Bosch European Motors

I drove the 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged LWB last week around New York, and I have nothing to report. No arguments with garage attendants over whether or not they 鈥渉ave room鈥?to keep the big rig for the weekend. No inter-car gestures with highway rowdies about who cut off whom on a blind spot along the FDR Drive. No sweat involving the long-shot parallel park. It鈥檚 a real problem when you鈥檙e trying to write a car review. It鈥檚 also admirable, considering that this Rover is an expensive tank. The LWB on this Range Rover stands for 鈥渓ong wheel base,鈥?123 inches long to be exact鈥?0 inches longer than a Porsche Cayenne. It鈥檚 very nearly as heavy as the 5,800-poundCadillac Escalade, which is the largest in the class. In fact, its rectangular body lines are about as low-key as you鈥檒l get in a six-figure SUV, depending on the color combinations you choose (mine was 鈥淐auseway Grey鈥?outside, with an ebony interior and trim). Its well-tightened chassis and instantaneous steering response make driving it less about elbowing a bull around a china shop than about smoking those truck drivers eyeballing you from across the stoplight. 115,000 Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

If you鈥檙e looking for something that can hold its own around a racetrack but won鈥檛 embarrass you on a muddy overland expedition, this鈥檒l do. Sure, those others will do, too鈥攁nd well. Pumping through its eight-speed paddle-shifters feels like commanding a heavy souped-up speedboat. You hear the power initiate in the center of the machine then feel it propel everything forward. If there鈥檚 one thing you can say about the Range Rover Supercharged, it鈥檚 that it instills supreme confidence among its drivers. One of the things I like most about the Rover Supercharged is that from behind the wheel I felt incredibly protected. The car comes standard with front, side, and head curtain airbags, side-door impact beams, power-operated child locks on all doors and windows, front and rear park distance control, rear view cameras, and an anti-trip feature on the windows and sunroof. Failing all that, the 24-hour Land Rover road recovery service comes included.

It has permanent four-wheel drive and hill-descent control, which I found particularly useful on some of the steeper inclines in the East Village's more hidden parking garages. You probably won鈥檛 much notice the enhanced air suspension system with multiple modes (access, standard, off-road, and extended height) in city driving, but it鈥檚 a bonus that places this SUV in off-road-capable territory, despite its luxury pedigree. There鈥檙e plenty of other fun things to get, too. You might as well go all-in. 1,560, you get a Driver Assist package that includes a lane departure warning system that can identify street signs, along with a system specifically developed for flawless parallel parking. These run just slightly more expensive than the options you鈥檇 find in some of the aforementioned competitors, but I recommend getting them because otherwise, the interior of the Rover can seem a bit stark. Plus it completes the idea that when you drive this thing, you鈥檙e untouchable. 63,000 Range Rover Sport. You spend the extra dough on this version for the extra space, not for anything particularly exclusive behind the wheel. That said, it has the well-made feel of maximum, premium utility. I loved using those tailgates. They open up to an enormous trunk space adequate for weeks' worth of jet set caliber luggage, but they also allow for civilized living (nothing so crass as slamming the trunk here). Plus, they鈥檙e beautiful to watch operate. I loaded a massive cow-hide into mine. It鈥檚 a long story. Those doors say a lot about the nature of this bull, come to think of it. The Range Rover Supercharged is big and bulky, yes, but it has an innate grace. It remembers its manners.

These days even economy cars have gotten into the premium act, offering high end trim levels that push price - and luxury - to a higher point than was available in the past. The most comfortable economy cars sometimes carry a window sticker that is on par with larger automobiles, but they still offer the fuel mileage advantage associated with their entry-level companions. In fact, these comfort-oriented editions of economy cars are often blessed with the best combination of power and efficiency under the hood, boasting technologies that aren't available on base models. Let's take a quick look at 10 of the most comfortable economy cars available for 2015 and see what they have to offer. The 2015 Volkswagen Golf SEL represents the top trim level for the completely-redesigned compact hatchback. The most comfortable trim level for the 2015 Hyundai Elantra sedan is the Limited, which avoids the stiff suspension system of the Sport model and adds features such as heated seats front and rear and the Blue Link telematics system.