Green Light For Eco Land Rover

IT’S the off-roader with an eco-conscience, it’s a world beater and it’s made in Britain by Land Rover.

The latest Land Rover Freelander is about to become the first 4×4 to offer stop/start technology, slashing CO2 emissions and improving fuel economy.

Part of a five year, £800million programme, the new Freelander paves the way for Land Rover to kick into touch the gas-guzzling image of four-wheel-drive vehicles.

The stop/start technology will be available initially on manual versions of the 2.2-litre diesel Freelander at no extra cost from May next year.

To put it to the test we have just run a rush-hour experiment in the middle of London driving two stop/start models and a conventional Freelander in convoy.

Over a six-mile route which took the best part of an hour on the capital’s congested roads the stop/start version clocked 25.7mpg compared to 24.1 from the regular model which followed in its tracks.

The second stop/start Freelander escaped some of the congestion and clocked up a creditable 29.3mpg.

Prior to the rush-hour exercise we had run stop/start models through the centre of London throughout the day and managed to achieve close on 31mpg overall - a fraction more than the official urban cycle figure of 30.6.

Land Rover is claiming the Freelander TD4-e offers an eight per cent reduction in emissions - from 194 to 179g/km - and an overall fuel benefit of 4.5mpg taking the average consumption up from 37.7 to 42.2mpg.

Do the sums and it equates to potential fuel cost saving of almost £700 a year - that’s £13 on every full tank.

Stop/start technology is not new - it’s a common feature on the new MINI and on BMW models - but in the 4×4 world it’s groundbreaking.

The Land Rover system is good. Unlike some others it’s smooth, rapid and feels quite natural.

Come to rest in traffic, select neutral and take your foot off the clutch and the engine switches off. It fires back into life the moment you depress the clutch to begin moving away.

During our six mile test in London the engine on the stop/start Freelander was off for 12 of the 40 minutes the journey took.

The benefits are obvious but Land Rover has made sure there is no compromise in performance - on and off-road.

The stop/start system can be switched off manually if necessary but it is smart enough to know when to operate.

Off-road it would be ineffective so as soon as the car’s Terrain Response system is activated, stop/start is neutralised.

Unlike other models with such technology, Land Rover has made sure that when everyday going gets tough the car will still do the necessary.

If power is needed to run the air conditioning or other systems an over-ride kicks in and the engine comes back into life.

As a further economy aid there are tell-tale indicators on the dash prompting the driver to select the correct gear.

Land Rover is so confident of the benefits of the system it will not be an option. As of May, all diesel manual Freelanders will be stop/start.

Research is already under way to improve 4×4 green credentials with diesel hybrid models slated for production in the near future.

The LRX baby Land Rover concept could translate into a 4×4 with CO2 emissions as low as a Ford Fiesta and fuel consumption of around 60mpg.

Land Rover is even working on an advanced hybrid with a three cylinder engine driving a generator which could result in a Range Rover with emissions of just 140g/km compared to the 299g/km the current V8 diesel emits.

It’s fascinating stuff which Land Rover is committed to making reality within the next ten years - so what’s next to moan about on the school run!

This article was taken from: D & G Standard