08 Apr 09
Range Rover
The design changes to the Range Rover for 2010 are certainly evolutionary rather than revolutionary - but that's exactly the way Range Rover fans like its progress.
The minor tweaks to its styling include new ringed LED headlamps, three LED indicator strips each side, a deeper front grille, recessed foglights and plainer front bumper, but otherwise, it's business as usual for Land Rover's range-topping luxury 4x4.
The big changes are under the bonnet: like the Range Rover Sport and Discovery 4, the Range Rover gets a series of new engine options. The headline-grabber is the supercharged, direct-injection 5.0-litre V8, as in the Jaguar XKR (461lb-ft of torque).
While this 5.0 isn't exactly an eco-warrior with its 19mpg and 348g/km carbon dioxide output, it's an improvement on the 4.4 V8 supercharged model it replaces - as well as making half the noise. A naturally-aspirated version of the engine (376lb-ft) is also offered, along with the continuing TDV8, which promises a more respectable 25.4mpg and 294g/km.
Improvements to the handling include a new adaptive damping system, variable-ratio steering, revised traction control, enhanced understeer control and stability control, and new Sand Launch mode for the Terrain Response off-roading aid.
The star gadget's a dual-view touch-screen display, which enables the driver to see one image and set of controls (for the satellite navigation, for example), and the front-seat passenger another (who could watch a DVD) - a different picture is projected at a different angle.
This revised Range Rover, revealed this week at the New York Motor Show, goes on sale in the UK at the end of June 2009.
