It's ironic that Greenpeace chose to protest against the rising number off-roaders clogging city streets by halting production at Land Rover, the one company with a true heritage in functional off-road vehicles.
The British marque, which specialises in working off-roaders, is only now coming to terms with the dramatic growth in urban sales and trying to catch up on BMW, Lexus and Mercedes. The saloon marques jumped on the bandwagon when they saw the potential in SUVs for the company car park at a time when the traditionalists at Land Rover were still debating whether a cassette player for the Defender would be too flash by its customer base.
While the Discovery has been updated to appeal to more image conscious owners, Land Rover has suffered somewhat in the luxury urban end where the Germans have gained control with the BMW X5 and Mercedes M-Class. The Range Rover may rule the roost in terms of prestige, but it couldn't match the competition on price.
So we have a new model in the Range Rover line-up, slotting between the Discovery and the flagship model.
While it's significantly smaller than its siblings, it's actually larger than the Range Rovers of old and stands taller than either the X5 or the Volvo XC90.
But size is not the big selling point for the Sport. It's the incredible driving performance.
Despite being kitted out with a host of features sure to appeal to the Premier footballing classes, the most appealing feature of the Sport is not its image, nor its off-road ability. It's the fact that, somehow, the boffins at Land Rover have finally managed to crack one of the greatest challenges known to car engineers: how do you get a 2 1/2 tonne vehicle with a high centre of gravity to handle like a sports car?
They've managed it, thanks to some fancy suspension work. The Sport is without doubt the best-handling SUV we've driven.
There's none of that wallowing in corners, the unnerving leaning that forces you to back off in the likes of the larger Range Rover.
Based on the Discovery platform, the Sport features all its off-road technical wizardry - terrain response, air suspension and hill descent controls.
During several off-road adventures its off-road pedigree became clear. At one stage we drove up a rocky incline that was hard for walkers to get a foothold - in the rain. The average muddy field or rocky riverbed offers no concern to the Sport.
Yet, while that's where the Land Rover heritage stands out from the crowd, it's not where the Sport excels. Everyone knows Land Rovers are good at dealing with the dirt.
It's how it performs on the road that matters most. While the vast majority of SUV owners in the class don't go anywhere near a field, they have long sacrificed roadgoing ability for the extra height and a somewhat misguided belief about extra safety provided by SUVs.
For those who enjoy driving it seems like a ridiculous sacrifice to make if you don't actually need to go off-road. However, given that this is fast becoming Land Rover's bread-and-butter market, they had no choice but to cater for this growing segment. And they've done it with style.
As part of the demonstration of its cornering and handling ability, we were sent on a former WRC stage at the international launch. Weaving through hairpin bends only slightly wider than the Sport, we couldn't wipe the smile from our face. It's just such a tidy package.
Of course it has its limits. It will understeer if ever you forget it's a Range Rover and not a Mini. But in the burgeoning SUV market, it leaves its competitors on the starting blocks in terms of handling. Nothing comes close.
Our test car this time was the diesel, another engine from the Ford family of brands of which Land Rover is one. It's nowhere near as powerful as its petrol equivalents, but there's plenty of meaty pulling power at lower revs.
However, those more concerned with street-cred than pulling up tree stumps will no doubt opt for the 4.2-litre supercharged version with the toughest gurgle we've heard in years. It's enough acoustic testosterone to turn the most avid sandal-wearing hippie into a raging muscle car fanatic.
Inside, the regular Range Rover cabin has been modified, with the central console raised to just below elbow height and the dash raised up, all in an effort to cocoon the driver and offer a more sports style feel. It works and we'd have this over the mainstream Range Rover anytime, though no doubt those used to the roominess of the flagship may find it a little cramped.
On the minus side, fuel consumption, even on the diesel, is high. During our time in the two petrol versions we rarely managed anything over 15 mpg. The lack of a third row of seats may deter some, particularly the school run set.
Another damper may be that Land Rover is still recovering from several years of quality issues. Things have improved dramatically of late, but some may still wary of giving them a second chance.
If ever there was a car to win them back to the fold, it's the new Sport.
It may seem that we've lost the run of ourselves over this SUV and its superb handling - perhaps that's because for years we could never understand why anyone who didn't own a farm, didn't play Premiership football or take part in drive-by shootings would go for vehicles that corner only marginally better than double-decker buses.
SUVs may cause apoplexy among the greener members of society, but from a driving perspective Land Rover has finally managed to come up with a vehicle that could justify a change of heart by even the most ardent luxury saloon driver.