Range Rover 2010 News

European manufacturers Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover and Peugeot have all issued recent recall notices.

Tesla has issued a voluntary recall for its electric Model S sedan and Model X SUV after discovering a potential manufacturing issue that could stop the electric park brake from functioning properly.

Known for its heavy gas-guzzlers Land Rover is planning a diesel hybrid and two-wheel drive. The company is also spending more than $1 billion to design and build more eco-friendly off-roaders that are lighter and more fuel efficient to help combat tougher emission regulations. The two-wheel drive version of the Land Rover LRX off-roader will arrive in local showrooms around September next year.Land Rover Australia spokesman, Tim Krieger, says the small off-roader will wear a Range Rover badge when it arrives. However, he says the final name of the car and product line-up is still "under review"."It will sit above the Freelander and below the Range Rover Sport," he says. "For us it will also give buyers who don't really need four-wheel drive an opportunity to get into a Land Rover product."It will also help expand the carmaker's customer base and give it a serious competitor in a growing two-wheel drive crossover segment, he says. The LRX will emit less than 130g/km of CO2, making it the most fuel efficient and lightest, Range Rover ever.The company's first diesel electric hybrid Range Rover Sport is planned for 2013. But far from walking away from its off-road heritage, Land Rover's managing director Phil Popham says the company remains committed to making "the world's finest all-terrain vehicles" for customers who need a four-wheel drive. "But we'll also now offer an alternative to those that don't," he says.Testing of the diesel hybrid prototype, called the "range-e", will start using a Range Rover Sport later this year. The Sport will use an existing 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel engine with an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. The goal is to achieve a range of 32km using electric power only as well as emit less than 100 g/km of CO2 emissions.

To be eligible for 4WD Of The Year, a vehicle has to be completely new that year, or significantly revised. By 'significantly revised' we mean a major mechanical change like a new engine or drivetrain, or a new body. Styling, equipment or interior facelifts don't cut the mustard.To be eligible, the vehicle in question also has to have a full-size spare wheel either as standard, or available as an option. No full-size spare equals no start. On this count, the Peugeot 4007, Volvo XC60, Audi Q5 and Mitsubishi Outlander were all eliminated automatically.That left a number of other soft-roaders that do come with a full-size spare to consider. These included the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX400h and the Nissan Murano. The fact that so many new soft roaders didn't go down the space-saver route is good news but at the end of the day they are still soft roaders and with so many strong candidates among the ranks of the serious 4WDs, we couldn't warrant their inclusion.The new 'serious' 4WDs included the Prado 150 Series, the Land Rover Discovery 4, the Range Rover Sport and Vogue, the new Land Rover Defender variants, the ML Series Triton, and the revised Jeep Wrangler.   Further culling of the numbers saw the Wrangler and the Defender eliminated on the grounds that they are both variations on well-known themes while the Range Rover Vogue, with its new petrol 5.0-litre V8, was deemed to be too expensive in relation to the new Range Rover Sport with its new 3.0-litre TDV6.In the end it came down to the Discovery 4 with its new TDV6 engine (in SE spec), the Range Rover Sport with the same engine (only one spec level), the top-spec ML Triton as this is the only model with all the new features as standard, and the Prado in both petrol and diesel guise. To us, these five vehicles represented an extremely strong field … a classic Land Rover verses Toyota battle with the wildcard Triton thrown in.Find out which vehicle won in Australia’s leading offroad magazine, Overlander, on sale Wednesday Jan 27.

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."EquipmentThe 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.EnginesThe 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.AppearanceThe 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.DeliveryThe 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.

