2010 Land Rover Range

Fresh from its 60th birthday celebrations, but reeling from the global economic downturn, the British brand is going in hard on its flagship Range Rover, as well as Discovery and Range Rover Sport which shares its basic mechanical package.

But the hardness for the 2010 model year is balanced by a softer new look - particularly on the previously-brutal Discovery - as well as all-new V8 engines, upgraded Terrain Response four-wheel drive running gear, improved suspension and all sorts of new luxury stuff.

"This is a major investment by us. All these vehicles have new powertrains, new interiors and exteriors. And a step change in perceived quality. Ten is a bold step," says the head of Land Rover, Phil Popham.

His briefing on the 2010 changes is done at Land Rover's headquarters at Gaydon in Britain, even though the cars were revealed this week at the opening of the New York Motor Show.

"Land Rover is really bucking the trends. We are confident about the future. One of the best ways to get this market moving is to get people excited."

Equipment

The Range Rover gets a very special TFT display screen that can show two simultaneous pictures - satnav for the driver, a movie for the front passenger - as well as a leather headliner, the Sport picks up an all-new dashboard and the changes to the third model are so extensive it is now called Discovery 4.

The Range Rover story continues with adaptive damping for the suspension as well as blind-spot monitoring and a 360-degree camera system; the Sport is the only model to pick up all three new engines, as well as revised active roll, new brakes, 'dynamic' mode for the four-wheel drive and paddle shifters, as well as keyless entry; and Discovery 4 picks up new steering with improved suspension, high-beam assist, trailer stability assist and more, particularly in the cabin.

Engines

The new V8s come with either 280kW/510Nm 380kW/625Nm with a supercharger, figures which are up to 29 per cent better on power and 12 per cent on torque, with economy as good as seven per cent better. With improved emissions.

The TDV6, which is the heartland powerplant for Discovery 4, is tuned for 500Nm of torque for a 0-100km/h trimmed by 24 per cent and three seconds, improved CO2 and fuel economy improved to 9.3L/100km.

Appearance

The styling work on the 2010 models starts with a new look for the Range Rover that the company describes as 'proud', while the sport is 'more sporty' and the Discovery has less 'visual noise'.

All three get LED daytime running lamps with variations of the same twin-ring look, following the move by other luxury brands led by Audi.

The overall result is smoother in every case, but particularly the Discovery. It is less Judge Dredd and more like a luxury car than a tank, even if chief designer Gerry McGovern makes no apologies.

"Our vehicles look the way they do because of what they do," he says.

"Having said that, we now need to move on. There are some big challenges, but some big opportunities as well."

The engineering work at Land Rover is now under the control of transplanted Australian Murray Dietsch, who moved from Ford at Broadmeadows. He promises big things later in the year, once the production cars are running down the line at Solihull and test driving begins.

Delivery

The first of the 2010s will reach Australia sometime in September, but final details - including the all-important prices and equipment levels - are a long way from settled.

"We're trying to be very competitive with our pricing and we're trying to make the vehicles as competitive as we can. This is our opportunity to become ourselves," says Kevin Goult, marketing manager for Land Rover Australia.