Range Rover 2013 News

Czech brand Skoda and British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) have revealed which models will be recalled as part of the wide-spread mandatory Takata airbag call back.

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.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has this week issued safety recalls for various vehicles from Land Rover, Nissan and Volvo.

This is far from the usual daily trek for most Range Rovers -- which is generally a round of school runs, shopping and maybe a polo picnic. The Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest sand desert and one that even the locals are wary about venturing into.So Range Rover decided to try a world first and get across the vast expanse of sand dunes in a day with the new Sport. And it seems well-equipped for the job, building on parent company Land Rover's offroad expertise with a true dual range four-wheel drive system -- a single range AWD is also available, but was not what you'd choose for the sand challenge.The Sport has a choice of four engines: a 190kW 3.0-litre TDV6 diesel, a 215kW SDV6 diesel, a new 250kW 3.0-litre V6 and 375kW 5.0-litre V8 -- with a 250Kw 4.4-litre diesel version also due to arrive in Australia early next year -- all mated to an 8-speed ZF auto transmission.Watch the Range Rover Sport takle the sand dunes of the Empty Quarter on our desktop site.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

You know you're getting old when car comfort is more important than a stoplight sprint. Either that or, like me, you've recently spent too much time with doctors and comfort suddenly becomes the single most important thing in your driving day.I love the Ferrari 458, but right now I would hobble straight past the rip-snorter Italian thoroughbred on the way to a cushy Jaguar XJ limo. It would be the same situation for my first-choice funster, the Porsche Cayman.I've recently driven a race-prepared Fiat 500 Abarth and the pain was almost - almost - worse than the pleasure of romping the pocket rocket around the high-speed swoops and curves of Phillip Island. I was more than happy to slide back into the cushiness of a Chrysler 300 for the drive home, even if the seats in the motown monster don't give as much support as I normally like.The ride back to the airport got me thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of a number of vehicles that have recently passed through the Carsguide garage, focusing on how they make you feel in the body instead of in the head. Every week there are emails to CarsGuide from people of age, asking about upgrading - from a conventional passenger car into something in the SUV style that's easier on the hips and legs at mounting and dismounting time.An SUV can look like a good idea on the comfort front, but lots have bench-flat seats, crappy ergonomics and nowhere near enough suspension compliance. The Subaru Forester has a nice ride, but I prefer the seats in the Toyota RAV4. On the car front, the new Nissan Pulsar has seats that do nothing for me, but the Renault Clio is surprisingly comfy for a little, affordable car.My top favourite seat is a Recaro racing bucket that is almost shrink-wrapped to my shape, like a bathtub full of jelly that provides perfect support. But it's just about the toughest seat to get into or away from. So, right now, the first-choice comfort car is a Range Rover. It's stupidly expensive, but everything works for me, from a body that drops down on its air springs for easy access to beautifully-shaped front buckets finished in lovely leather and even a user-friendly automatic gearbox that means my left leg never has to move out of its comfort zone.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

