Test Drive: The Lamborghini Urus is a weekday car

That being said, ‘Lamborghini’ and ‘SUV’ are two words not many would have predicted would be together. After all, why would a supercar brand that has been driven and revered by men in particular want to create a type of car that’s been associated with soccer moms in the past couple of decades?

But the Lamborghini Urus is not the raging bull’s first SUV. From 1986 to 1992, Lamborghini designed and produced the LM002, a luxury super vehicle behemoth of an off-roader that turned heads whether on city roads or on dirt and gravel. The Lamborghini Urus, however, is quite a departure from the boxy LM002. This car is sporty and elegant with its sleek curves and iconic Lamborghini detailing, such as the familiar Lamborghini ‘Y’ shape in the LED headlights and taillights, and hexagonal theme in the large air intakes, wheel arches and throughout the interior.
 

 
Lamborghini purists might agree that visually, the Urus is far from the current models under its line-up, like the Aventador or the Huracán, but the Urus still holds core Lamborghini DNA on the inside. The Urus features a 4.0 litre V8 twin-turbo engine that delivers 650 horsepower at 6,000rpm, and 850 Nm of maximum torque at 2,250 rpm. The high-performance vehicle accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, 0-200km/h in 12.8 seconds, and at a top speed of 305km/h, the Lamborghini Urus is without a doubt, the fastest SUV available in the market.
 

 
It’s not just the mighty purr of the engine that makes the Urus a Lamborghini. For that, we have to look at the electronic platform that controls the systems and takes driving experience to another level. Those familiar with modern Lamborghinis will have no problems piloting the ANIMA Selector, the key command that adapts the vehicle to the driving mode selected. Three modes, STRADA, SPORT and CORSA, were designed to navigate the car easily, comfortably, with agility and with precision on roads, while three other modes, NEVE, TERRA and SABBIA, were designed for off-road driving to safely navigate slippery surfaces and drive comfortably in off-road conditions, and on sandy surfaces. There is also the EGO mode, which enables the driver to redefine the vehicle’s dynamics according to preferences and needs in steering, suspension and traction.

These specifications, however, are probably not that important for the target demographic of the Lamborghini Urus – women and families looking for an amped up super car to get around with daily. Since Stefano Domenicali’s take over as CEO of Lamborghini in 2016, he has called for a bigger reach into a mostly untapped market, and so far it is working. Just in July this year, Lamborghini has reported that the Urus has moved more units than the Aventador and Huracán combined.

To see if the Lamborghini Urus does measure up as a car for women and families, we put mother-of-two Mdm YY Guo behind the wheel to test out the car. Although recently retired, Mdm Guo runs an extremely busy schedule that includes ferrying a motley crew of children and parents all over the island. Together, we took the car out for a day around Singapore to see how it handled on the road.

One of the first things to be appreciated by a working mom was the ample space the Lamborghini Urus provided, such as the trunk, which has a capacity of 616 to 1,596 litres, depending on how the backseats are configurated. Without moving anything, the space was roomy enough to comfortably fit in a wheelchair plus another couple of pieces of luggage when Mdm Guo made trips to pick up her mother and caretaker from the airport. The interiors of the car were spacious as well, with customisable comfort controls for each passenger to enjoy the air-conditioning at their preferred temperature. This proved useful for Mdm Guo’s first two passengers: her mother liked it warm, while her caretaker liked it chilly. The only gripe for them? The height of the car made it difficult for Mdm Guo’s mother to climb in.
 

 
Our next stop involved helping to pick up Mdm Guo’s grandnieces from their enrichment classes, held in a centre in a mall. At just over 2m in width, and 5m in length, there were fears from Mdm Guo and myself over trying to steer the massive vehicle through the winding curves of the multi-storey carpark heartland malls are notorious for. But our fears were for naught: the Urus rounds corners beautifully and effortlessly. The ADAS systems also provided driving assistance when squeezing into tight carpark spaces. Cameras located in strategic positions of the car provided a 360˚ view of the environment, giving the driver extreme precision when parking.

The rest of the day was spent speeding (within strict road limits) back and forth picking up and dropping off Mdm Guo’s two children and her husband, before retiring the Urus back at Lamborghini’s dealership. From quick interviews with her family, the consensus was that the Urus was a wonderful ride, and getting to hear and feel the rev of the engine was a big plus – it even got approving nods from other drivers on the road. Mdm Guo herself also enjoyed getting around in the Urus. Despite the sheer number of road modes available on the ANIMA system, Mdm Guo concluded that STRADA was more than enough to cruise around comfortably on Singapore’s urban roads.

Regardless of detractors who claim the Lamborghini Urus is a far cry from the brand’s image, the proof is in the pudding. The Urus very much embodies what Lamborghini stands for: extreme and uncompromising in all aspects to be enjoyed by drivers and passengers. It is the ultimate car for running errands in, and for multi-generational families to enjoy. Save the Aventador and Hurácan for nights out in town and weekend gallivants, but for the rest of the week when just getting there precedes how you look like getting there, the Lamborghini Urus is the right super SUV for the job.
 
Fast Facts – Lamborghini Urus
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo engine
Horsepower: 650hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 850 Nm at 2,250 rpm
Fuel consumption (combined): 12.6L/100km
Top speed: 305km/h