There are SUVs, and there are Range Rovers. In fact, there are Range Rovers and then there are Range Rovers.

The Range Rover Autobiography is as close to the absolute pinnacle of the Range Rover tree as can be, with the only step left to opt for the flagship long-wheelbase model of the same car.

This is the kind of car that actually defines the concept of luxury. It’s subtle on the outside and a masterpiece of opulence on the inside. It’s befitting of kings and queens.

The full-size Range Rover was tested all the way back and achieved 36.19 out of 37 for its safety score to get the maximum five-star rating.

Since then safety testing procedures have changed considerably. The MY20 Range Rover comes with a plethora of active safety systems.

The front seats are super comfortable, and there’s such a minuscule amount of noise coming into the cabin you can actually fall asleep in this car if you’re not too careful, and not in the driver’s seat. We often found ourselves turning the massage function on and going the long way home just to enjoy the almost over-the-top sense of opulence and luxury.

The open-aired command position seating with a heap of room around you really does relax the mind and soul. This is the sort of car you’re be happy to drive in traffic, because it’s just a nice place to be.

The back seats, though, are where the magic happens. Press a few buttons (too many for our liking) and the peasants in the front are squashed forward, and the rear seats recline into a limo-style position where you can sleep for hours, as your driver takes you from your mansion to your holiday home.

We can only imagine that’s what the Queen of England does behind those blacked-out windows.

As far as being relaxed and enjoying the driving experience, this Range Rover offers a level of comfort that is almost unrivalled. It’s worth noting it does make sense to go for the long-wheelbase version, which gives you an extra 19.2cm of legroom in the second row and really allows you to stretch out.

Other than that it’s fair to say even with the dual-screen setup and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The good thing is the cabin is so relaxing and the car such a pleasure to drive that you’re happy to get lost thanks to the outdated sat-nav.

The boot measures 900L in capacity (wet, meaning if you filled it with liquid), which is large enough for pretty much anything you can think of. If you think of something bigger, just fold down the second-row seats and that grows to an impressive 1943L.

Under the bonnet is Jaguar Land Rover’s cool (and definitely never to be repeated) 5.0-litre V8 supercharged petrol engine.

It takes a real brute-force approach, this V8. It sounds amazing without being as ridiculous as the backfiring Range Rover Sport SVR. but the cabin is so well insulated that it’s hard to tell how loud it actually is.

The V8 pumps out a very healthy 518Hp of power and, thanks to its supercharger, 700Nm of torque in a very usable band between 3500 and 5000rpm.

Despite weighing 2.5 tonnes, the eight-speed automatic gearbox does such a great job of extracting the best from the engine that the Autobiography managed to get from standstill to 100km/h in just 5.4 seconds, so you needn’t be shy at the traffic lights.

Range Rover claims a fuel economy figure of 13.1 litres per 100km, but that’s not exactly likely in the real world, with anything approaching a rear driver behind the wheel. Realistic figures are closer to 20L/100km if you intend to actually drive your very expensive moving luxury lounge chair with any vigour.

The big V8 and the relatively lightweight aluminium chassis gives the Range Rover a towing capacity of 3500kg so you can bring the horses yourself, if your servants are busy.