FEW cars have a higher profile than the Range Rover, one of the ultimate status symbols, king of the Sports Utility Vehicles and a prime target for those campaigning to protect the environment.
You can bet Land Rover's giant was prominent in the Chancellor's mind when he imposed the super road-tax penalty on gas-guzzlers and certainly the V8 petrol versions would struggle for a defence.
Land Rover has responded to the critics by introducing this 3.6-litre, twin-turbo V8 diesel, offering a performance significantly improved over the previous diesel, yet smoother and quieter - noise intrusion is reduced by 75 per cent - and still giving more than 31mpg on the open road. Even in town you get 20mpg, which is 50 per cent better than the more economic of the two petrols.
It has to be said that, nevertheless, the figures are hardly wonderful and the carbon dioxide emissions are still grim at 299g/km, although Land Rover will point to its carbon offset programme.
But to get back to the performance advances, this diesel ups the power by 54 per cent and the pull by a mighty 64 per cent, and the ease with which it powers a 2,717kg vehicle is truly impressive. Acceleration power is available at all time and a standstill-to-62mph time of about nine seconds says it all.
The engine is teamed with a six-speed automatic gearbox, smooth-changing but just a little hesitant on kick-down; there's a manual sequential shift facility to give you more control.
Of the rest, the car does what you would expect from a vehicle costing nearly £70,000. All Range Rovers have air suspension these days and all road bumps and pits - and even traffic calmers - are virtually shrugged off. Only through bends does some lean disturb the general calm assurance, not unexpected from such a big frame.
All driving conditions are catered for with the five-position terrain-response dial, one of a range of weapons in Range Rover's legendary off-road capabilities, clustered along with high/low ratios, air suspension height control and hill descent control on the central tunnel console.
The designers have gone in for groupings - there are 11 buttons on the steering wheel for example - to help you sort out the multitude of switches and dials for all the equipment features of the car, but some serious pre-drive swotting is urged. The touch info screen is but one offering.
Standard in the Range Rover are climate control, personal telephone integration, powered leather seats, six-disc autochanger, nine airbags, 19in alloys and an ultrasonic alarm system, while the Vogue SE trim of the test car added satnav and TV, rear screens entertainment system, luxury seats with memory and heating, heated steering wheel, extended wood trim, 20in alloys and adaptive headlights.
At least you sit in considerable style and comfort while you try to sort this lot out. Once on the move, you get a majestic view, and other motorists treat you with considerable respect, faced with such a formidable presence.
This is not much help in town, not an area where one would sensibly take the car. A 12m turning circle is just part of the challenge and you need a pretty large hole for parking - even with the door mirrors folded in, the Range Rover is more than two metres wide. The car offers a rear-view camera, parking sensors and down-turning door mirrors when reversing and you need all the help you can get.
Given the size of the frame, you would expect huge load capacity, but, with a high floor, it's not as mighty as all that - though fold the back seats down and it is more than plentiful. The split opening rear hatch is useful for loading smaller items.
And, of course, you frequently see Range Rovers towing extras behind, from horse boxes to mobile homes, and the car is superbly equipped for this role, too, with all its traction devices and 3,500kg braked weight capability.
In the end, it's go-anywhere luxury and there will probably always be a market for that - after all, if you are paying out £70,000 for a car, a tax penalty of a couple of hundred pounds is not likely to stop you from buying what, after all, is a bit of British craftsmanship at its best.
FAST FACTS
Land Rover Range Rover TDV8 Vogue SE
Price: £68,850
Mechanical: 275bhp, 3,630cc, 8cyl diesel engine driving all wheels via 6spd automatic gearbox
Max speed: 124mph
0-62mph: 9.2 secs
Combined mpg: 25.1
Insurance group: 17
CO2 emissions: 299g/km
BiK rating: 35%
Warranty: 3yrs/ unlimited mileage, 6yrs anti-rust