Don't worry, we're not going to do something sacrilegious like slamming a Range Rover in Gstaad...it's just that we really can't describe to you how amazing this vehicle was to drive. Somehow...somehow the engineers in Solihull have managed to find that balance between sportscar and off-road vehicle. Sure, maybe the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S is faster in a straight line, but it's ugly (even with the facelift) and can be mistaken for the unspellable VW Touareg. The only thing you can mistake a Range Rover Sport for is, well, a Range Rover. And actually that may be one of its few problems.

At "just" SFr 115,400 for the top-of-line model we drove, there's been some brand conflict with the entry level Range Rover (ie not Range Rover Sport) which is still SFr 7,000 more expensive. And yet consumers have mistakenly thought that the RR Sport is the newest Range Rover. Fact is the RR Sport model should have gotten a completely new name. But these are problems for Range Rover dealers, not us mere motoring consumers. For us, we can marvel in the handling as we rag on the car up the hill to from Gsteig to Reusch, in the supreme feeling of security imparted by the Brembo discs as we brake just a second later than we should have done down the hill to Les Diablerets, and the pure symphony of 390 horses singing back to us off Les Murailles as we approach Aigle. Make no mistake, at over 20 liters per 100km this car has nothing of the practicality we found in the last Range Rover that was in the GstaadLife garage, but it sure is a blast to drive. Inside is perhaps a little disappointing, with too much plastic and the unfortunate ghost of a Ford Explorer lurking behind some of the controls (Ford owns Land Rover). But then sportscars have never been about their interior spec, and you should think of this vehicle quite simply as an alpine sportscar (albeit one with very good visibility). To arrange a test drive, call Hansueli Brand at Ledi Garage in Feutersoey on 033 755 85 85 or email him at ledi-garage@gstaad.ch. For as long as the Alpine Coaster on the glacier remains closed, this is a worthy substitute.