Willem van de Putte
Land Rover’s new Range Rover has arrived in South Africa in pre-production guise for homologation and technical purposes.
Due to be launched officially around June with 19 individual models starting at R2.86-million, the media had a sneak peek opportunity at the Jaguar Land Rover Experience in Joburg this week. And it’s everything a Range Rover should be, carrying on the tradition of a luxury SUV that this time round takes it to the next level both in terms of technology and design.
Locally there will be a choice of HSE and Autobiography models as well as a unique First Edition during the first year of production that’s based on the Autobiography and will be available exclusively in a Sunset Gold satin finish. Both the Standard (SWB) and Long Wheelbase (LWB) body designs will be available with five seats and the LWB with an option of a third row of seats.
Debuting in the Range Rover is the new BMW-sourced P530 4.4-litre V8 engine with two parallel twin-scroll turbos – one for each cylinder bank. It produces 390kW and 750Nm of torque and with Dynamic Launch engaged will get to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds with a top speed of 250km/h. There’s also the D350 3.0-litre straight six turbo diesel with 257kW and 700Nm of torque that will get you to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.
The third option is the new Extended Range P510e plug-in hybrid that combines Land Rover’s 375kW straight six petrol engine with a 38.2kWh lithium-ion battery and a 105kW electric motor with a range of 113km. Because of the instant torque it moves from standstill to 100km/h in 5.6 seconds.
All are driven through an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox powering all four wheels via Intelligent All-Wheel Drive (iAWD) hardware with a twin-speed transmission, giving it a selection of low-range gears for use when towing and driving off-road.
The Intelligent Driveline Dynamics (IDD) uses Torque-on-Demand technology to optimise the torque split between front and rear axles, using a network of sensors to determine the best torque split for elevated traction in all conditions.
In 2024 a full EV will be launched as part of Land Rover’s Reimagine strategy of bringing full-time zero tailpipe emissions to the Range Rover.
Range Rover line-up
D350 HSE Standard Wheelbase
P530 HSE Standard Wheelbase
D350 Autobiography Standard Wheelbase
P530 Autobiography Standard Wheelbase
P510e Autobiography Standard Wheelbase
D350 First Edition Standard Wheelbase
P530 First Edition Standard Wheelbase
P510e First Edition Standard Wheelbase
D350 Autobiography Long Wheelbase
P530 Autobiography Long Wheelbase
D350 First Edition Long Wheelbase
P530 First Edition Long Wheelbase
D350 Autobiography Long Wheelbase 7-seats
P530 Autobiography Long Wheelbase 7-seats
D350 SV Standard Wheelbase
P530 SV Standard Wheelbase
P510e SV Standard Wheelbase
D350 SV Long Wheelbase
P530 SV Long Wheelbase
Keyword: It’s not cheap, but the new Range Rover sets the standard in luxury