This is what happens when you are cut loose in the Land Rover Heritage Collection, which contains the most significant and best-known vehicles to wear the famous badge of the brand since the 1940s.You can live your fantasies as a reality behind the wheels of the cars which actually did the job, from one of the very first Land Rovers through to Lara Croft's movie star machine and even an SAS fighting truck which saw active service in the Middle East.The extra-special Land Rovers are lined up at Eastnor Castle, which has been the test base for the off-road icon brand since the 1960s, as part of a money-cannot-buy driving experience.The history cars are ready for an hour of action, but only after a hectic half day of the toughest off-road driving I have ever experienced in a group of shiny new Discovery 3 escape machines.It's the best fun I've had in a mud puddle since I was five, and this giant puddle takes up more than a little of the 5000-acre estate at Eastnor Castle with roads which are always special and sometimes named after members of Britain's royal family. And not because they liked the scenery . . .It's cool and slightly foggy as we troop out of Eastnor - which was built in the early 1800s despite styling which would be fine for King Arthur - and slide into the seats of the Discovery fleet.My day gets better, much much better, when a man called Roger Crathorne slides into the back and introduces himself. He is known inside the company as 'Mr Range Rover' and has been a driving force across the Land Rover family for more 40 years since joining the company as an engineering apprentice.Crathorne was the man who led Land Rover to Eastnor, after a golfing friend suggested it might be a good place to do some testing on the 'upcoming' Range Rover in 1962."We've been here ever since. And the conditions are some of the toughest we have found," says Crathorne as we begin the day.He is proved right within 30 minutes when I get our Discovery lightly bogged. It takes a few goes, but eventually I pull free of the sucking mud which has infested the deep ruts which set out our route.It's typical of Eastnor, which is tackled with the car's Terrain Assistance four-wheel drive system set to 'mud and ruts', with occasional tweaking of the ride height, the downhill assist and all the other stuff you never worry about in Toorak or Double Bay.This is serious off-road work and, less than an hour later, it gets much worse. The ruts get deeper, the conditions get even more slimy, and Roger is bounding out of the back seat like a 20-something fun runner - not a 60-something retired executive - to lead the winch and recovery work.He does it again a little later when an assault on the 'American Dips', dug deep through a stream to impress a group of American dealers, turns into a major recovery job for all of the Discoverys."This is what it's all about," he says.And it is. It is also the proof that a Land Rover in the 21st century is just as capable as the 1940s original which was developed from the wartime Willys Jeep.After using a Jeep to tackle the famed Rubicon Trail in the USA, where it's all about slow-speed crawling over giant boulders, I am convinced the Eastnor test is much tougher. And I would also give the Discovery a tick ahead of the American off-roaders, although it would be fantastic to put them head-to-head at Eastnor.After a break for tea and a talk, and more advice from our guides and advisors, we move into muddy ruts which are even more worrying than before and then a final test through obstacles hung over a stream. But the Discoverys wade through the deep sucking muck, and breath cleanly in deep water, as they take us on a tour that includes some incredible British scenery - also used by, whisper it, the SAS for training work - and then rise easily to the creek challenge.At the end they are as dirty as any four-wheel drives I have seen, with mud caked over almost every surface, yet they have been light and easy and luxurious to drive. Particularly with Roger to do the heavy lifting on the winch work.It's already been a memorable day, but after a barbecue lunch beside the Eastnor lake, it's time for the heritage cars.I cannot help myself as I jump straight into the Lara Croft-mobile. This is the very same vehicle driven by Angelina Jolie, down to the rumbling V8 exhaust and a body tweaked with all sorts of adventure gear. It's a fun drive and a smile-a-mile experience, even if the movie makers insisted on an automatic gearbox for their star . . .The Judge Dredd machine is a disappointment after the Croft car, and just getting into the driving seat is a snake-and-squeeze test. The body might be fantastically futuristic, but the cabin is straight from the 1940s.And so is one of the very first Land Rovers. I find it easy to drive, and much more luxurious than an original Jeep, but you have to concentrate on a low-powered engine and a difficult gearbox and brakes which need planning."I think more people should drive cars like this. They would learn what motoring is really about," says Roger, who is again along for the ride.I take a lap in the SAS machine and wonder what stories it could tell, clamber into an early Land Rover truck, and then fall deeply into a Crathorne trap."Why don't you have a drive of this? We'll see what your muscles are like," he says, pointing to a machine with tracks instead of wheels for a polar expedition.It goes well at first but when I have to turn . . . it is impossible. There is no give in the tracks and it takes be about 57 goes - well, maybe not that many - to make a simple 90-degree turn."It's a lot easier on the grass, isn't it?," Roger says with one of those Yoda-style smiles.And that is typical of everything about the day with Land Rover. What looks easy is very tough, but incredibly educational and enlightening.It's a history lesson in a day, as well as a course in engineering and driving, and chance to see what four-wheel-drive development is really all about.We are about to see the 2010 models of the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery 4, which will be shiny and new and luxurious and ideal for cashed-up Australian families.But they can also do the sort of work which has made Land Rover so successful for more than 60 years.At the end of the day, I find myself on top of one of the towering battlements of Eastnor Castle. I am strapped to the third-longest flying fox in Europe, nearly 10 stories above the ground and facing a 300-metre run out across an icy-cold lake.How did I get here? Why? These are two of the questions which spark through my head as I prepare to throw myself off a perfectly good castle to overcome a lifelong fear of heights.Eventually, after three failed attempts, I slide over the edge and scream like a child. Lara Croft? Maybe not today after allFollow Paul Gover on Twitter!