the adjustable air suspension) of 283mm and a wading depth of up to 900mm.

There is a six-cylinder diesel, but if you decide on that instead of the V8 then it's all over between you and me. That’s how good this V8 is.

Now, you’re going to use a lot of fuel. But that’s okay because this will probably be your last petrol car and the next one will be electric so let’s go out with a bang - last drinks at the petrol bar! Land Rover says you’ll use 11.8L/100km.

After a week of punishing my Range Rover with school drop offs, shopping centre car parks, hilly suburbs, motorways and rural roads the petrol pump told me we’d used 19.8L/100km.

I’m not shocked by that consumption. This is a 2.7 tonne all-wheel drive twin-turbo V8 SUV that was almost always ferrying around four people with a pram, garden supplies and shopping in bumper to bumper traffic. A real world fuel test. 

There is that six-cylinder diesel and a hybrid version of the Range Rover, but this V8 engine suits the character of the SUV perfectly - anything else and it’s like eating reduced fat ice cream.

Land Rover says the Autobiography will use 11.8L/100km of fuel. (Image: Dean McCartney)

The Range Rover was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2022.

For second-row child occupant protection the Range Rover scored a high 86 per cent in frontal and side impacts.

Standard safety tech includes AEB (junction and forward) with cyclists and pedestrian detection, there’s blind-spot warning, lane keeping assistance and rear cross-traffic alert, but no rear AEB.

For child seats there are ISOFIX mounts in the second row, and top tether anchor points in the second row and third rows.

Along with an entire suite of airbags it’s good to see a centre airbag up front and also head-covering curtain airbags all three rows.

The Range Rover has an ANCAP rating of five-stars (tested in 2022). (Image: Dean McCartney)