LAND ROVER PRODUCT LAUNCH:Land Rover has revamped three of its models – but the timing may be way off, writes PADDY COMYN
YOUR HEART has to go out to Land Rover – like the war veteran emerging from the woods 54 years later who doesn’t realise it’s all over, the British brand this week took the covers off three updated models – Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Discovery – and what’s more, two new 5.0-litre V8 petrol engines have been added to the range.
Is it madness to launch new, more powerful versions of premium SUVs just when the world is turning its back on the genre?
Many would say yes, but Land Rover bosses beg to differ. “We are assuming that the headwinds will continue, however Land Rover has a very balanced global footprint and we are in 165 markets around the world and over 70 per cent of the vehicles we manufacture are sold abroad. We are continuing to invest heavily in new products and we are very optimistic about the second half of this year,” said Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover.
Sales of the brand have fallen to catastrophic levels in Ireland, a stark contrast to the heady days of 2007 – a record year for Land Rover. The Range Rover and Range Rover Sport became the poster cars of the Celtic Tiger but, just as the credit crunched, sales of Land Rover plummeted.
In the first quarter of 2008, Land Rover sold 934 vehicles – 509 of which were Range Rovers. This year, in the same period, they have sold just 52 – 17 Range Rovers.
There have been casualties as a result, most prominently the Chapman’s dealership in Naas, and with sales at this level you might not get long odds on there being fewer Land Rover dealers this time next year.
However, Jaguar Land Rover this week looks set to be granted £800 million in support. Around £300 million is believed to be in the form of a loan from the European Investment Bank – underwritten by the UK government – with the remaining £500 million coming as a loan guarantee.
It should safeguard around 75,000 jobs, including those at sites in Whitley, Coventry and Gaydon.
This will come as a welcome boost as Land Rover pulled the covers off its latest offerings. Despite the downturn in the motor industry – in particular in the SUV segment – it insists premium customers want their Discovery, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover to be more powerful and more upmarket. So Land Rover has duly obliged.
These changes come in the form of Model Year 10 (2010) versions of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport and a new Discovery, the Discovery 4.
There are visual changes to all three. Subtler are the changes to the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, with new grilles, new LED lights and, on the Sport, a smaller grille that makes it look lower and squatter.
The most dramatic visual change comes to the Discovery. It get a front end that makes it look like a Range Rover and a totally new interior to give it a more premium feel, meaning the Discovery owner is unlikely to feel short-changed: a new cockpit, a clever set of cameras that allow a 360-degree view of the vehicle and a clever towing hitch camera – just some of the technical wizardry involved.
The interiors of both the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport have been radically altered too. The Range Rover Sports interior is new, with a much more upmarket, or “premium” feel, as Land Rover likes to call it.
There is a paddle shift gearbox now available in the Sport, and this reflects the even sportier drive promised by the new car, especially the 510hp supercharged version.
This new model in the hands of a Land Rover test driver lapped Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 8.49 seconds. It has better acceleration, better brakes and better driving dynamics than before.
Meanwhile the revised top model, the Range Rover, has incredible new technology, including the world’s first automotive application of a dual-view touch-screen display, allowing driver and passenger to view different images simultaneously.
While the driver keeps an eye on the sat-nav, their passenger can watch a movie, for example. The dials have been replaced by a 12-inch TFT screen that allows for virtual dials and information display.
Under the bonnet, Land Rover has been helped by Jaguar and will offer a 245hp 3.0-litre V6 diesel for the Discovery and Range Rover Sport and also two 5.0-litre V8 petrols, one normally aspirated and one supercharged, putting out 510hp.
Of the new engines, Irish customers will be offered only the diesel and the supercharged V8, while the 2.7-litre diesel and V8 diesel will continue to be offered alongside them.
CO2 emissions are reduced in the new diesel, 8.3 per cent lower than the 2.7-litre – down to 243g/km which is still Band G, and will still cost you €2,100 per year to tax.
That – along with a the fear of being seen to be in a brand new Range Rover while Ireland Inc is falling apart – is likely to be the main obstacle to the success of the new models.
We are told the new models will arrive on our shores in September, and we hope to give you some driving impressions over the summer.
TDV6 Twin Turbo diesel – 245hp and 600Nm torque
Fuel Economy: 9.7 l/100km
CO2 emissions: 243g/km
5.0-litre supercharged V8 – 510hp and 625Nmm torque
Fuel Economy: 14.9 l/100km
CO2 emissions: 348g/km