F-Pace SVR

There is a stretch of Sardinia that might have been drawn for an SUV with a sports car's heart: the Orientale Sarda, the SS125 as it climbs over the Supramonte between Dorgali and Baunei. Wide hairpins, beautifully kept tarmac, limestone walls on one side and the blue of the Gulf of Orosei on the other. The F-Pace SVR takes it all in with the family aboard, beach towels in the boot and 550 hp waiting under your right foot — and it is precisely this double life that makes it so special on the island.

Where a coupé would ask for compromises, the SVR simply shrugs: the short gravel track down to a hidden cove, the steeply sloping car park above Cala Gonone, five people with everyone's luggage. We explore that balancing act in our guide to luxury SUVs in Sardinia — space and comfort: very few cars hold practicality and aggression together this naturally.

The supercharged 5.0 is fast becoming an endangered species, and you can hear it — literally. Beneath the V8's baritone rumble runs the whine of the supercharger, building with the revs like a held note; in Dynamic mode the active exhaust adds overrun crackles that ricochet off the rock walls of the Orientale. It is not a polite sound. It is old-school English thunder.

The eight-speed automatic holds a gear when you press on and vanishes when you cruise; the rear-biased all-wheel drive lets the back axle help you out of a corner without ever reminding you of the kerb weight. The 4.3-second 0–100 km/h sprint is the headline figure; the truth is the nonchalance with which it dispatches an overtake on the state roads of the Nuoro hinterland — two tonnes moving as if they weighed half that.

SVR is the badge Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations division reserves for its most extreme machines: lowered, stiffened suspension, enlarged air intakes, and sports seats that hold you through the corners yet cosset you on long transfers. Our example wears Firenze Red, which completes the picture: red, British, with a supercharger where everyone else fits turbos — a way of building engines that is disappearing, and one to be savoured here to the last drop.

For guests starting from the Gallura we deliver straight to the villa or the heart of the coast: our luxury car rental in Arzachena covers the entire municipality, Costa Smeralda included. And if you would like to weigh it against the alternatives, our selection of luxury SUVs for rent in Sardinia lines up some very different characters — the WhatsApp concierge will help you choose.