We all have one or maybe more? That car or cars we will buy should our numbers come up in the lottery. You may even have them broken down into categories like I have, sportscars, family cars, ultimate cars. And the vehicle at the top of my ‘family car’ list is the Lamborghini Urus.
After experiencing the base model Urus a few of years back, if anyone asked me what the first car I would buy if I won the lottery would be, my answer was ‘a Lamborghini Urus’. Nothing I have driven to date has compared to the Urus in the terms of bonkers performance and practicality. A raucous V8 engine with room for four people to comfortably travel in and a boot large enough for a full-size Western saddle, what more could I want!?
So, when the opportunity came up for me to drive a Urus again, I jumped at it. I arrived at Lamborghini Sydney and laid my eyes on the Urus S I had for the day and was almost floored. Because not only was I going to get to drive my lottery car again, it was pretty much my perfect spec. In layman’s terms dark charcoal exterior, black interior with yellow highlights. In Lamborghini speak that’s Grigio Lynx Paint ($26,312.03 option), and Nero Ade interior with Giallo Taurus stitching ($1,196.23 option).
Behind the improved front end styling and the front sensor that looks like a missile that is ready to launch at any car that is not doing the speed limit in the fast lane, is the heart of this raging bull. The Urus S is powered by a 4.0 litre, turbocharged V8 engine that produces an appropriate 666CV or 490kW of power and a whopping 850 Nm of torque. This can accelerate the 2.2 tonne Urus S from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds, 0-200km/h in just 12.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 305km/h. Braking performance from the carbon-ceramic discs is also impressive with 100 – 0km/h taking only 33.7 metres. The official combined fuel consumption is 14.1L/100km, but from my previous experience I know fuel use is higher in the real world.
As the door softly closed behind me and nestled into the optional ($4,651.13) Q-Citura with leather seats the smell of high-quality leather interior wafted around me. Using the power adjustment on the side of the driver’s seat I tweaked the recline, forward/back, seat height front and rear, and 4-way lumbar support to get comfortable. Both the driver and passenger seat each have two memory positions and are heated ($930.08 option). I then took a moment just to look around and take in the interior this Urus S.
The speaker covers on the optional ($10,099.25) Advanced 3D Bang & Olufsen Sound System are stunning and the sound quality from the system is amazing, and this is money well spent in my opinion. I also like the Aluminium inserts on the dash and door trims, but not the Black Piano surface around them. The perforated leather steering wheel ($1,860.15 option) is gorgeous and I love the feel of the metal wheel-mounted paddle shifters that allow you to ‘manually’ change gears in the 8-speed automatic gearbox.
That done, I flipped up the red cover over the central start button and awakened the bull. Starting out in Strada mode as I traversed the chaotic Sydney streets, I eagerly anticipated some emptier roads so I could stretch the legs of the Urus. The drive modes are selected using the ANIMA toggle switch and you can choose form Strada, Sport, Corsa, Neve or Ego. Ego is your custom drive mode and you can adjust the driveline, steering and the suspension to your personal preference.
When I finally switched to Corsa mode the Urus S really hunkered down and the exhaust became angry with a guttural burble on the overrun, this is the Urus that I remember and love. Four-wheel steering, permanent all-wheel drive with active torque vectoring, and a roll stabilisation system with continuous and immediate response all combine to deliver a dynamic yet comfortable driving experience in the Urus S.
The two screens on the Urus dash both have haptic feedback controls and the lower screen is for the climate controls and the top screen is for the infotainment system. The top screen is sunk into the dash and at an angle that made it a little awkward for me to push the buttons. Thankfully the Urus S also has voice control that is activated by pressing the button on the steering wheel that has a feminine looking silhouette on it. The voice control worked well for me to make phone calls and enter a destination on the sat nav, but it wasn’t so great at changing the radio station.
There are plenty of storage cubbies in the Urus S cabin and under the arm rest is a wireless pad for charging and wireless connection to Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, two USB-C ports and a place for your sunglasses. On the ledge below the centre console there are another two 12V sockets. The two cup holders in the centre console have grippy sides, but no rubber mat in the base to clean up any spills and there are good sized drink bottle storage cubbies in the front doors.
For rear seat passengers there is ample leg room and the headroom was adequate for me, but taller individuals may find headroom is a bit tight. I also felt the seats were a bit low and that there wasn’t much under thigh support for me. For younger passengers the Urus has two ISOFix/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but most likely there would only enough for two car seats, but that’s two more than you would fit in any other Lamborghini available.
The centre seat folds down as an arm rest and has two small cup holders in it and there are good sized drink bottle storage cubbies in the rear doors. Rear passengers get central air vents and vents in the B-pillar with dual digital temperature, air speed and mode controls. Below the climate controls there is one 12V socket and two USB-C ports that are labelled ‘3’ and ‘4’. The only real downside of the rear seats is the high transmission tunnel that does not have a mat over it.
This Urus S has a Hands-Free Tailgate ($1,196.23 option) or can be opened/closed using the button on the key fob, on the tailgate or in the cabin. As I mentioned the boot is huge and would easily accommodate everything a family of four could throw at it on a day-to-day basis or for a weekend away. If more room is required the rear seats have a 40:20:40 split fold mechanism. I think the solid cargo cover is stylish and from a practicality standpoint there are four substantial tie down points in the boot space, one hook, two lights, and one 12V socket and under the boot floor is a tyre repair kit. You can also raise and lower the Urus S from buttons in the boot thanks to the adaptive air suspension system.
The Lamborghini Urus range does not have an ANCAP safety rating, but it does have up to eight airbags including front driver and passengers airbag, front and rear side airbags, curtain airbag for head protection. The Advanced Driver Assistance System features Adaptive Cruise Control (operated using the stalk behind the steering wheel), Lane Keeping and Lane Centering and blind spot monitoring. The rear view camera combines a surround view camera and standard rear view or 3D camera with front and rear parking sensors to lessen the likelihood of kerbing those Taigete 23″ shiny black rims, which are a $7,574.43 option. For convenience the Urus S also comes with auto lights and auto wipers, which will get some use because the Urus is not afraid of getting its Pirelli P Zero tyres wet.
The Lamborghini Urus comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty and owners can opt to purchase an additional 12-month or 24 months warranty for $5,500 or $10,200 respectively. Servicing costs for the first three years are $1,850 for year one, $2,450 for year two and $2,650 for year three.
The Lamborghini Urus S starts at $364,757.22 excluding luxury car tax and on-road costs and as tested this Urus S particular costs $577,527.18 including all taxes and on-road costs in NSW. My lucky numbers haven’t come up yet, but if you are fortunate enough to be in the market for what I think is one of the most dynamic family vehicles you will ever drive then you can configure your Urus S online or visit your preferred Lamborghini dealership for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| The raucous V8 engine | Black Piano surfaces on dash and centre console |
| The beautiful interior | Adaptive cruise control set using a stalk |
| The Advanced 3D Bang & Olufsen Sound System | I’m still waiting for my lotto numbers to come up |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.