Lamborghini Urus review

A Lamborghini SUV? Really? Well, yes, and actually, the Lamborghini Urus isn’t the Italian firm’s first, either. That was the LM002 launched back in the mid-Eighties, which had the power, but not the handling to go with it, preferring to be off-road instead.

The Lamborghini Urus, on the other hand, is very much a road machine. It gets a 650hp V8 petrol engine, meaning a sprint from a standstill to 62mph takes just 3.6sec. In fact, that makes it one of the fastest SUVs on sale. It’ll also reach 190mph if you’ve got the space – and courage.

It comes with adjustable air-suspension as standard, allowing you to raise and lower it as well as stiffen the suspension for better cornering. However, if you’re looking for a performance SUV that’ll handle life away from the Tarmac with ease, you’re better off looking at a Range Rover Sport SVR, which has better ground clearance and far more advanced off-road gadgetry. Still, the Lamborghini Urus will do more than most people need off-road: the majority of these performance SUVs might scale the kerb outside The Dorchester hotel or cross the training ground car park but that’s about it.

No, on road is where it matters, and the combination of spongy air suspension and a slick eight-speed should help comfort, while six different driving modes, active anti-roll bars and four-wheel steering are designed to make the Lamborghini Urus feel more nimble than its near-2.2 tonne kerbweight suggests.

Manufacturers like Porsche and Bentley have proved that high-end SUVs sell like hot cakes and fund their performance car projects, so the Urus comes at a good time

And inside the Lamborghini Urus very much benefits from Lamborghini’s association with the Volkswagen Group. There’s a suitably lavish interior and a twin-screen infotainment system a bit like the one you’ll find in an Audi Q8, as well a set of digital instruments for the driver. Leather sports seats and a leather sports steering wheel are, naturally, included too.

The Urus comes with four or five seats depending on your preference, and its rear seats fold flat, making it the most practical Lamborghini ever made. That said, if practicality is paramount, there are better large SUVs, its sloping roofline not lending itself to outright space.

Still, if you’re prepared to stump up the £165,000 you’ll need to buy one (for most it’ll be considerably more after a wander through the options list) then it’ll be the Lamborghini Urus’s badge and performance that are most important. As such, there are few SUVs that are as in your face, or as quick.