by Steve Colquhoun

Land Rover and Range Rover models get a facelift, including more powerful engines.

Confidence and optimism rather than doom and gloom are the hallmarks of Land Rover’s launch of its updated range of vehicles, unveiled at the New York motor show this week.

Land Rover says it is enjoying strong sales globally of its large off-roaders and expects its revised and updated Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery models to continue to paddle against the prevailing economic climate.

“The (2010) model year represents a massive level of change and investment by Land Rover,” managing director Phil Popham told journalists at a UK media briefing last week ahead of the New York reveal.

“We’ve got great plans for the future and we passionately believe that one of the best ways to get the market moving again is to excite people.”

So enthused is Land Rover that design director Gerry McGovern has coined a new word to describe what sets the trio apart from their predecessors and competitors – “premiumness”.

It crops up often as he and Mr Popham strive to explain a raft of updates across Land Rover’s three flagship models – the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and renamed Discovery 4.

The headline act is the addition of two new engines – one a supercharged 5.0-litre petrol V8, the other a twin-turbo 3.0-litre diesel V6 – that each add 29 per cent more power to the range, but also deliver 6-9 per cent better fuel economy than the engines they replace, with similar reductions in emissions.

The V8 (available on Range Rover and Range Rover Sport) uses a twin-vortex Eaton supercharger to make a startling 375kW of power and 625Nm of torque, and has been engineered by the Jaguar Land Rover’s powertrain team to meet yet-to-be-implemented EU5 emission regulations.

Land Rover claims the new TDV6 engine (available on Range Rover Sport and Discovery 4) virtually eliminates the scourge of force-fed engines, turbo lag. It will deliver 180kW and 600Nm, with 500Nm available in 500 milliseconds from idle and all 600Nm flowing at 2000rpm.

Both engines will be mated to a new ZF six-speed automatic transmission, with the Range Rover Sport getting steering wheel-mounted paddleshifters for the first time.

Land Rover claims a world-first with a ‘dual view infotainment screen’ for the flagship Range Rover. This alternately hides and reveals pixels to the right and left of the screen, allowing the driver and front-seat passenger to simultaneously use the central console screen for different purposes – while the driver is following satellite navigation instructions, the passenger can be watching a DVD on the same screen

The Range Rover also gets an innovative digital instrument cluster, which the driver can customise to highlight the most relevant information. In low-speed off-road maneuvering, for example, the speedometer can be shifted to one side to give more prominence to a display of the car’s off-road systems in action.

All three models sport sharper exterior cues, with deeper chins, new grille designs and a cleaner bumper design. The fourth generation of the Discovery badge benefits the most, with a fully rebuilt interior that includes fewer buttons and switches than before and more prominent placement of an improved version of the off-road “Terrain Response” controls.

Interior upgrades on the two Range Rover models beef up the “premiumness” with revised switchgear and higher-quality materials and finishes, Mr McGovern says.

“When we talk to our customers (about Range Rover), they tell us ‘don’t change it, just make it better’, and we have to deal with that. So that’s what we have done,” he says.

Range Rover Sport customers have also driven the push towards a more exclusive interior treatment. “Our customers told us they wanted a higher level of ‘premiumness’ on the interior – they told us to make it more Range Rover-like,” he says.

“It’s a revolution because it’s a whole new interior. Everything is new. We’ve reduced the switch count to make it more intuitive. Luxury car owners don’t want complexity.”

All three models get a 360-degree camera system, which utilises five cameras that can be individually or dually viewed on the central console screen to virtually eliminate blindspots.

Continually adjustable dampers and more powerful brakes will combine for better on-road handling characteristics, Land Rover says, while off-road assistance has also been beefed up with the introduction of gradient descent control across the range.

“The 2010 model year (range) is a bold statement of intent by Land Rover, the intent to stay at the very top of the segments in which we compete,” Mr Popham says.

Prices will be announced closer to the range’s October local release, but the refreshed range will be welcome for Land Rover Australia, which has seen sales plummet by a third compared to this time last year.

This article was taken from watoday.com.au. View the original article here: http://www.watoday.com.au/executive-style/motors/new-engines-for-land-rover-20090518-baa3.html

2009 Land Rover models are selling fast, and easiy clearing the decks for the new range of vehicles, Wallis Dumper, Managing Director of Land Rover New Zealand reports:

“Customers who decide in advance what they want can protect themselves from currency fluctuations and get a car exactly to their desired specification ordered from the factory. Whilst other manufacturers strive to clear the decks, the Land Rover customers get to factory order fresh new models.”

The new range has a redesigned interior, updated exterior, and a hold of extras and new technologies that add to the environmentally friendly and usability of the vehicles. Supercharged engines are available for those that want a 5.0 litre Sport, and touch-screen information centres are installed.

With current economic situations, exchange rates and prices fluctuating, it’s not yet cleat how much the vehicles will be sold for. With demand at its current levels however, many dealers are already taking custom pre-bookings and expect them to sell well.

The June Motorexpo will see the UK debut of the new range of Land Rovers, which were launched in New York recently at their International Auto Show. The vehicles feature some advancements over previous incarnations, with a 3.0 litre diesel engine in the 2010 Range Rover Sport and the Discovery 4 delivering over 30mpg. A 5.0 litre supercharged enging is available for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, and all vehicles feature improved economical fuel consumption, CO2 emission reductions, changes to exterior design and redesigned interiors.

The 2010 Range Rovers also have the new 12″ TFT infotainment touch screen system, with display virtual dials and graphical displays.

Visitors to the show will also be able to see the Freelander 2 TD4_e, which the features stop/start technology that we have previously discussed on this blog, and is the most fuel-efficient of the Land Rover vehicles so far. Test drives will be available, both on regular roads and also on the artificial off-road simulator, ‘terrapod’.

Land Rover UK’s managing director John Edwards remarked, “We are extremely pleased to be returning to the London Motorexpo this year. It is well documented that our industry is experiencing extraordinary conditions at present but we must invest in the future and continue to market vehicles that are relevant, practical and above all desirable to our customers. The 2009 London Motorexpo is a unique event which offers us an ideal opportunity for showcasing our new model line-up to the British public for the first time.”