Land Rover Updates Range Rover; Adds New Diesel for Non-North American Markets
When choosing an engine for a vehicle as grand, luxurious and capable as the Land Rover Range Rover, it’s important for a brand to pick a powertrain that’s strong and powerful, yet silky smooth and refined to the highest degree. Over the years, the V8 has become the prime choice for powering this ultimate off-roader, including those sourced from Rover, BMW or, as of late, Jaguar. But the biggest problem about the Land Rover Range Rover is its thirst for fuel; it’s one of the heaviest drinkers in the ultra-high end sport utility vehicle marketplace.
The standard engine to the Range Rover, and for that matter much of the rest of the Land Rover range is a powerful but thirsty 300 horsepower Jaguar-sourced 4.4-litre V8. This engine was introduced in the Range Rover earlier last year as a replacement to the BMW 4.4-litre V8; a successor in terms of performance and cost-cutting. Also available is an even thirstier 400 horsepower Jaguar-sourced 4.2-litre supercharged V8, which has elevated the Range Rover nameplate to a completely different level. While these engines are masterpieces of technology, neither bode well for anyone who’s looking to save a buck (or ten) at the pump.
Of course, things are a little bit different in Europe, where alongside these big gasoline-fed V8s Land Rover also offers a diesel engine. As with the old 4.4-litre V8, the Range Rover TD6 is powered by a 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine sourced from BMW. It produces 177 horsepower and 288 lb-ft of torque, which, while sufficient to move a 5-Series, or even a long-wheelbase 7-Series is simply ineffective in moving a two and a half ton Range Rover. With this engine, the Range Rover TD6 takes approximately 13.6 seconds to reach 100 km/h from standstill, which, even in this segment is glacial.
With this in mind, Land Rover, under the guidance of its parent company Ford, set out to create a solution to this problem: to engineer and build an engine that was both powerful and efficient, a combination unsatisfied by anything currently on the market. Starting for model year 2007, the German inline-six will be phased out for a new twin-turbocharged turbodiesel V8 engine, called the TDV8. From the outset, the TDV8 is an extremely impressive engine, using many of the technologies learned from the twin-turbo 2.7-litre straight six that was introduced last year in the Discovery III (LR3) and Range Rover Sport including variable nozzle turbochargers, and a DOHC design with four valves per cylinder. With lighter components and the latest piezo injector technology, the TDV8 is also one of the most refined diesel powerplants ever made, and up to 75 percent quieter than the outgoing model.
At 3.6 litres in displacement, the TDV8 is a particularly small engine; smaller than any of Land Rover’s current gasoline-powered offerings, and, smaller than the V6 offerings of some North American and Asian automakers. But size matters little, considering the immense power generated; it makes 50 percent more power than the old model at 270 horsepower, and a gargantuan 472 lb-ft of torque. Like all diesels, this new model is not at all peaky; in fact, at just 1,250 rpm the V8 churns out 295 lb-ft of torque, which is more than the peak torque figure from the previous diesel!
The extra grunt that the new diesel motor generates is enough to seriously shave some time off of the TDV8’s acceleration times. The BMW-powered Range Rover TD6 took 13.6 seconds to hit 100 km/h from the stoplight, and had a top speed of 179 km/h. By comparison, the new TDV8 model is capable of accomplishing the same feat in a very reasonable 9.2 seconds, and has an electronically-limited top speed of 200 km/h. It’s also some 40-percent quicker accelerating from 80 to 110 km/h (highway passing) than the old model. But what might be just as impressive as the performance is the economy; Land Rover claims that despite being larger and substantially more powerful, the new engine returns an average fuel consumption of 11.3 L/100 km in an equal mix of city and highway driving.
Because this is a Range Rover, the granddaddy of all Land Rovers, it’s been engineered with care to be just as good off-road as it is on. As per Land Rover’s strict rules, this, like all other products to wear the green oval must be able to climb and descent a forty-five degree slope, traverse across a 35-degree side slopes and ford 500 mm (19.7 inches) of water.
To ensure that the turbodiesel V8 runs like clockwork in these extreme conditions, the engine system features a unique new vacuum lubrication system to keep oil flowing to the turbochargers, to prevent seizures and the resulting damage. The TDV8 also receives the heavy-duty Brembo calipers and special disc brakes from the Supercharged performance model. These brakes are necessary for the TDV8 model in order to cope with the extra speed the engine is capable of taking the truck to.
While the TDV8 is arguably the biggest change to the Range Rover brand, Land Rover has once again updated this aristocrat of SUVs with a number of mechanical changes that will be featured on gasoline-powered models. Firstly, all models will receive the five-mode Terrain Response computerized transfer case system, which uses new electronically controlled centre and rear differentials to manipulate the four-wheel drive system for different terrain including grass, rock, snow and ice, and regular road conditions. Also, each car will receive an electronic parking brake as opposed to the previous cable version, for reduced cabin clutter, a cleaner look and greater ease of operation.
Other enhancements to the Range Rover range include an interior freshening, which focuses on tidying things up in the SUV’s stately cabin. The dashboard’s fascias, as well as the centre console have been revised to offer extra storage space with new twin gloveboxes; in this process the key has also been moved from the transmission tunnel up to the dashboard. The switchgear used for the stereo and ventilation systems has been improved and re-organized as well, while improved quality wood and metals are featured for an enhanced premium feel. New seats are also available for the Range Rover, which feature a ventilation function as well as active head restraints for enhanced protection in a rear-end collision.
Though the evolution of the range-topping Range Rover has been spread over two years, the constant attention paid in its development has made this one of the most complete SUVs to roam the face of the earth. Production of the revised Range Rover begins later this year, with the updated gasoline models arriving in North America this autumn. Pricing will be announced closer to the arrival date.
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