We Toured Madrid In A Range Rover (Or Three)

With its elegant architecture, incredible museums, art galleries, Michelin-star restaurants, and stylish boutiques, Madrid is a city undergoing a renaissance with discerning travellers. With its central barrios made up of warrens of easy-to-follow lanes and streets it is a city full of magical finds.

It’s fitting, therefore, that Madrid is where Range Rover chose to show off its new 2023 Sport SUV and plug-in hybrid models. Many of Madrid’s beautiful old buildings are being transformed with luxurious new designer fit-outs which, like Range Rover itself, cleverly respect heritage while embracing the modern.

Built inside an old bank and situated next to a 16th-century monastery, the city’s newest hotel, The Madrid Edition, which opened this year, epitomises this synergy. You just need to name-check the forces behind it — owner Ian Schrager, an American hotelier who gained fame as the co-owner and co-founder of Studio 54, leading British minimalist architect John Pawson and French designer François Champsaur — and you’ll get a sense of just how uber-chic this hotel is and why Range Rover chose it as the base for our visit.

On arrival, a bold white spiral staircase fills the entrance to the hotel like a giant sculpture, and sweeps guests up into the all-white lobby filled with couches, designer chairs and mood lighting from the bar. It’s glamorous but at the same time playful thanks to a piercing blue-topped pool table carved from a single slab of marble and a womb-like pink light which leads you down a side corridor to the funky Mexican restaurant Jeronimo.

The restful theme extends throughout the hotel. Upstairs my suite is white-on-white minimalism softened with a curving boucle couch, a faux fur thrown nonchalantly across the king bed which has a towering white headboard that almost hits the ceiling, its curves a reference to the baroque side entrance to the hotel, which was designed by architect Pedro de Ribera in the 1700s.

This appreciation of excellent design is to be the theme of this visit. The next day starts with a drive to the outskirts of the city to the elegant Finca Coto Mozanaque — the stately former hunting lodge of Spanish noble and military officer Count de las Torres, now owned by the Duke of Albuquerque — where we are greeted by a line-up of the Range Rover Sport P530 First Editions, their glossy Firenze Red exteriors sparkling in the sunshine.

With privacy glass, black contrast roofs and 23-inch gloss rims inside Pirelli Scorpion tires, these are certainly eye-catching. (The press release also describes these SUVs as having ‘...distinct proportions, muscular stances and taute surfaces that communicate power and agility’... But that’s next-level car appreciation.)

After a brunch made up of tasty tapas and a quick look around the Finca — with its glamorous ballroom and a large yard surrounded by stables — I find myself sliding into the sculpted driver’s seat of the Sport P530, which can be adjusted up to 22 different ways to get it ‘just right’. It’s heated and will also massage you while you drive, if you so desire (luxury and pleasure are a theme of this trip) and it’s upholstered with eco-friendly animal-free leather by Ultrafabrics.

Just as tactile, just as comfortable, this sustainable option feels as premium as it gets. Also comfort-focused are the active noise-cancelling system, which reinforces the sense of travelling in an untouchable cocooned bubble, and high-tech filtration technology that purifies the cabin’s air.

The Nav system is set for Central Madrid, and with a few commands to the built-in Amazon Alexa, we put on some tunes and power off, the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8, all-wheel steering and dynamic air suspension working effortlessly to ensure we fly down the inside lane of the motorway, powering past slower cars.

I’m pretty excited, as we’re heading to the Norman Foster Foundation — a celebration of the work of one of the world’s leading and most prolific architects. The archive and library follows the Brit’s long and illustrious career, and explores in detail the high-tech designs and buildings he has created. These include London’s iconic Gherkin, the Reichstag in Berlin and the Apple Park campus in California.

But first, I have to navigate the roundabouts, narrowing city streets and local drivers who nip from lane to lane without a second glance. Thankfully, the Sport’s adaptive cruise control and Clearview camera help me navigate it with ease, and

I swing into the Foundation’s driveway like a pro.

Our guided tour around Sir Norman Foster’s work is one of the highlights of this trip. The 86-year-old still works, heading numerous projects around the globe.

He has homes in the UK, Europe and the States, and lives by the motto “the only constant is change”. He is passionate about sustainability and, in an interview this year with The Guardian declared, “climate change and countering climate change is a design issue in the most fundamental sense.”

