Lamborghini Urus Review: Rip-Roaring Bonkers & Brilliant
The fastest SUV in the world!
Lamborghini Urus Review
The Lamborghini Urus is a huge departure for such a massive supercar icon, many said it would ruin the brand and should never be done. I felt the same way until I drove this new SUV all over Surrey, Sussex and Somerset on a glorious driving tour that changed my preconceptions.
Though this is not the first SUV they made, indeed the Lamborghini LM002, aka "Rambo Lambo”, was an off-road style jeep manufactured by Lamborghini between 1986 and 1993 and resembled a Humvee.
Like all Lamborghinis, the Urus is named after a breed of bull, in this case, the Latin name for wild ox or Aurochs, abundant in European forests around the time of Julius Cæsar. Would Ferruccio approve of the Taurus logo on a modern SUV?
The specs are impressive, indeed at the time of writing it is the fastest production SUV in the world charging from 0-62mph in a mere 3.6 secs which is bonkers. It is powered by a 4.0 L V8 Biturbo engine that produces 641 bhp with a top speed of 189mph. The body is made of a lightweight aluminium composite and it will do a combined 19mpg which is pretty impressive for the performance.
It looks magnificent, better than any other SUV out there. It seems hunkered down yet has plenty of headroom and is quite high off the floor. The design fools the eye to appear low slung and the razor-sharp creases and lines in the body scream speed. Like Doctor Who’s Tardis, compact on the outside, but with plenty of space inside.
The back is higher than the front so it appears to be rushing forward even at rest. Lamborghini engineers have created something truly unique, this is not a traditional SUV shape, more a sleek and powerful rally car. The roof tapers down to the rear and the sills rise to meet it. The fluted waist highlights the protruding wheel arches which frame the massive road-hugging 22” wheels. Four-door cars are generally a compromise, but the combination of the sloping roof, powerful bonnet and raised rear impart an exceptional visual balance to the Urus. The trade-off is slightly impaired rear visibility.
I hate to go full cliché, but if a bull transformed into a car this would be the result. Imagine an Aurochs trampling the ground, its head slung low to charge and you get the idea. The wide front grille suggests menacing horns with carbon fibre faring and sills that conjure stamping hooves. This may be the only Lamborghini that visually evokes the bull badge.
The interior is all Lamborghini with carbon fibre panels on the dash and doors plus contrast leather stitching in the plush grey leather. The heated steering wheel is opulent and reassuringly luxurious, plus the wide extruding air vents add to the industrial high-tech ambience. You are opulently enveloped but the atmosphere is pure sport. There is huge headroom in the front and back and the boot is capacious with 616 L. You can literally move house with this fabulous machine.
As you settle into the seat your eyes immediately alight on the rugged levers and manettes plus the dramatic red nuclear cover over the start/stop button. Reverse gear is a cinematic double manette looming over the nuclear cover, with the engine/suspension modes lever on the left (Anima) and personal settings on the right, called Ego. One minor drawback is the engine modes only move one way so you have to scroll through every setting to get back to Strada or normal mode, through sport, sand, gravel and snow.
Overall the impression is that of an eighties steampunk spaceship that will thrill the child in everyone. You’ll want to push and pull every button at once. The physical and visceral aspect of the interior rebels against the trend for minimalist touch screens and controls. Tired of scrolling and want to engage physically with the world again? Go, Lamborghini.
There are three screens, one for the instrument console and two vertically placed touchscreens in the centre column. The bottom screen acts as a virtual keyboard (with handwriting input too) whilst the top pleasingly displays all your apps, maps, CarPlay and Android Auto for easy viewing. One of my favourite systems to date, simple to use with excellent readability.
I had the four-seat version with individual body-hugging sports seats which are supremely comfortable with massage options available both front and back. My favourite is the Revitalisation massage that kneads the back with some force. There is a five-seat option too.
Performance-wise it delivers in spades, in fact, it brings mechanical diggers to the party, blending incredible engineering and highly developed computer software to create something utterly magical. The four-wheel steering gives you god-like grip and cornering, turning +-3 degrees either in the same direction at high speed, delivering unbelievable stability, and in opposite directions for better manoeuvring at low speed.
The active roll stability is spookily good. Scream around a corner and the car remains level, perhaps even imperceptibly rolling into the curve. The suspension stiffens and raises on the outside to maintain complete equilibrium. And over rough terrain or bumps, each wheel decouples to keep you perfectly steady. Supercar performance even off-road.
