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?

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.

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.

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.

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.