2014 Range Rover Sport handles all terrain (pictures)

Land Rover has been redesigning and modernizing its vehicles ever since new owner Tata took over. The Range Rover Sport follows the same pattern as last year's update to the standard Range Rover model, updating the vehicle's architecture and drivetrain choices.

The new Range Rover Sport fully lives up to Land Rover's legendary off-road capabilities.

Compared with the standard Range Rover, the Sport model has slightly smaller dimensions and a lower price. Its on-road capabilities are excellent, but it seems to lose nothing when it comes to off-road handling.

The Range Rover Sport comes standard with an air suspension, allowing individual control at each wheel.

The Sport has a narrower grille than its big brother.

The Mariana Black paint job on this example looks blue under certain lighting conditions.

The supercharged 5-liter V-8 under the hood is the more powerful engine option. The Range Rover Sport can also be had with a very capable supercharged V-6.

The exterior design of the Range Rover Sport hasn't changed much. The vehicle still looks like a tank.

A large sunroof includes an interior screen, useful for cutting out glare while allowing fresh air into the cabin.

The cargo area can be equipped with a third row, but the seating is very cramped. Land Rover calls it 5+2 seating.

Front-row seats are particularly comfortable, with very nice padded headrests.

Second-row seats offer good padding, but legroom can get tight.

Electric power steering is tuned well, leading to a natural feel, although heft is only nominal, making it easy to turn the wheel in most conditions.

A color display between the gauges shows vehicle information, from which doors are open to the status of off-road systems.

The eight-speed automatic transmission performs exceptionally well whether in Sport mode, taking turns at speed, or clawing along dirt tracks.

Cabin tech in the Range Rover Sport falls short of cutting-edge. The navigation system and other features handle the basics, but nothing more.

Among destination options, there is no online search option.

The Range Rover Sport offers some very nice audio systems, and a good range of modern, digital audio sources.

The playback screens don't show album cover art, merely listing track, album, and artist names.