What is it: The Lamborghini Urus is a sport utility vehicle that lies toward the peak of expensive offerings, though not at the top, ahem, Rolls-Royce Cullinan. The Urus was introduced early this year does not yet have several variants, but you could consider it the pinnacle trim of the Audi Q7, which the Urus shares a chassis and then some.
Key Competitors: Bentley Bentayga, W12, Ferrari Purosangue (eventually), Porsche Cayenne Turbo
Base Price: $203,995 As-Tested Price: $243,630
Full review: Lamborghini Urus first drive
Highlights: A quick look at the key competitors shows what a strange world us car nerds live in. The Ferrari Purosangue is announced and the most obvious competitor to the Urus, but still three years away. And the other two actually ride on the same platform. Volkswagen AG owns Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Lamborghini, not to mention Bugatti and a host of other small brands. VW placed Lamborghini under the Audi umbrella, hence the close relationship to the Q7. The top trimmed Audi full-size SUV runs a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6, peaking at 333 hp. Urus swaps that for a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, which makes more.
Our Opinion: 0-62 mph in 3.6 seconds, stay flat on the gas and 124 mph is only another 9.2 seconds away. Never lift and the speedometer will kiss 190 mph. How long ago would those have sounded like Lamborghini supercar numbers? Five years? 10, perhaps? Well, now they apply to a full-size SUV with all-wheel-drive, an automatic gearbox and a curb weight a smidge under 5,000 pounds. Modern technology gives us the ability to build something lighter, OR more powerful and its quite clear which path we’ve chosen.
Even though the Urus is based on the Audi Q7, it feels like a completely different SUV, if you’re hustling around a canyon road or lapping a track, that is. That’s where you can feel things like four-wheel steering, track-tuned air-suspension, and huge carbon ceramic brake discs (17.3-inch in front, 14.6-inch in back) go to work. That’s true off-road as well, as long as it’s more rally stage than Moab trail. Set the driving mode to “Terra” or off-road, and the Urus absolutely will kick the rear-end out and allow you to throw some dirt. Torque vectoring in the rear helps. Pretty cool.
But most people, most of the time, even the one-percenters that can afford this thing, will drive the Urus on normal roads doing normal things. In these conditions, the Urus feels remarkably similar to the Audi, whose base price is little more than 25 percent of this machine. And car nerd’s eyes will also notice several similarities in switch gear, layout, even the shape. The Q7 is a great SUV, so this is not a demerit in function, but in distinction from other, less expensive versions of this vehicle, of which there are many. The fighter jet style, engine stop/start button loses some of the allure in this context. As does the large Lamborghini logo emblazoned just above the glovebox. If VW AG were a bakery, Audi baked the Urus cake, and Lamborghini added the icing.
At the age of 10, I went nuts and pedaled my bike as hard as I could over to my buddy’s house when he called to tell me his next-door neighbor had a Countach parked in the driveway. His neighbor’s friend was a surgeon and brought it over to show-off. I must have been there an hour: taking pictures, talking to the owner (still wearing his scrubs), and for long moments just staring. I remember it clearly still, looking at that car overwhelmed me and used permanent marker on my memory’s notebook.
I drove the Urus over a weekend. In that time, three different friends and no less than six strangers stopped me to take a long look at the Urus. Pictures of the car, selfies with the car, often impeding traffic, and me, in the process. And it hit me, for many, that this is their Countach moment. A chance to stare at something over the top. It’s certainly less wild than a Countach, but no matter. It overwhelmed them.
After all, it is a Lamborghini.
–Robin Warner, managing editor
Options: Bang & Olufsen 3D advanced audio ($6,313); Taigete 23-inch rims ($5,051); leather seats ($3,1570; Ambient Light Package ($3,036); panoramic roof ($2,778); night vision ($2,6530; bi-color Sportivo ($2,526); acoustic heat-insulation ($2,134); Style Package 1 ($1,908); Leather Package ($1,262); brake calipers in red ($1,137); black matte exhaust ($884); embroidered logo ($884); Washing Package ($849); hands-free tailgate ($827); 21-inch spare wheel ($696); off-road modes ($637); cargo management ($631); floor mats leather piping ($631); front and rear heated seats ($631); steering wheel performance stitching option ($631); optional stitching ($379)
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