With 650 horsepower, the Lamborghini Urus super-SUV is all beef and pure bull
The 2019 Lamborghini Urus starts at $203,995 and the tester was $259,284 with 25 packages or accessories. (Photography by Mark Maynard)
Table of Contents
Overview
Pricing
Performance
Ride and Handling
Interior Function
Why buy the Lamborghini Urus?
Specifications
Go bullish or get ignored is the driving force in the so-called super SUV segment. For the Lamborghini Urus it is all about the power and presence with equal parts prestige, pampering and privilege.
There are serious players in this group:
- Bentley’s 626-horsepower Bentayga Speed ($235,000-plus);
- Range Rover’s 557-hp SV Coupe (two-door; $295,000);
- The 577-hp Mercedes-AMG G63 G-wagen ($148,000);
- The 590-hp Maserati Levante Trofeo AWD ($170,000);
- The 541-hp Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe, a $131,000 four-door.
And then there’s today’s tester, the Lamborghini Urus with 650-hp and a starting price of $203,995. As tested, the price came to almost $260,000.
Serious support in the sport seats.
Lamborghini Urus Overview
For Lamborghini, it is about having one of its Urus SUVs in the garage with one of the brand’s sports cars, and not parked next to an SUV by any other maker.
The Urus is Lamborghini’s second run at an SUV. Its first was the V-12 powered LM002 short-box pickup, aka “Rambo Lambo,” sold in the U.S. between 1986 and 1993.
The Lamborghini Urus shares nothing material with that truck. As a division of the global Volkswagen Group (including Bentley, Bugatti, Audi, Porsche, and Ducati motorcycles), the Urus takes a rib from the Audi Q7 SUV. It is an exemplary starting point well fortified with an advanced 4.0-liter V-8, eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive, and a calm and functional cabin. And from there, the Lamborghini DNA takes hold to create a hooved beast for the track, trail, or town.
The driver area presents as a space-wars themed cockpit
2019 Lamborghini Urus Pricing
The tester’s sticker of $259,284 includes 25 packages or accessories, including the $3,995 freight charge from Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.
The add-ons ranged from a trailer hitch ($1,168) to ambient interior lighting ($3,036) to full leather upholstery ($3,157) with heated and cooled front seats ($631). The advanced driver assist system and Bang & Olufsen sound system were each $6,313.
Standard equipment includes permanent four-wheel drive with limited-slip rear differential and active torque vectoring, air suspension, full LED adaptive headlights and taillights, smart key locking and push-button ignition.
Choose your Urus here.
A hands-on driving experience.
Urus Performance
Flip up the red bracket over the start-stop button on the center console and the engine fires with an open-pipe report then settles into a rumbling idle. But that gutsy V8 belts fire and brimstone with little provocation. And there are drive modes of Strada, Sport, Corsa, Sabbia, Terra and Neve (street, sport, track, sand, dirt and snow).
The twin-turbocharged, 650-horsepower V-8 with 627 foot-pounds of torque at 2,250 rpm will launch the Urus to 62 mph in a blaring 3.6 seconds. And that’s with a shaggy curb weight of 4,850 pounds.
It isn’t so much about how fast it will go, but how fast it gets to 30 mph, 60 mph, 90 mph. Be ready for the head-jerking jolt when the driver nails the throttle, even a little bit. The Urus jumps and kicks like a shock-rod to the flank of a rodeo bull. And unlike its rider trying to hold on, the controllability of the Urus makes its rider want to do it again — with respect, of course.
Fuel economy is not embarrassing at 12 mpg city, 17 highway and 14 mpg combined on the required premium fuel. I worked up to 20 mpg on a highway run while resisting Sport mode. But with a 19.8-gallon tank, there is much full-on Sport mode to be enjoyed.
The twin-turbocharged, 650-horsepower V-8.
Urus Ride and Handling
To handle stopping power from a top speed of 190 mph, Lamborghini says it built the world’s largest set of ventilated carbon-ceramic disc brakes for the Urus: 10-piston front calipers grip 17.3-inch rotors at the front and single-piston calipers for the rear 14.5-inch rotors.
Rear-wheel steering helps crimp the turning circle to 38.7 feet, making the Urus very urban friendly. The 360-degree camera system overcomes rear visibility issues at the small window.
The air suspension system can provide up to 9.8 inches of ground clearance for off-road use or drop the height for passenger loading. But this is the only Lambo that you will never have to remember to raise the nose when crossing a speed bump.
The 22-inch ZR-rated (street and competition) Pirelli P Zero tires are staggered, in sizes of 285/40 front and 325/35 rear. The rear rubber is nearly 13 inches wide, which benefits braking from 62 mph to zero in about 111 feet. That’s about 11 feet farther than Lamborghini’s Aventador coupe.
The carbon-ceramic four-wheel-disc brakes are about the largest used on any car.
Urus Interior Function
Despite the competition-grade hardware, the Lamborghini Urus is a streamliner on the highway with no nervous twitching and it soars through cornering maneuvers. The cabin is well soundproofed, the steering is quick with good communication through the wheel.
The only driver element that I would change would be for steering-column-mounted shifters, rather than mounted on the steering wheel. As with other Lamborghinis, Drive is engaged by flipping the right-side paddle shifter. And when the wheel is turned, as when backing out of a driveway, the paddle is upside down on the wrong side.
The driver area presents as a space-wars themed cockpit with full electronic displays that are reasonably configured for touch-screen adjustment. The optional 18-way power-adjustable and massaging front seats are heated and cooled.
The back seat space is quite comfortable with long legroom and full climate controls. But the huge center tunnel detracts from the center-seat footroom. A two-seat “executive” option would be smart, but it’s easier to sell an SUV on the utility of five seats for a car that costs as much as a guest house.
Lamborghini doesn’t give interior dimensions but says there is front seat room to accommodate someone up to 6-feet-8 inches and someone 6-feet-2 inches should be comfortable in the back seat.
Plenty of room for pro-league golf bags.
Why Buy the Lamborghini Urus?
The Lamborghini Urus might not be much of a rock climber. And I would cringe to throw bags of landscape materials in the back. But the Urus is the only five-seat Lamborghini with cargo room for luxury-class golf bags.
In this super-SUV segment, it isn’t so much a matter of cost but of value. And the Urus brings an easy quarter-million in value for its exclusivity, heritage, and prestige.
The fuel economy is not embarrassing at 12 mpg city, 17 highway and 14 mpg combined .
2019 Lamborghini Urus Specifications
Body style: Full-size 5-seat, AWD SUV
Engine: 650-hp, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8; 627 lb.-ft. torque at 2,250 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic with six drive modes
Fuel economy: 12/17/14 mpg city/hwy/combined; premium fuel
0-62 mph: 3.6 seconds
BY THE NUMBERS
Fuel tank: 19.8 gal.
Cargo space: 21.7 cu. ft. *behind back seat
Length/wheelbase: 201.2/118.2 in.
Width/height: 85.8/64.5 in. *width includes mirrors
Curb weight: 4,850 lbs.
Turning circle: 38.7 ft.
PRICING
Base price: $203,995, including $3,995 freight charge; price as tested $259,184
Where assembled: Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy
Warranty: 3-years/36,000-miles including powertrain and roadside assistance
