2021 Lamborghini Urus review: SUV has bite to match its bark

This in your face SUV combines head-turning looks and fire-breathing performance unlike any SUV ever built.

SUVs are a necessary evil supercar brands use to fund their other outrageous machines.

We try out Lamborghini’s in your face Urus SUV to find out what its all about.

A LAMBORGHINI SUV IS NOT SACRILEGIOUS

After all, everyone’s doing it, from Aston Martin to Ferrari. Purists may shudder, but car companies need to make money and SUVs are profit gold. Many Urus buyers also have a “proper” Lamborghini supercar in the garage, so the SUV is their everyday raging bull. In traffic it burbles along as effortlessly as an Audi Q7, there’s space for three entitled kids in the back (you can option two rear seats if preferred) while its 616L boot is bigger than a Toyota Prado’s. Just as Porsche shifts shedloads of SUVs to fund development of its sports and supercars, Lamborghini’s doing likewise. And it’s working. Australians have bought more Uruses in 2021 than Huracans and Aventadors combined.

The Urus looks like a supercar on stilts.

IS IT THE WORLD’S FIRST SUPER-SUV?

That’s what Lamborghini calls it, and the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8’s 478kW and 850Nm help its case. The all-wheel-drive Urus is no skinny Italian model at 2200kg, but can accelerate to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds and on to 305km/h, which is frankly ridiculous. If you’re brave enough to hustle one around a racetrack you’ll find it turns and stops with physics-bending ability too. Brakes are massive 440mm carbon ceramic jobs (don’t ask how much they cost to replace), while four-wheel-steering, adaptive air suspension and active roll stabilisation somehow manage to suck this beast to the road. It accelerates with brutal, rapid force and in Corsa mode, it pops and burbles and displays unbelievable agility for such a big car. Think Shaquille O’Neal successfully pulling off Simone Biles backflips.

It is seriously quick despite its ample weight.

IT’S NOT CHEAP

But it is cheap for a Lamborghini. The Urus is $390,000 before on-roads – the only Lambo costing less is a two-wheel drive entry-level Huracan ($378,900). The bonkers Aventador’s sticker price begins at $788,914. Its competitors are priced similarly: an Aston Martin DBX is $357,000, a V8 Bentley Bentayga is $364,800 and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Coupe $336,100. The Audi RS Q8 – same platform and engine as the Lambo, albeit not as powerful – looks a relative giveaway at $208,377. Our test Urus cost a smidgen under $500,000 before on-roads, thanks to almost $102,000 in options.

The options list is long and expensive.

AND THE OPTIONS ARE RUDE

Those options include Verde Mantis pearl effect green paint ($17,144), black 23-inch wheels ($9898) fancy diamond stitching on the leather ($6186) a carbon fibre interior pack ($9721) and Bang & Olufsen 3D audio ($11,665). Lambo also likes to charge for items standard on a $50,000 Kia. A Panoramic roof is $5302, DAB radio is $1414, ambient lighting $5832 and hands-free tailgate $1591.

The Urus looks and behaves just like a regular Lambrorghini supercar.

IT’S STUNNING INSIDE AND OUT

The Urus has all the visual drama of Lamborghini’s supercars, just higher up and more in your face. Its screams excess, from its deliciously fat rear end to oversized wheels and brakes under the sharp-edged body. It’ll never compete with a Miura for design beauty, but dressed in that green paint it’ll win any “look-at-me” award. The cabin’s a luxurious masterclass. Seats are uber-plush, there’s a trio of screens and everything you touch has quality to help justify the half-million dollar price. Well, except the steering wheel buttons which look directly lifted from a VW Golf. Beside a bright red missile-launcher-style cover for the engine start button there’s your off-road drive modes too. Hopefully, not even the most eccentric billionaire would be using those.

Originally published as 2021 Lamborghini Urus review: SUV has bite to match its bark