Lamborghini’s new Urus SUV drives dramatic sales increases for the brand
Driving dramatic sales increases When people dream of a Lamborghini, chances are most envision one of the Raging Bull’s exotic sports cars. But it’s the Urus SUV, introduced in 2018, that is driving dramatic sales increases for the brand. We checked one out to see how it performs in the real world. ▲
There’s no such thing as a stealth Lamborghini The grey paint didn’t work. I had imagined that I’d be driving a stealth Lambo, just another mid-grey SUV that would fly under the radar while I surreptitiously feasted on its 650 horsepower and supercar cornering power. I could pick up lumber at Rona, make a grocery run to Costco, go for a hike in the back-country all without attracting unwanted attention. Yeah, right! ▲
It may as well have been yellow Reality: even if the test Urus had been this colour, I don’t think it could have gotten more attention from other road users than the grey one did. Suddenly everyone’s a paparazzo! The first time I parked it, I came back to find it blocked in by an (ironically) plain-clothes cop car. They said the lack of a front number plate caused them to stop and “investigate.” Yeah, right! ▲
Classic proportions Clearly Lamborghini’s design team achieved something special with the Urus’s fast-back profile and aggressively sculpted bodysides. It also, they say, incorporates the same 2-thirds body, 1-third windows proportioning as Lamborghini’s sports cars. ▲
If you have to ask the price… The Urus lists for $232,000 in Canada, which is serious coin in itself. But our test sample came with $70,825 worth of options — enough to buy an entire new BMW 540i midsize sedan on the side. Topping the list of add-ons: Bang & Olufsen 3D Audio ($8,347); 23-inch Taigete wheels ($7,461); and Rear-seat Entertainment system ($6,956). The cheapest option? Contrast stitching on the steering wheel, a snip at $506. ▲
It’s not just the price that’s big To look at it alone, one would never guess how BIG the Urus is — at 5,112 mm from snout to stern, it’s slightly longer than a Dodge Durango, positioning it between typical midsize and full-size SUV dimensions. However it’s significantly lower than most SUVs. And don’t worry about the modest 157-mm (6.2-inch) ground clearance; the air suspension can raise that to 249 mm (9.8 inches). ▲
Urus g-defying cargo management system One routine errand with the Urus involved returning a case of empties to the Beer Store. Luckily, it was equipped with the optional $886 cargo management system, which included a retractable strap to hold the box of bottles firmly in place. We say “luckily” because on the way to the Beer Store we managed to get a clear run at a clover-leaf on-ramp …. ▲
Supercar cornering territory … after which the on-board g-meter looked like this. That 1.0g of cornering force it’s showing is right up there in supercar territory. And this was in late February, on cold pavement … and winter tires. ▲
162.5 horsepower per litre! Beneath all that plastic lurks a relatively small 4.0-litre V-8 … which is turbocharged to within an inch of its life to blow out a staggering 650 horsepower; the maximum 630 lb-ft of torque arrives at 2,250 rpm and then holds that level all the way to 4,500 rpm. ▲
Turbo lag be damned There’s a lot of turbo lag by modern standards. The real slam in the spine doesn’t arrive until there’s 3,500 rpm on the dial and if you launch normally, some lesser vehicles could get the jump on you when the light turns green — though not for long. ▲
Launch control! The transmission is a conventional torque-converter automatic, so using launch control doesn’t brutally “dump the clutch” like some rivals’ dual-clutch automated manual boxes. But it does eliminate lag, and catapults the Urus from 0-100 km/h in a claimed 3.6 seconds en route to a 305-km/h maximum speed. ▲
Rear-biased AWD The rear-biased AWD system and active torque-vectoring rear differential deliver a neutral, rear-wheel-drive feel on the street and enable rally-style drifting on dirt. There are three drive modes for pavement — Strada (Street), Sport (What do you think?), and Corsa (Race) — plus Sabbia (Sand), Terra (Off-Road) and Neve (Snow). ▲
Connected car The thick-rimmed, flat-bottom steering wheel itself feels great to grasp, but more important is the fantastic connection it provides to the front wheels — pin sharp, clean and frictionless and always entirely natural weighting regardless of speed or drive mode. ▲
Tough day at the office The driver’s office enables a pretty good compromise between low-slung sportiness and SUV-like lofty visibility. ▲
People trump cargo Our plans to pick up some lumber at Rona were thwarted by the test car’s optional four-seat configuration. With power-adjustable rear buckets you lose the folding 40/20/40 bench seat of the 5-seater. Oh, well! ▲
Worthwhile compromise There’s a fixed bulkhead behind the 4-seat configuration with just a small ski hatch for through-loading. The optional cargo management system steals some space but certainly makes sense for a vehicle that encourages expressive driving. And it does! ▲
Keyword: REVIEW: 16 reasons to save up for a Lamborghini Urus