The history of the Range Rover nameplate stretches back as far as 1970 when it was built by British Leyland. That’s all in the past, though, and the nameplate is now a company and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover.
The British carmaker is set to retire its fourth-generation with the fifth iteration that seeks to offer even more refinement. Well, we take the marque’s word... for now.
After countless leaked images, the new Range Rover has been officially revealed and it is available either as a four, five or seven-seater across standard and long-wheelbase guises. For the Mzansi market, the new SUV will be offered in a choice of HSE and Autobiography models while a First Edition is slated to be made available throughout the first year of production.
Offered in both standard and long wheelbase formats, the First Edition model is available with five seats while the LWB is fitted with an extra row of seats making it a seven-seat bruiser.
The SV is also available in both SWB and LWB body designs with bespoke features such as SV Serenity, SV Intrepid design themes plus a four-seat SV Signature Suite setup.
The new Range Rover can be had in five exterior hue choices. Like the previous generation, the design of the SUV is not new to us, thanks to a sloping roofline that we have gotten used to, a strong waistline as well as a rising sill line. There is a new boat tail rear plus a split tailgate.
The interior features a 13.7” digital instrument cluster, 13.1” touchscreen infotainment planted within the centre stack while rear passengers benefit from a pair of 11.4” entertainment displays. When fitted with the Executive Class Rear Seats, an 8” touchscreen is found in the centre console.
Other features include a 35-speaker, 1.600-watt Meridian Signature Sound System for the Autobiography model with additional 20W speakers in the four main headrests.
For superb road manners, the new Land Rover features adaptive air suspension with Dynamic Response Pro that makes use of the navigation via a system called eHorizon Navigation data to read the road ahead and adjust the suspension accordingly. For the first time, the SUV has a five-link rear axle which, Land Rover says, provides better cushioning on the road than advanced air springs.
Other features include an active-locking rear differential as well as all-wheel-steering that electrically moves the rear wheels up to 7.3 degrees for better maneuverability.
The local range will include a choice of new Extended Range Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle powertrains, the P440e and P510e, and the diesel D350 engine with 257 kW and 700 Nm.
A more potent P530 model houses a BMW-sourced twin-turbo V8 unit with 390 kW and 750 Nm. If the power outputs seem familiar, it’s because they are the same as what the unit in the X5 M50i from Bavaria churns out. This model hurtles from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds before hitting the top speed at 250 km/h.
The P400e and P510e pair their 3.0 in-line six-cylinder petrol engines with a mild-hybrid system and are both available with 323 kW or 375 kW respectively. The electric power comes from a 38.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a usable 31.8 kWh and a 105 kW electric motor. Land Rover claims the setup is good for up to 100 km of pure-electric driving range plus a top speed of up to 140 km/h.
A fully-electric Range Rover is earmarked to join the range in 2024. The entire range features an 8-speed ZF and a twin-speed gearbox with low-range ratios for towing or off-road driving.
The new Range Rover will be launched in South Africa towards the middle of 2022 with pricing to be announced closer to launch.
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