2013 Land Rover Range Rover vs. Its Competition

Martin Padgett Editorial Director

The Range Rover has few real competitors, given its five-seat interior and its decades-old patina of true off-road expertise.

There's the Mercedes-Benz GL Class, the modern-day reinterpretation of these classic SUVs, and it's very good--especially with the fuel-efficient diesel GL 350, though it lacks a certain panache.

Leave that to the Benz G Class, available in slab-sided, blazingly quick G63 AMG form, every bit the off-roader the Range Rover is--without the high-tech layer of intervention.

The BMW X5 has the on-road part of the equation down pat, with reasonably sharp handling and an M model that raises the bar for straight-line performance, but it's bland, inside and out.

The Lexus LX is related to the Toyota Land Cruiser, an SUV with a global reputation for go-anywhere ruggedness, but the latest one is bloated, complex, expensive, and mismatched for its mission, we think.

Finally, there's the Infiniti QX56, a blingy SUV that's not quite as played out as the Cadillac Escalade, but every bit the swank scene-maker, with some authentic off-road hardware underneath for display/show purposes when the need arises.