32 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motorABOVEUrusstyling
islove-or-hate,butin
bananayellowit draws
animmenseamountof
attention,whetheryou
wantit ornot!
adjective traditionally associated
with Lamborghini. With the ‘ANIMA’
drive mode set to ‘Strada’ (street) the
steering is light, the engine muffled and
the Urus drives as easily as an Audi Q8.
Such a case of mistaken identity
would be easy to understand as much
of the Urus’s switchgear is lifted from
its Ingolstadt sibling. Does it matter
that so many bits – steering wheel,
infotainment screens, window switches,
fuel/temperature gauges, indicator/
wiper stalks and more – are shared
with more prosaic models? Perhaps
the more relevant question is: will any
Lamborghini buyer know or care?
Doubtful. It looks good and works
well, end of story. Less successful is
Lamborghini’s addition of the barnaclesinstalled at the base of the climate
control touchscreen.
The left one cycles through the six
drive modes – Strada, Sport, Corsa
(race), Sabbia (sand), Terra (off road)
and Neve (snow) – the middle section
houses the fighter jet-style start button
and gearbox controls and the right one
allows the adjustment and activation
of ‘Ego’ mode, a saved preference of
steering, drive and damper settings.
It all works well enough but looks
unsightly and takes up an unnecessary
amount of space for simple functions.
Furthermore, there are ergonomic
oversights: you can only cycle through
the drive modes one way (or hold the
lever to return to Strada); if you want
to return to Sport from Corsa you mustBUILT ON the same MLBevo platform
as the Urus but not as quick or as
aggressive. Handles better at the limit
with a nicer interior and also a couple
of hundred grand cheaper.NEMESIS
YENNETURBO
The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8,
AWD, 404kW/770Nm,
0-100k m/h 3.9sec
2175kg, $239,000M
cycle through every mode. Likewise,
drive is engaged by the left-hand
paddle rather than a button; not the
end of the world, but it means the one
function you need most isn’t housed
with the other gearbox controls.
Still, if Lamborghini’s interior design
team has struggled, its performance
engineers have more than picked up
the slack. No other car defies physics
like a Urus. To do so it uses a mind-
boggling array of technology, including
a Torsen self-locking centre differential,
torque-vectoring rear diff, rear-wheel
steering and active anti-roll bars. These
systems do not work unobtrusively
because they act to confound your
expectations. A car this size should roll
heavily and push its nose wide mid-
bend yet the Urus steadfastly refuses.
The active anti-roll bars keep the
body level, removing a lot of ‘feel’ in
the cornering process but ensuring
all four tyres share the burden.
Meanwhile, just as the weight threatensCAY
4
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