I drove the new Range Rover HSE with built-in Amazon Alexa and massaging seats – it is completely faultless

NO matter what people do, hard workers take pride in their job.

Whether that’s a builder doing an extension, a nurse raising a smile from a sick child or my daughter seeing the Bisto gravy she helps to make on a supermarket shelf.

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The new Range Rover HSE has fully independent air suspension and uses sat-nav data to prepare for bumps and bends[/caption]

So how proud must these guys be?

Each one of them has had a hand in building the new Range Rover, a car that is instantly recognised the world over because it is such an icon.

Mrs Queen has one. Boris has one. Clarkson has one. Jay-Z has one. I could go on. But I don’t need to. Because we all know a Range Rover is the first thing we’d reward ourselves with for being successful.

Might never have sat in one but we all know a Range Rover is The Daddy. The King. Much-copied but still in a class of its own.

So let’s meet the Woodall family: Twin brothers Brian and Peter, Brian’s daughter Ashleigh and her cousin Melissa.

Stick with me because together with Melissa’s dad Jeff, Brian and Peter’s brother and their parents Gordon and Beryl, the Woodall family have clocked up an incredible 150 years of service at the Range Rover factory in Solihull, West Mids.

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS.

Which makes them king of the “king makers”, in my book. They all get a buzz from seeing their handiwork on the street.

Brian said: “Wherever you go, whether you’re on holiday, travelling around the country or just locally, you see a Range Rover, you look at the model year and you wonder, ‘Did I work on that? Did I touch that?’

“And then you see royalty driving around in one, and the Prime Minister, and you think, ‘I’m proud to be a part of that. We built that at Solihull’.”

Peter said: “We might be a small piece in the jigsaw but everyone’s role here is vital to ensure the final car and all its components work as one.”

When senior HR adviser Ashleigh saw the new Range — only the fifth generation in 51 years — she was blown away.

She said: “It is just luxury to the finest ‘T’. It takes your breath away.

Brian added: “The luxury and refinement in our cars is second to none. We are at the pinnacle of SUVs. Everybody else is playing catch-up.”

They are both right, of course.

The new Range Rover is completely faultless. Expensive but faultless.

Hovercraft-smooth. Whisper-quiet. Supremely comfortable. Safe. And an absolute doddle to drive.

It has the same turning circle as a Mini Countryman, thanks to rear-wheel steering.

Think about that for a moment. Range Rover and a Mini. I was expecting to do a 33-point turn like Austin Powers.

Fully independent air suspension uses sat-nav data to prepare for bumps and bends up to two miles ahead.

Off-road? Unsurpassable. But you knew that. It’s a Range Rover. And it can swim up to 90cm should that blue line on your satnav turn out to be a river.

The car we collected from the production line, in gorgeous Belgravia Green, is a 3-litre, straight-six diesel with mild hybrid tech. Yep, diesel.

But smooth and clean and, as I said earlier, super-quiet. You could hardly hear it over the air-con — and the air-con was hardly on.

There are also six-cylinder petrols, plug-in hybrids that’ll do 70 miles on battery power and a 530hp BMW-sourced 4.4-litre V8.

You won’t be late for the red carpet with that

Right, let’s hop back inside because this thing is like a superyacht for the road.

Medical-grade air filtration system, just the THIRTY-FIVE-odd speakers with noise cancellation tech and built-in Amazon Alexa. Plus, you can have four, five or seven seats.

The long-wheelbase version has three rows of seats for the first time.

The high-lux four-seat version has a metre of legroom in the back, plus a drinks chiller, motorised fold-out tables, big screens and massaging seats. Proper VIP.

You can also opt for leather-free upholstery if that is important to you.

Actually, make that nine seats if you go for the tailgate “event seating”.

Prices from £99k to £178k for the all-singing SV long-wheelbase V8.

But whatever you go for, you’ll be waiting more than a year.

I’m delighted to confirm the all-electric Range Rover arriving in 2024 will be built at Solihull, safeguarding the plant for many years to come.

The Woodall family will be chuffed with that. And so will thousands more. Tip-top.

@actcreative

The new HSE has thirty-five-odd speakers with noise cancellation tech and built-in Amazon Alexa[/caption]

@actcreative

The new HSE is like a superyacht for the road[/caption]

@actcreative

Prices range from £99k to £178k – but you’ll be waiting more than a year[/caption]

@actcreative

The all-electric Range Rover arriving in 2024 will be built at Solihull[/caption]