The combination of 4-wheel steering, active stability control, wheel decoupling and active rear differential is quite unbelievable. Nothing this high should fly so level to the ground, there is no roll at all in corners, you mirror the horizon in real-time, utterly stable throughout. All that power goes to the road through those humongous 22-inch tyres, none is wasted in slippage or braking. It is flabbergasting, physical engineering and software acting as one. An SUV that behaves like it’s an inch off the ground.
Lamborghini has also delivered an eight-speed automatic gearbox that hits all the right notes. Smooth as velvet in Strada or road mode, it is fast and brutal in Sport mode and positively bonkers in track or Corsa mode changing dramatically for maximum torque. Super comfortable for everyday driving with exciting and dynamic shifting in the two sports modes. Off-road, it handles steep inclines with ease and the suspension coped with the worst potholes and bumps we could throw at it.
Driving modes offer the Anima with preselected style settings or you can go fully personalised with the Ego selector, which defines engine power, stability control, steering response, rear-wheel steering, traction suspension response, active roll and the height of the vehicle. The Urus drops 1.5 cm in Corsa with a total height difference of 5.5 cm between off-road (sand, gravel, snow) and track mode. The engine sound in Corsa mode is operatic and dramatic; shrieking, popping, coughing and wailing like a banshee.
The brakes are flawless, not smushy or soft like many SUVs, responding instantly. They give you the right amount of stopping power at every speed for total confidence. You need that when the car weighs 2.2 tonnes. Though avoid collision brake assist as it slams to a stop with a jolt a long distance from other cars when parking, so you think you’ve hit something. Leave that off if you need to park in tight spaces.
I had reservations about Lamborghini producing an SUV, it’s totally off-brand, but the engineers at Lamborghini have developed a car that confounds expectations and is genuinely exciting, refined, luxuriously sporty and supremely comfortable for everyday use. Sales have gone through the roof, twice as many as their other models put together which is good news for Lambo lovers.
The Lamborghini Urus fuses everything into something very special, it’s an SUV for those that want that, or a rally car, or a supercar or a track car. Perhaps the first automobile to reach transformer status, it can be whatever you want. The Lamborghini Urus is the start of a new generation of supercars, ones that blend all expectations and deliver exactly what every driver wants. Something bespoke to your vision. Drive it like an SUV at the Polo, smash everyone else on track days, swing effortlessly around country roads or tear off-road like a jeep or thunder over sand dunes like a buggy. In yellow it even looks like a Transformer.
The Lamborghini Urus is neither a monster nor a beast, but a ferocious technological and engineering marvel, it sets the standard for the ultimate sports utility vehicle. The Lamborghini Urus is unbeatable and puts the super into supercar. Ferruccio Lamborghini would love it, the ultimate expression of the bulls and bullfighting he loved so much.
Included Optional Equipment
Price w/o VAT Price w/o VAT
Exterior Color - Giallo Inti £6.475
Rims - Nath 22" Diamond Finished £3.492
Brake callipers in yellow £875
Panoramic Roof £1.973
Black Roof Rails £705
Upper Exterior Carbon Fibre Package £5.440
Lower exterior carbon fibre package £9.927
Big Interior Carbon Package on Front Consolle £ 3.675
Interior Carbon Package on Rear Consolle £700
Stitching option £507
Lower Leather Package £2.132
Upper Leather Package £2.426
Multi-function steering wheel with perforated leather inserts, heated £915
Fully Electric Front Seats with Ventilation and Massage £2.187
Black Anodized Treatment on Aluminium Inserts £405
Embroid. Lamborghini Shield on headrest £662
Lamborghini ANIMA with Off-Road Modes £441
Lamborghini Connect Vehicle Tracking System £1,029
Q-Citura with Leather £2,302
4-Seat Configuration (Two rear seats with centre console) £2,625
Optional stitching on steering wheel £287
Polished Grey Exhaust Tailpipes £766
Advanced 3D "Bang&Olufsen Sound System" £4,375
Ambient Light Package £2,171
Night Vision £1,839
Premium air quality system (with air ionizer & aromatization) £405
Washing Package £589
Rear Seat Entertainment £3,629
Park Assistant Package (Intelligent Park Assist & Topview Camera) £2,309
DAB radio + Pay TV £1,051
Lamborghini Urus Starting Price: £172,411 Vat inc
Total Price with optional equipment £215,988 Vat inc
