LONG LIVE THE RANGIE

As the Range Rover turns 50 this year, we look at what has made it an enduring success

- TUHIN GUHA

Unlike how many of these stories go, the high point in the Range Rover’s legacy wasn’t sometime in the past. It’s right now. The Range Rover is the definitive luxury SUV of our times. So much so that everyone from Aston Martin, through Mercedes-Benz to Rolls-Royce has in the past few years decided that they want in on its action.

So where does the appeal of the Rangie come from? And what has made it an enduring success for so long? Much of its current relevance can be attributed to a decision that, again surprisingly, didn’t have much to do with the Range Rover itself. The move to bring the Land Rover LRX concept to production as a Range Rover, the Evoque, in 2011 was an inspired one. It rejuvenated the brand and made it something that younger buyers aspired towards, if not for the heritage then for the stunning looks.