None of us wants to crash our shiny new car but, if we do, we want to know we're safe. That's where the Australian New Car Assessment Program's standardised crash-testing analysis is invaluable, providing comparable ratings for vehicles of all types.The ANCAP site notes that a one-star car is twice as likely to kill you as a five-star model. Carsguide examines ANCAP's results to find the best of breed in each segment. It's worth noting the advanced software in some cars that readies the vehicle if a crash is imminent are disabled during the official tests. Cars are scored out of 37 points after the following tests.FRONTAL OFFSET TEST: The subject vehicle is accelerated to 64km/h and rammed into a deformable alloy barrier to simulate a head-on crash. To increase the severity and reproduce real-world conditions only 40 per cent of the car hits the wall - equating to a driver swerving to avoid an oncoming vehicle.SIDE IMPACT TEST: The T-bone hit rams a 950kg trolley into the side of the car at 50km/h. The sled has an alloy face to simulate the front of another vehicle, which deforms and absorbs some of the impact.PEDESTRIAN TEST: Simulates the results of hitting a pedestrian at 40km/h. The test assesses adult and child impacts, given their heads and limbs strike different areas of the car.POLE TEST: This is the most demanding test in the ANCAP repertoire. Trees and poles don't deform, so all the crash energy is transferred to the vehicle. The car is put on a sled and propelled towards a fixed steel pole at 29km/h.SAFEST SMALL CARSAUDI A3 36.41 See reviews of this carOfficially the best small car to occupy in an accident. Impressively, the windscreen pillar didn't move after a 64km/h hit with the concrete block.  HONDA INSIGHT 36.39 See reviews of this carIts score reflects a 3mm movement of the pillar in the frontal offset test and "slight risk" of serious leg injury for driver and passenger.   BMW 1 SERIES HATCH 36.33 See reviews of this carThere's a slight risk of serious chest injury for the driver in the frontal and side crash test and a slight risk of serious leg injury for the passenger in the frontal crash.   SAFEST MEDIUM CARSMERCEDES B-CLASS 36.78 See reviews of this carTops the charts with the highest score of any car in ANCAP database. Technically there's a 4mm movement of the front pillar and a slight risk of injury to the passenger leg closest the door.  BMW 3 SERIES 36.76 See reviews of this carBarely behind. It showed a 1mm movement of the pillar and there was a slight risk of serious injury to the driver's and passenger's legs.VOLVO V40 36.67 See reviews of this carThe only loss of points occurred during the frontal crash test, with a slight risk of serious injury to the front occupants' legs closest the door and the driver's chest.SAFEST LARGE CARSTOYOTA AURION 36.59 See reviews of this carFirst place in this class makes it the only locally built vehicle in any top-three line-up. There's a slight risk of lower leg injury for driver and passenger.   BMW 5 Series 36.53 See reviews of this carNot a bad place to be in the event of an accident either. It blitzed the side impact tests and only lost fractions of points in the head-on hit.    VOLVO S60 36.34 See reviews of this carSweden maintains its safety credentials. The passenger compartment stayed intact with only a 1mm movement of the front pillar.    SAFEST COMPACT SUVS SUBARU XV 35.53 See reviews of this carLike the slightly lower-riding Impreza, the XV scored highly in all crashes, with a slight risk of injury to the front occupants' chests and legs.    HOLDEN TRAX 35.18 See reviews of this carThe surprise packet. One of the smaller cars in the class has only a slight risk of serious leg injury for those in the front in a head-on crash.   Skoda Yeti 34.67 See reviews of this carDepite being one of the older examples in this segment, the Yeti still rates well for safety, with only a slight risk of serious leg injury for those in the front in a head-on crash.    SAFEST MEDIUM SUVSVOLVO XC60 36.53 See reviews of this carANCAP says the cabin 'held its shape extremely well" in the frontal test, with the pillar shifting just 3mm. There was a slight risk of serious chest and leg injuries to the driver.  FORD KUGA 36.33 See reviews of this carA solid second, posing a slight risk of serious chest injury for both front seat occupants. The front pillar moved 15mm.   HONDA CR-V 35.91 See reviews of this carPlaced well despite being penalised for the foot-operated park brake moving upwards and back. Structurally there was only a 2mm movement of the pillar.  SUBARU FORESTER 35.64 See reviews of this carTested this year, it scored highly in all crashes, with a slight risk of injury to the front occupants' chests and legs.   SUBARU OUTBACK 35.52 See reviews of this carFills the brand's quinella. Crashed in 2008 and at the time topped the charts as the safest vehicle ANCAP had tested. SAFEST LARGE SUVSMERCEDES-BENZ ML 36.34 See reviews of this car Luxury SUV has a slight risk of serious chest injury for driver and passenger in the head-on hit and a slight risk of serious leg injury for the passenger. The pillar moved 2mm. RANGE ROVER 36.19 See reviews of this carBig Brit has a slight risk of serious chest injury for the driver and the pillar shifted by 15mm.   NISSAN PATHFINDER 35.73 See reviews of this carSlight risk of serious leg injury for the driver. Unlike the other two, it applies to the upper leg as well as the expected lower-leg hits. Docked points for a marginal pedestrian impact result.

