A contemporary suite of three powerful sport-utility vehicles comprise the 2006 wagon fleet for Britain's Land Rover. Fancy flagship Range Rover tops the line with a new supercharged edition that's the most powerful Land Rover ever. A new sport tourer SUV called Range Rover Sport, geared for long-distance driving, brings supercharged and naturally-aspirated engine choices, while the LR3, marking a third generation for the mid-size Discovery wagon, contains sophisticated mechanical hardware for heavy-duty four-wheel-drive (4WD) performance.

New renditions of Range Rover may well be the most elegant SUVs in the world, and with optional supercharging they rank among the quickest and most powerful. Marked by a high stance and boxy profile with roof seemingly floating above a wrap of tall windows, Range Rover contains mechanical hardware for serious off-pavement roaming and the five-place passenger compartment laced with every conceivable accessory for luxurious comfort.

Range Rover HSE stocks an aluminum 4.4-liter V8 with 305 hp through an electronically controlled six-speed automatic transmission and a stick with H-gate shift pattern for the CommandShift manual mode, which operates even in lowest range of 4WD. Range Rover Supercharged scores a 4.2-liter V8 with the supercharger output up to 400 hp. A restyled face distinguishes the 2006 issues, with the supercharged version wearing mesh in the grille and flank power vents, plus 20-inch alloy wheels.

This new SUV resembles a streamlined Range Rover but rides on LR3's platform with six-inch wheelbase snip. It's designed for sporty road work as well as sure-footed off-road duty with 4WD equipment aboard and price points that pin Sport between Range Rover and LR3. The plush cabin makes room for five with twin sport buckets on the first row and a folding bench for three on Row 2. Like Range Rover, Sport shows two V8 engines with naturally-aspirated and supercharged modes.

The 4.4-liter natural plant nets 300 hp while the 4.2-liter supercharged unit romps to 390 hp. Each gets the six-speed ZF automatic gearbox with CommandShift mapping. On supercharged Sport, Land Rover's standard terrain response system (TRS) matches various vehicle dynamic systems to the terrain. Sport options include an adaptive front lighting system (AFS) with xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps plus adaptive cruise control.

In tall stance with a boxy profile and stepped roofline, Land Rover's mid-size LR3 wagon projects a blunt face with squared clear-lens headlamp clusters and a distinctive double-bar grille over the fat-lip bumper. The cabin contains bucket seats up front, a second-row bench for three and the optional two-seat third tier that's now standard on LR3's deluxe HSE model. LR3 gains power choices in 2006 with a new 4.0-liter V6 developing 216 hp.

The optional 4.4-liter V8 hits 300 hp and both engines employ a six-speed automatic transmission by ZF of Germany with CommandShift manual mode. LR3's 4WD mechanism has a two-speed electronically-shifted transfer case and it's always working, either in high range for normal driving or low range for off-road crawling. A tab on the shifter is used for switching into low range -- and LR3 has options for electronically locking of center and rear differentials.