Appropriate, then, that the next car I’ll be driving is the Range Rover Autobiography P510e — a plug-in hybrid, it’s impressively powerful, with a 3-litre, petrol straight six with a 32kwh battery pack that promises an electric-only range of 112 km (2024 will see it joined by the battery-electric Range Rover with an all-electric powertrain). But that’s tomorrow.

First there’s time to nip back to The Edition for a swim in the idyllic rooftop pool which looks out across the city’s skyline, before we’re whisked off in a Range Rover convoy, weaving our way through the traffic on the Gran Via to Amazónico, a Brazilian steakhouse in the upmarket barrio Salamanca. It’s noisy and fun. Surrounded by elegantly dressed Madrileños speaking animatedly in rapid Spanish, our large group downs tropical-inspired cocktails, local wines, and a menu that spans the globe.

As we move to our last course a DJ is starting up in the middle of the dining room, people are still pouring in the door, it’s the middle of the week, it’s midnight and in true Spanish style the evening has only just begun...

The next morning, escaping the city is on the agenda. The plan is to put the Ranger Rover Sport PHEV through its paces. Our fleet of SUVs, all in a stylish dark Varesine Blue, weaves its way out of Madrid and points towards Segovia. Situated 90 kilometres north of the Spanish capital, the town is famous for its soaring Roman aqueduct, with over 160 arches that are still in use, and a beautiful cathedral and monastery. Segovia was rightfully declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

To get there, we drive northwest towards the municipality of Torrelodones, where the road starts to climb and weave through lush pine trees, peaking at 186m at the Puerto de Navacerrada Ski Station (who knew there was ski resort less than an hour from central Madrid?) and the alle de la Barranca nature reserve in the Sierra Norte de Guadarrama, where Madrileños can escape for some serious hiking.

The V8 responds beautifully, and there’s a sense of security knowing it has what it takes to power up the road’s rising gradient. We hit the top of the mountain range, and begin the smooth glide down the other side, a series of tight hairpin bends that twist and turn, the SUV hugging each curve with ease. From here the road opens up, I put my foot down and we speed through the sprawling and oh-so-dry pastures where cattle are being given extra feed due to the lack of grass.

In what feels like the middle of nowhere, we turn off the main road and weave down a long and winding driveway, through the dusty farmland, to Hotel Caserio Aldeallana. It is the original farmhouse, built in the 1800s, which has been converted into a boutique lodge that sits at the heart the 300-hectare farm estate, where ancient oaks and pines accent the dry golden fields.

Rather than follow the farm road all the way, however, we take the opportunity to try out the Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control, and are pointed on a course that puts this 2.8-tonne SUV through its paces. Through a dry creek, over large clumps of dirt and boulders, up and down steep banks, the Intelligent All-Wheel Drive technology intuitively knows when extra traction is required and when to ease off.

As someone who grew up driving utes and tractors on a farm, it at first feels counterintuitive to give up control, but this beast knows what it’s doing, and despite its size and weight feels agile and super-comfortable as it glides over the rugged terrain.

The next lesson in letting go is activating the Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control function where, with the foot completely off the pedal, the SUV crunches along the metal road slowly but surely. An interesting feature but not one I need right now, as all I want to do is put my foot down and get to the farmhouse for lunch.

We roll into the central courtyard of the homestead which combines traditional Segovian architecture with the comforts of a luxurious bed and breakfast. Leading Spanish interior designer Isabel Lopez Quesada worked with owner Rocío Ureta Saorín, who rescued pieces from family attics and old antiques to decorate the hotel.

There’s time to explore the beautiful grounds, where shady corners and a swimming pool provide cool respite from the heat. An organic vegetable garden supplies the kitchen, where the team is busy at hand creating our beautiful lunch. The barbecue sizzles and we gather around a long table on the patio and succumb to the relaxed charm.

I chat with Rocio’s daughter Lucía Pérez-Durías Ureta, a fashion stylist, about why the hotel is so popular with Madrileños who like to escape the city to make the most of the wholesome activities on offer or just to relax and simply do nothing.

All too soon, it is time to leave. Armed with Lucia’s recommendations of stores to check out in Madrid, I slip back into the luxurious comfort of the Range Rover P510e and am chauffeur-driven back to the magic of Madrid.

Amanda Linnell travelled to Madrid as a guest of Jaguar Range Rover. Find out more at Landrover.co.nz