There’s really only one place to start here. Yes, that’s a lime green Lamborghini Urus Performante. During its time with me, it drew exactly two types of comments. These were from those who loved it and those who didn’t. Very much a Marmite car, then. The Lamborghini Urus is no shrinking violet; the Lamborghini Urus Performante is a more aggressive version of what can perhaps be considered as the original super SUV. You’d be right to wonder why this was strictly necessary, but then none of it really is. Which is precisely what polarises opinion on them so much. Subjectively we can debate them, objectively we should be pleased that they exist at all.
The days of howling V8s and crackling exhausts are numbered. I was on the verge of complaining that the Lamborghini Urus Performante might be a wee bit stiff for the road, but then you slide the drive into sport and embrace the cacophony of engine notes that emit from the exhaust. Few, if anyone, does it better. The exaggerated gunfire sounds always made me smile. Perhaps I’m a bit childish, but if you’re going to roll out in a lime green Lamborghini Urus Performante, you might as well embrace it.
And many have embraced it. The Urus has been transformative for Lamborghini’s sales book. The look, the image, the noise; every car reviewer on planet earth could scream that it’s the worst car ever made but this thing would still sell in huge numbers. It’s unapologetically its own car, the Lamborghini Urus Performante. It doesn’t give a toss what you think about it. And I rather like that about it. I may have opted for a darker colour, though…
It’s a big SUV, so practicality is covered. ISOFIX, room for the dog, comfortable seats. It’s a perfect environment in which to transport your family from 0-62mph in 3.3secs in.
There’s suede everywhere. Carbon fibre, too. In fact, there’s so much carbon fibre that you’re slightly disappointed that you have to make contact with plastic when opening the door handle on the outside.
That doesn’t last too long, mercifully. Slide into the welcoming suede of the seat and clutch the suede-lined steering wheel. It’s at this point everything gets a bit Audi. Now, that might sound like a criticism, but I really like the layout of Audis A6 and above. They’re supremely easy to use and Lamborghini has leant on that.
Where the previous generation Urus could perhaps have been considered too close a relation to the Audi RSQ8 in the way it drove, the Lamborghini Urus Performante has gone the other way. It’s more Audi on the inside, but less comparable to its cousin in the way it drives now.
The ride quality is a bit fussy at lower speeds. It sits on coil springs, rather than an air suspension. It also features 23” wheels. This results in the stiffer ride. It starts to make sense, however, as you gather speed. The Lamborghini Urus Performante is designed with one goal in mind: driving incredibly quickly all the time.
Even in Strada, the most relaxed mode, it strains at the leash. Breathe on the throttle and it’ll aggressively drop a couple of cogs. This takes a bit of getting used to, since Strada in the Lamborhini Urus Performante is like Race in any other car. It’s a constantly aggressive beast.
With everything dialled up to 11, the driving experience is front and centre of the Lamborghini Urus Performante. The 4.0ltr twin-turbo charged V8 produced 657bhp and 850Nm of torque. It’s monstrously powerful. 0-62mph takes just 3.3secs.
Straight line performance is one thing, but those coil springs start to come into their own on the twisty stuff. The Urus Performante sticks two fingers up at physics and finds traction that it has no right finding. I got nowhere near the limit of its capabilities over three days with it. You’d absolutely have to take it on a track day. The mad thing is that’s exactly what this car is designed for.
It’s almost as though it has a hard time accepting it’s an SUV. Up to motorway speeds you could kid yourself you’re driving a hot hatch to a certain extent. It’s a bit like those videos you see of an adopted Tiger thinking it’s a regular cat. It’s almost the same, just a lot bigger and a lot more powerful.
The steering is razor sharp, a factor more akin to a supercar than an SUV. It darts between corners pleasingly and you can always trust it. It’ll just hold its line and slight inputs are all that are required to pick yours.
The carbon ceramic brakes (17.3 inches at the front!) are perhaps the most important element of this car. At 2150Kg it’s 47Kgs lighter than the Urus S, but there’s no getting away from it, that’s a lot of heft. That means it takes a lot of stopping. Whilst they can be a bit grabby at times, they do a hugely impressive job of keeping things in check. Once again, a track day would be required to uncover their full potential.
The heft is perhaps the last point to note. Whilst the Lamborghini Urus Performante pushes your trust in physics to the limit, it’s a trick it can only sustain so far. In motorway conditions, whilst you’d never accuse it of being slow, uptake is noticeably more laboured than it is at slower speeds. Perhaps it’s only noticeable because of how mind-bendingly quick it is at lower ones.
Ultimately, the Lamborghini Urus Performante is for those who want the comfort and practicality of an SUV, but the performance and dynamics of a supercar. Naturally, this involves some compromises, but it’s tough to envisage anyone pulling off the trick any better. It looks menacing, has a bite to back up its considerable bark and is noticeable everywhere it goes.
Even on returning it to Lamborghini, it stood out on an estate featuring some of the most prominent names in the industry. Ferraris, Maseratis and Bentleys prowled past; all eyes were on the lime green Urus.
Which is what I strongly suspect all owners want. If you want to be subtle and go about unnoticed, this is most certainly not the car for you. Lime green, as a result, rather suits it. Not all cars can pull that off.
It’s tempting to conclude that the Lamborghini Urus Performante falls into something of a no man’s land. It’s not an SUV in spirit, nor is it a supercar. That, however, risks missing the point entirely. Cars that are this brash and this expensive, that consume fuel at 18mpg, will by their very nature polarise opinion. As a feat of engineering it should be applauded. And if you’re on the thumbs up side, as I know many are judging by their reactions to it, it ticks all the right boxes. It’s an extraordinary car.
