The original Land Rover was a countryside workhorse that was built to last and has become a classless conveyance.

If you want to make the right entrance when turning up for a glass of organic nettle juice at the Marchioness of Worcester’s or Jonathon Porritt’s, a fume-belching Land Rover is unlikely to make the happiest of impressions.

Isn’t it a Chelsea tractor, or at least a Cheltenham one? And one of the worst polluters still choking our lanes? What environmental campaigner could possibly abide such a thirsty monster?

But actually, a Landy is way “greener” than the ecologist’s conveyance, a 2CV – and not merely because in early form it was any colour you liked as long as it was green, owing to all the army surplus paint knocking around the Rover factory.

No, a Land Rover is green because it’s indestructible. The carbon footprint of cars is principally the energy sunk into their manufacture, not their subsequent movement. And once you make a Landy, it stays made.

Not long ago Land Rover claimed 75 per cent of the vehicles it had ever sold were still on the road; and, staggeringly, it has been rolling them out since 1948. No wonder Landy drivers call mere cars “disposables”. So here’s my tip for conserving the planet – save an old Land Rover.

Instinctively, even eco sorts who recycle their own sewage and live in yurts seem to get this. Certainly my Landy is always met by waves and cheery honks. And while it is unmistakably country, it is also classless; turning up at the village pub in a Landy, you could be the squire or the gamekeeper employed to keep down the number of townies.

Once, as Shaw asserted, it was impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without some other Englishman despising him; now an Englishman is despised when he opens his garage door: is his car too expensive, or too cheap? A Land Rover, by contrast, is a set of wheels no true Englishman could regard with anything very short of love.

For why else are they still made more than half a century after the first Jeep-derived truck? I’m struggling to think of another vehicle that has remained in continuous production and is still recognisably the same beast, right down to those silly sticking-out rear lights.

The modern Mini and Fiat 500 are cute future classics, but both are pastiches of dead models. Only a Land Rover acquires classic status the moment it splutters off the production line.

Under the skin the Landy has changed, of course. The latest engine is almost smooth. Modern versions offer CD players, even electric bum warmers. Yet despite these facelifts its fun-filled, adventurous spirit remains.

Once you have a Landy you’ll never believe you did without such a willing workhorse. Best of all, you’ll find repairs incredibly simple. This is one classic that will never die on you, because it will see you out. Anyway, hope all this helps round at the Worcesters…

Land Rover

Production: 1948 to date

Dress: tweeds or jeans, who cares?

On the stereo: I’ve Got A Brand New Combine Harvester, The Wurzels

Price now: perky, £10,000 for a good ‘un

This article was taken from: telegraph.co.uk

The new-for-2010 mid-size Land Rover sport utility vehicle has improved ride and handling, prettier front styling and more power and luxury appointments than its predecessor, as well as a new name, LR4.

The need to change the name from LR3 is debatable. But other changes are definitely improvements.

Base pricing didn’t go up by much. Starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $48,100 for a base, 2010 LR4 with 375-horsepower V-8, automatic transmission, five-passenger seating and standard four-wheel drive. This is $1,275 more than the starting price of the 300-horsepower 2009 LR3.

Option packages, however, can be pricey. For example, on the test LR4, a lux package that added third-row seats totaled $11,115, so the final posted price was $61,715.

That compares with the $65,995 starting retail price for a four-wheel-drive 2010 Cadillac Escalade with 403-horsepower V-8, automatic transmission and three rows of seats. BMW’s 2010 X5 with 350-horsepower V-8, automatic tranny and all-wheel drive starts at $57,025.

All LR4s have four-wheel-drive and a new, 5-liter, direct injection V-8 that delivers a noteworthy 375 foot-pounds at 3,500 rpm. This is up from 315 foot-pounds in the old, 4.8-liter V-8.

Power came on steadily in the test LR4, and engine sounds were pleasing. At more than 5,600 pounds without any passengers or cargo, this SUV feels heavy, so the increased horsepower and torque definitely helped the driver experience.

It took just a couple seconds for the LR4 to respond when I pushed hard on the accelerator, and then it could move quickly to grab an open spot in traffic. The accelerator responded well, too, as I lifted off the gas. There wasn’t an artificial feeling of long coasting like you can get in some vehicles.

Through it all, the six-speed automatic handled shifts competently and without noticeable shift points.

On light off-road terrain, the LR4′s power and easy-to-learn throttle response helped give confidence and a sense of security. Engineers appeared to have done well to combine on-road power with the need for a driver to make sensitive power adjustments off road.

But fuel economy remains poor in this four-door vehicle. The LR4 is rated at only 12 miles a gallon in city driving, 17 on the highway. This is the lower tier of SUV fuel mileage.

The LR4 interior was quieter than I expected. Even with big, 19-inch tires, this SUV didn’t transmit a lot of road noise to passengers. Wind noise was noticeable, though, as soon as I got near highway speeds.

I can’t complain about the views out front of the LR4. This SUV stands more than 6.1 feet tall, and passengers must climb up to get to their seats. I wished there was something more prominent to grab hold of as I hoisted myself into the LR4. The handle at the ceiling was a bit too high for me.

There’s a constant sense that the roof is high above passenger heads, and it’s not an illusion. Everyone, including people in the third row, gets at least 40 inches of headroom, which is unusual. Headroom in the rearmost seat of an Escalade, in comparison, measures 38.2 inches.

This generous headroom in the LR4 comes even though everyone sits high above the pavement. The LR4 has ground clearance of at least 7 inches so it can more easily travel over rocks and other off-road obstacles.

So, a driver naturally expects a tippy kind of behavior, but the LR4 takes corners with surprising composure. I kept pushing the test vehicle, and it maintained a flat, stable feel through curves — something that I did not expect.

