Land Rover’s star pupil, the Range Rover, comes into 2009 virtually unchanged. This four-door luxury SUV seats five and comes in two trims, HSE and Supercharged. Very little separates the two trims, barring the powerplant and some standard features on the Supercharged, including a locking rear differential and heated/cooled front seats, although both those features are optional on the HSE.

The base engine is far from base - a 305-hp, 4.4-liter V8 that provides ample power in all but high-load and other high-stress situations. The Supercharged gets a 400-hp, 4.2-liter V8 that provides the extra boost some have claimed the 4.4 lacks. Regardless of engine, the Range Rover comes standard with a six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift gate.

Other standard features for both trims include Land Rover’s Terrain Response system, which allows the driver to select between several different modes that adjust gearbox settings, suspension height, differential lock settings, and throttle response to best suit whatever terrain is currently being tackled, a locking center differential for AWD including a low-range gear as well as hill descent control, a navigation system, a rearview camera, obstacle detection both front and rear, and Bluetooth.

Available safety features for the Range Rover include four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, an antiskid system, front side airbags, front and rear head-protecting tubular side airbags, and a driver knee airbag.

While an automatic is the sole transmission, selecting “Sport” mode produces quicker and more precise shifting for more spirited driving. Both trims have a maximum towing capacity of 7,716 pounds. Despite requiring premium fuel, the Range Rover seems to have struck a graceful balance between off-road ability and on-road agility - if you can afford it.