A motorist was hunted down by a pack of motorcyclists and slashed in front of his wife and child after running over several bikes in New York.The harrowing chase, which ended with the enraged bikers smashing the SUV driver’s side window open and slashing him in Washington Heights, was captured by a camera apparently attached to a biker’s helmet, producing a 6-plus minute video that quickly went viral on YouTube and elsewhere.The New York Post reports that the driver – who the paper named as 33-year-old Alexian Lien and who was travelling with his wife and child – was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for stitches after the attack, police sources said.It was unclear what started the dispute, but in the video, several dozen speeding bikers surround a dark-coloured Range Rover with New York plates heading northbound on the highway in northern Manhattan, with one motorcyclist purposely slowing down in front of the SUV and forcing Mr Lien to stop about 2pm.Others quickly park in front of it as one biker dismounts and starts walking threateningly toward the vehicle. At that point Mr Lien guns the engine and crashes over several bikes and speeds off in a desperate bid to escape. The bikers pursue Mr Lien through northern Manhattan and block him again as he gets caught behind another vehicle, with one biker yanking open his door.But Mr Lien guns it again and manages to get away after knocking another bike to the ground. Finally, traffic forces the SUV to stop on West 178th street. One rider then rips off his helmet and uses it to bash in the driver’s side window as the video ends. Police say the crew then slashed Mr Lien in front of his wife and child.  No arrests have been made and police are investigating the assault.Watch the Bikers hunt down SUV driver video here. 

Land Rover has launched the world’s first hybrid production offroader. We’ve seen several hybrid soft roaders before, but this is the first one with serious offroad ability.The British manufacturer has built the hybrid technology into its two flagship models: the Range Rover Vogue and the Range Rover Sport – both of which will arrive in Australia in the second quarter of 2014.Until now, hybrid technology was problematic in offroad vehicles because water and mud could harm the electric motor and batteries. But Land Rover says significant work has gone into protecting the hybrid technology from damage, and that the hybrid Range Rovers are as capable as their conventional siblings.Mounted below the front passenger compartment, the motor and batteries add 170Nm and 35kW, bringing the Rangie to a total of 250kW and 700Nm – matching the new 4.4-litre V8 turbodiesel also launched as part of the new line-up.Unlike previous petrol-electric SUVs where the electric motor only powers two wheels, the Range Rover’s unit is integrated into the ZF eight speed gearbox, meaning all four wheels are powered by the same source. This ensures that consistent wheel speeds are maintained on surfaces with poor traction.In addition, Land Rover has further departed from traditional petrol-based hybrids by making the Range Rovers diesel-electric – offering the extra range, towing capacity and torque that offroad enthusiasts prefer. The combination of electric and diesel power has resulted in a torque curve that peaks from 1500rpm to 3000rpm.This means that both models offer plenty torque from almost idle speeds, which will assist with towing, tackling challenging obstacles and carrying weight. This also results in a fuel consumption of 6.4L / 100kms, and a reduction of CO2 emissions to 169g/km.Despite the 120kg increase from the hybrid system, the Range Rover Sport has a claimed 0-100km/h time of just 6.7 seconds, with 0.2 seconds more for its bigger brother, the Vogue. That’s considerably ahead of the Lexus RX400 hybrid’s claimed 7.8 seconds – coming from a 221kW 3.5-litre V6 petrol-electric hybrid system. However, the latter trumps the Rangies on fuel economy by 0.1L/100km.The Range Rovers’ spritely performance is partially due to lightness of their aluminium structure  -- part of a platform shared across both models for the first time – which has shaved over 400Kg from the weight. Importantly for offroaders, the location of the hybrid system also means a full size spare wheel is still included, and the Range Rover Sport maintains its ability to carry seven passengers, if you forgo the full size spare in favour of a space saver.The trade-off is that the small battery pack in the Range Rovers will mean the car will only travel close to two kilometres in electric-only mode. However, regenerative braking means the batteries will be topped up on the go. 

A court heard how drunken Daniel Cooper, 24, stripped off while out with friends. The father of three was seen urinating in the street before walking down the High Street in Holywell, Wales, with his trousers round his ankles and his t-shirt pulled above his head, British media report.He then shocked fellow revellers by walking into a kebab shop and simulating sex with the counter of the takeaway. Married Cooper, described as being a "caring family man", then dropped to the floor and began doing the same.He then left the shop and gyrated against a Land Rover Discovery that was parked nearby. Cooper says he was so drunk he could not remember what happened - until he was shown the CCTV pictures of his actions.He pleaded guilty and was placed on a three-month community order and must remain indoors between 7pm and 7am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for the next three months. His sex act with the counter of the kebab shop was filmed by some of Cooper's friends but was later deleted, The Telegraph reports.One of his pals said: "Daniel will never live this down – everyone is saying he was 'tyred' and 'exhausted' afterwards. "He is not a pretty sight when naked. We all felt sorry for the Land Rover and hope it wasn't offended."