Vehicle motions in the test LR4 were managed competently by an electronic air suspension overlaying the independent front and rear configurations. Steering has been upgraded for better response, but it still can feel a bit disconnected in off-road maneuvers.

Land Rover retuned the suspension and put bigger brake discs into the LR4, and both updates give a more poised ride than the predecessor LR3 had.

Inside, the LR4 has nicer materials and a freshened instrument panel that give an upper-class feel.

The navigation system still is clunky to use, however, and the split rear tailgate, where the rear part folds down instead of going up and out of the way, can be awkward.

The cargo floor, by the way, is high off the ground. I sometimes had to get help lifting heavy items inside.

Putting the optional third row seats up — they are two separate units that fold flat into the cargo floor — also takes time and patience. I’d start at a side rear door, and then have to move to the rear and then back again as I maneuvered a seatback up and then got the seat cushion in place. Many other SUVs have far easier rear seats.

Standard safety items on the LR4 include six air bags, including curtain air bags, and electronic stability control.

This article was taken from: Mercury News

Sales in February 2010 for car giant, Land Rover are on the rise. The Land Rover retail sales for this February have increased exponentially by 29.6 percent since this same time last year.

Sales in the UK for the popular SUV for this month went up a staggering 46.8 percent when compared to February 2009. For Land Rover, it is the sixth month in a row that the company can report a steady hike in retail sales. The increase seemingly indicates a rise in stability in the market.

Managing director at Land Rover, Phil Popham stated that the latest model and product line-up at Land Rover has increased ten-fold in desirability making the retail sales higher than ever before. He added that it seems as though the momentum for this year’s line will continue to hold strong.

Not only did Land Rover fair well in the UK, but the new line of luxury, utility vehicles seems to be doing well all across Europe. Emerging markets in France, The Netherlands, and Portugal all increased upwards of 50 to 100 percent.

Brazil, China, and Korea all increased in retail sales more than 75 percent, and North America saw a rise in retail sales of 18 percent, up from last February.

This article was taken from: carrentals.co.uk

IT’S not a label I use lightly but, like the Mini and Beetle, the Defender is an icon.
The current model is one of the most recognised vehicles on the planet and still bears a resemblance to the 1948 original.

The Defender has passed the test of time and remains relevant today, in its own way.

I drove one for two weeks after Christmas when snow brought large parts of the country to a standstill but being in the Defender was like being part of International Rescue as I towed cars to safety and ferried stranded families to the local supermarket.

But new environmental regulations have caught up with it, so Land Rover have decided it is time for change.

And they’ve invited Sun Motors to help design the new Defender.

I was given the rare privilege of working with the firm’s designers to create my version of a 21st Century Defender.

As you can see on the right, I’ve even offered you two versions.

And this week I watched proudly as my design was shown on a giant screen on Land Rover’s stand at the Geneva International Motor Show.

It is unlikely to be the next generation Land Rover but I hope the firm may think some of the design touches could figure in the real production version, which will go on sale in 2014/15.

They are looking at every angle, especially the possibility of expanding the Defender line-up to include an urban version for city users as well as the traditional workhorse for farmers and utilities.

Design chief Gerry McGovern already has some impressive motors on his CV, such as the original Freelander and MGF sports car. He said: “Replacing the Defender is one of the ultimate design challenges. It’s a vehicle that stirs up an incredible passion in people.”

McGovern accepts that not everyone will be happy: “We will have to take some traditional customers out of their comfort zone, take all the nostalgia out of the issue and focus on what a new generation Defender is all about.

“There is no point recreating an antique. This has to be a modern, relevant vehicle. It doesn’t have to look anything like the current model!”

Land Rover are doing a huge amount of detailed research into what customers really want from a modern Defender.

McGovern said: “We want to design a vehicle that is truly desirable, we want Land Rover to be a cool and modern brand but still with the substance and relevance people expect.

“We want owners to use its functionality, but we also want them to use it as their family transport at the weekend.

“We have to make it much more comfortable and a nicer environment to travel in. It will be pared right down, simple and not over-complicated inside.”

Land Rover chief executive Phil Popham has no illusions about the difficult and crucial task ahead.

He said: “The Defender needs to represent the future of the Land Rover brand and it is the heart of the business. We know we have to get it exactly right.”

Popham said the firm have come up with a business plan for multiple Defender products that can be successful. And he believes there is scope for major growth. The Defender currently sells around 22,000 a year in a global market of between 2.5million and 3million vehicles.

In recent years, Land Rover have concentrated on successfully developing the Range Rover line-up and McGovern has already finished the next generation Range Rovers, including the radical LRX “baby”.

Now the Land Rover revival is to become the priority. It is set to be a fascinating journey for one of motoring’s great vehicles.

This article was taken from: The Sun

A replacement for the Land Rover Defender, an SUV for which the word “venerable” could have been invented, has been given the greenest of green lights by parent company Tata. The now 62-year-old go-anywhere-and-then-some truck is expected in 2014, and is being worked on now under the codename Project Icon.

It looks like nothing has yet been decided about Project Icon other than its codename and its status in the line-up, which is at the very top. Coming up with a new retail name for the Defender line and finding a way to differentiate it from the previous model will be part of the work to be done, as well as coming up with a platform and powertrain. The current platform could be too heavy to serve for much longer in the face of stringent new European efficiency regulations.

The powertrain could be the biggest surprise of all, though: a hybrid is being suggested as a way to reap the typical hybrid benefits. Land Rover showed its Electronic Rear Axle Drive technology in a Freelander hybrid two years ago, in which a 288-volt motor with 34 to 47 horsepower and 147 foot-pounds of torque drove the rear wheels and could drive the front set when needed. If that happens, the words “Defender” and “hybrid” might be the most unexpected coupling of this decade.

This article was taken from: autoblog.com