If you had mentioned the idea of a Lamborghini SUV 25 years ago, you would’ve been laughed at by some and downright threatened with physical violence by others (or lectured about the “Rambo Lambo”). The very notion seemed foolhardy. Of course, the same could be said for a Porsche SUV, but here we are. Not only does Lamborghini offer an SUV, the Urus, but it’s their top-selling vehicle by a substantial margin. This isn’t just a fluke either; it’s been their top-selling offering since it was introduced, and this follows the same pattern as Porsche with the Cayenne.
What makes the Lamborghini SUV so popular? In a lot of ways, it’s the same things that make other SUV models popular for the rest of us: solid performance, a spacious and comfortable interior, and great features inside and out. Of course, since this is a Lamborghini, all of those things are turned up well past 11, and the kind of power and performance we’re talking about really is on another level. Let’s see what the Urus has to offer and why it’s become the top model in the Italian supercar lineup.
Lamborghini Urus at a Glance
Before we really dig into why the Urus is becoming increasingly popular, let’s take a moment to see what it brings to the table. For starters, even though this is an SUV, it has a distinctly Lamborghini design that really sets it apart from anything else on the road. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still go for something like the Countach for pure looks and style – or even the Huracán if I really have to. But if you spot the Urus out in the wild, you’re certainly not going to mistake it for a Chevy or Jeep SUV.
A huge part of why these supercar SUVs have been so successful, whether you’re looking at Porsche or Lamborghini, is that they still retain incredible power and performance. Under the hood of the Urus is a 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8 engine that delivers a massive 640 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. You’re not going to find many other SUVs on the road with that kind of muscle, and it comes through in stunning performance that makes it an absolute joy to drive. It can go from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds and run the quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds as it gets up to 121 mph according to testing by Car and Driver; Lamborghini says it has a top speed of 190 mph.
This is a midsize SUV with seating inside for up to five people, and despite its performance-based design, it’s quite spacious and comfortable inside. It has about 105 cu.ft. of passenger volume inside, with up to 78 cu.ft. of total cargo volume behind the front seats and 21.75 cu.ft. of space behind the rear seats. In other words, even though it drives like a sports car, it has plenty of room inside for you to enjoy with family and friends. This is really what separates it from other Lamborghini models that are built about how you would expect, typically with a pair of seats and little if any consideration for things like cargo space.
Interior Luxury
Of course, the inside is not just designed with passenger and cargo space inside; the Urus is a luxury model through and through. That means the seats are incredibly comfortable with a lot of carbon fiber and luxurious materials all throughout the interior. It really feels like sitting in a cockpit, more than a typical SUV, with everything built to let you feel the power that’s at your fingertips. This even comes down to details like the start button being set behind a red flip cover and the shifter looking and feeling like a jet’s throttle rather than the typical stick you’ll find in your run-of-the-mill SUVs.
Technology is everything you’d expect, though there are some compelling decisions made to up the luxury and performance features. Rather than a single large infotainment display, for example, there’s a pair of screens that each provide you with information, along with the digital gauge cluster that you’d expect. The screens look fantastic, and there are levers and switches throughout the interior to control things like drive mode and other customizable options. There’s even a 21-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system available for drivers who want to take their audio experience to the next level, though at $222k to start, I’d kind of like that to be standard.
Oh, have I not mentioned the price before? That’s right: it starts at about $222,000, and it can get up to just about a quarter of a million bucks pretty easily. I guess once you’re in for about the average cost of a house in Pennsylvania for your next SUV, little things like available sound systems and an available hands-free tailgate (seriously, that’s only an option!?) aren’t really a big deal anymore.
Little Things Are Easy to Overlook
Despite that price point, however, the Lamborghini Urus isn’t quite perfect. It certainly delivers on a level of power and performance that most SUV owners can only dream of, and yet, the luxurious interior has a number of details, like a lot of the switches, which are straight out of an Audi interior. I don’t mean that sarcastically or as figurative language; they’re literally the same buttons and switches used in some Audi models. Don’t get me wrong, Audis are excellent luxury cars in their own right, but when you pay three times the price, you probably don’t expect any parts coming from a less-expensive option.
Still, that’s a pretty minor thing to quibble about, and most drivers are probably too busy having the time of their lives behind the wheel of the Urus to really notice or care. That’s what this comes down to: nothing’s perfect, and this Lamborghini SUV still offers an incredible and highly exclusive driving experience. Plus, despite its remarkable price point, it’s still a pretty “affordable” option for a Lamborghini.
The Numbers Speak for Themselves
There are only a few Lamborghini models available: the Huracán starts at $215k, while the Aventador starts at $450k – so the Urus is a very attractive offering. The truly extravagant will probably go for the Countach that has returned this year, but they’re going to drop at least $2.6 million on one of those – so the Urus is downright budget-friendly by comparison. This price point within the Lamborghini lineup and the fantastic combination of performance and design is a big part of why the Urus has taken over their lineup.
In 2020, Lamborghini delivered 7,430 vehicles, which was a minor decrease from the previous year due to all those year-2020 reasons, but still a huge success for the company. Of those, 4,391 models were the Urus, accounting for almost 60% of the Lamborghinis delivered for the year. In the first half of 2021, Lamborghini delivered 4,853 vehicles – 2,796 or about 58% of those were the Urus. These numbers are huge for Lamborghini, and while some of the people who bought it would’ve likely bought a different model instead if it weren’t available, there’s no denying that the addition of this SUV to their lineup has been a massive boost for their overall sales.
At the end of the day, that’s what this all comes down to. People love a vehicle they can brag about like a Lamborghini; if they can have that with incredible performance and great functionality, too, then they’re going to go for it. This is why Porsche found so much success with the Cayenne, why Ferrari is joining the SUV craze with their Purosangue, and why Lamborghini has dominated with the Urus. If you’re going to drop $200k+ on a vehicle, you want to be able to have both your brother-in-law and sister-in-law pile into the back to show them what they’re missing – you can’t get that with the two-seater Aventador.
