Specifications: 1972 Range Rover

Steering:

The first and original Range Rover was considered by some to be British Leylands first major venture into creating a sports car - even though it was a 4 x 4 - and a very capable one at that. The brochure that accompanied the launch described it as a five-seat estate car. That was true, but it was also true that the Range Rover represented a performance vehicle that had created its very own niche, and really had no competition. The ride quality of the Range Rover was very close to that of expensive sedans - and some argued, with some justification, that it was superior to most sports cars and high performance GT machinery then on the road.

In their brochures Land-Rover tried to define the Range Rover:

1. "It is a seven-days-a-week luxury motor car for all business, social and domestic purposes."
2. "It is a leisure vehicle that will range far and wide on the highways and noways of the world in pursuit of its owner's activities and interests."
3. "It is a high-performance car for long distance travel in the grand manner."
4. "It is a working cross-country vehicle with a payload capacity of 1200 lb."

Unlike utalitarian 4 x 4's of the past, the Range Rovers ride was soft and progressive - and the long Coil Springs and hydraulic shockers at all four corners soaked up bumps and undulations. What really set the Range Rover head and shoulders above the competition was that, unlike most 4x4 vehicles, it never developed chop, and undulating bitumen didn't generate a harmonic pitch. The suspension flattened the worst road conditions. It was a miracle that the BL engineers managed to prove that a double beam-axle set-up could produce as smooth a ride as a good full-Independent system, providing the suspension engineeering was sufficiently advanced.

Somehow the engineers managed to get the beam axles, front and rear, to maintain the cab at a level rate. The extra-long Coil Springs gave a tremendous range of travel, and used a lot of their travel length even on minor bumps. Hydraulic shockers controlled the spring movements to ensure the recoil was minimal. Rover have did an excellent job of tuning the seat springs to a different frequency from the road wheels. The big front buckets were firm, but generously foam padded, and their "spring rate" was set to further isolate the occupants from road reaction. If a particularly nasty pothole did make its presence felt on the suspension, you might haved heard it - but it was unlikely that you would feel it.

The brilliant cabin isolated you from the road noise better than any other 4 wheel drive, and better than many family cars could manage. With all the windows up tight, the Range Rover cruised almost noiselessly at 90mph. The wind noise was the loudest, there was some mechanical noise, but little from the transmission, the differentials or the chunky Town and Country radials. It was all insulated out of the cockpit. The layout of the interior was brilliant. It combined the ultimate in simplicity with good appearance, practicality and comfort. The front bucket seats were high and comfortable with a wide range of fore/aft adjustment plus plenty of rake provision in the squab.

The lap-sash seat belt was built into the seat - a very advanced design for the time, in fact the Range Rover was the first car to have integrated seat belts which complied with the stringent world-wide safety demands. The belt was easy to fit and adjust and it stayed firm. The tail of the strap dropped out of the way to the centre. Any length of driver could get a comfortable arms reach to the semi-flat three-spoke sporty-looking steering wheel. The major controls were perfectly positioned. The lever to shift slots was in the centre of the big transmission hump and moved firmly through a broadly-spaced gate that took little adjustment to master. Shifts were firm and notchy - not fast, but impossible to mess up.

Salisbury Powr-Lok Limited Slip Differential

Normally the vehicle would be left in high range, which was still four-wheel-drive, but allowed an easy 90mph without straining the mechanicals. Selecting L (there was also a neutral position) pulled in the lower five slots, but this was strictly for serious off road work, as in first gear, low range managed a maximum 6mph. If you had left the Range Rover in 2WD for a little too long and the vehicle was losing traction, you could hit a vacuum-operated diff lock which threw-out the third differential (a Salisbury Powr-Lok limited slip differential mounted in the transfer case) to give maximum traction through the differentials mounted on the two axles.

The foot-pedals were well-placed, and the clutch suprisingly not too heavy. Inside the main instruments were housed in a large stand-up binnacle, which contained the speedometer, minor gauge; temp. and a strip of warning lights. The radio was housed r on the right side of the wheel and the choke was mounted on a pod below it. The visibility was exceptional on all-counts - however some road testers found that the windscreen level outlets for the ventilation system were not up to the job here in Australia, so they must have been dismal in colder climates - apparently they took a long time to etch early morning snow-country misting from the driver's side of the screen and left a big blind spot up the right of the screen.

Fresh air ventilation was brilliant for the time, and was supplemented by gigantic opening front quarter vents. The through-flow system could also be closed at the extractors - a god send when driving through the bull dust in Outback Australia, of for those wise enough to install an air-conditioner. The passenger gets the same seat accommodation as the driver — although a head rest should be added to the second front bucket at least. There was a centrally-placed ashtray, (no cigar lighter) big lockable fold-down glovebox and large open dashboard recess for oddbits. However there was a general shortage of storage compartments in an interior that had ample space to accommodate them.

The all-cream interior with heavy quality seat material, door lining and dash covering was impressive for its appearance of quality finish. Access to the rear seats was gained by tilting the front buckets forward, and four people could fit comfortably abreast on the Range Rovers big bench - seat belts were provided for three. The legroom was vast in both front and rear compartments. The rear luggage compartment was station-wagon style accommodation with two-piece tail-gate. The upper all-glass section swung away effortlessly on telescopic hydraulic arms, and the lower section was one of the only all-steel panels on the car (for extra strength). The entire back seat assembly swung forward, then hinged on its front edge to provide a massive extension to the luggage compartment with its own forward luggage barrier. With 59 cu ft of luggage space and a maximum 1200lb payload, there was plenty of spage.

A self-energizing strut automatically pumped up to maintain a level ride, irrespective of the payload. The covered spare was placed vertically in the left rear corner of the compartment and a hydraulic jack and generous toolkit was provided. The detail thought evident in the Range Rover's engineering was impressive. The fuel filler incorporated an extension tube that slid out and locked into place for easy filling from jerrycans. This fitment incorporated a gauze filter to ensure only clean fuel went in, and the whole assembly could be detached for fast filling if required. But the Range Rover filled cleanly and quickly with the tube in place. The lock-on cap did not leak, even when the vehicle was at some crazy angles off road.

The door handles inside and out were brilliantly simple. The exterior latch was a big flap about 2in. wide and nearly 12in. deep on the trailing edge of the door. Inside, big firm plastic levers were incorporated with the comfortable arm-rests. All opening apertures were provided with firm, heavy-duty handles for easy operation. The only disappointing note on the first iteration of the Range Rover was its non-counterbalanced bonnet, which was heavy, awkward to operate because of the height of the vehicle and held-up by a simple and underwhelming steel rod. But why mention such a seeming minor issue? Because any review would not be worth the web page it is written on unless it named the good AND the bad. In the case of the Range Rover, there was very little bad to report on.

Also see: Land Rover Reviews