Lamborghini Urus Off-Road Review

When any super car manufacturer launches an SUV or off-road vehicle, it’s met with mixed reactions from the shooting community. It’ll either be too flash or not good enough off-road and sometimes, both have been correct. It would be fair to say that I thought both of these when I saw that the incredible brand of Lamborghini had brought out the Urus. However, the proof is in the pudding, so we put the new Lamborghini Urus to the test in Ayrshire’s very wet countryside over two shoot days in December.

I’ll get straight to the point, I think this car is incredible, and I’ll explain why. Last year I tested the Bentley Bentayga. It was a lovely car, but it sits in an interesting place in the market because let’s be honest, as shooting people, we compare everything back to the Range Rover. The Bentayga is luxurious in every sense of the word, no expense was spared in providing extreme comfort with amazing amounts of power. The Bentayga blends in though, it could be prettier and add some wow factor. Interestingly, it’s a similar price to the Lamborghini so in theory, they’re up against each other.

The Urus is in a league of its own. A whole new category. SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) does not do this car justice, it’s the first super car SUV and the World's most powerful. It’s therefore the first car in the SSUV category, in my opinion.

The Lamborghini Urus has a 4-litre twin-turbo V8, the same as the Bentayga, but this has been ‘Lamborghinified’ and puts out 650 hp vs the Range Rover SVR's 575hp and the Bentayga's 550hp. You can make your own mind up from the photos but it’s no tame tiger like the Bentayga, this is a tiger on the prowl. I didn’t open the bonnet to check but I’m sure there was one in there. From the moment you start the engine, you realise what you’re dealing with. The setup is essentially built for race mode, the steering wheel looks like it’s come out of a Le Mans car and the mode selectors have been stolen from a fighter jet. The intention of this car is totally different to any of its ‘competitors’.

The Urus isn’t even trying to be super luxurious, but it is. It knows that if you’re going for all out comfort and you’ve only ever drunk vintage claret, it is probably not for you. However, if you’ve got a bit of teenager in you and you equally prefer a super-Tuscan red, the Urus is longing to be your friend. It’s got all the gismos you’d expect but replaces chrome and mahogany with Alcantara and carbon fibre, yet it will adapt to any situation you need.

The Urus’ default ‘Strada’ setting is perfect for everyday use. It’s got grunt when you need it but utilises it’s 8 speed gearbox to maximum effect so that you don’t turn every head in the high street when leaving the traffic lights. Flick it into Sport mode though and the interior lighting changes colour, the dashboard layout switches to race mode and the car turns into a different animal altogether. An animal that can do 0-60 in 3.6 seconds! It’s at this point you realise that if you put your foot flat on the floor, you’ll be in the hedge. Driving through the Scottish mountains and their winding roads was a dream, momentary fits of laughter in disbelief erupted from my mates in the car as it clung to the road like it was on rails. The purr of the engine and beautiful exhaust system take the car to another level, at higher revs it screams and in mid gears at lower revs, it grunts with insane amounts of torque, 850Nm of torque to be precise. Again, far more than its nearest competitors, the Range Rover SVR with 700Nm and Bentley Bentayga with 770Nm of torque.

The big question remaining is whether Lamborghini can produce an off-road vehicle? Most shoots will struggle to test a car to its full off-road capability, but the first issue will often be ground clearance. The Urus has 4 different settings, much like the Range Rover or any other luxury off road vehicle, but each can be personalised and then there’s the ‘Ego’ mode to create your perfect driving setup - specific to your grouse moor if you like! The suspension range is vast, see the pictures below for proof. It isn't automatically adaptive like the Bentayga but when it's on the highest setting, you’ve got as much clearance as you’ll need, and along with the auto hill descent and incredible computer system behind, it will do the rest. Ayrshire’s hills and wet countryside threw a lot at the Urus but it didn’t miss a beat. The rest of the team were sceptical, but all were surprised, that said a lot to me.

As it’s an SUV, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask about the boot too. It had a lot of space, enough to fit three guns in their slips diagonally across, along with cartridges and other gear. The parcel shelf doesn’t raise with the boot so if you had more in there, I’d take it out and tint the rear window for security.

Finally, how does the Urus compare to the Range Rover? It doesn't, it's in a different league. Yes, it’s £180k rather than £110k and it’s more compact inside but the Lamborghini has an impressive amount of space all things considered. In the very worst off-road conditions, the Range Rover might be preferable, but they’re rare. Having hopped from the Urus into a Range Rover, the latter is like driving a block of flats compared to this. Therefore, if your usual place is in the back seats with Gieves in the front, stick with the Range Rover, however, if you’re often behind the wheel, I promise, you’ll love this thing. It’s simply unbelievable.

Photos taken by Stock & Barrel Media