With the economic crisis in full bloom, driving around in the Range Rover Sport is like wearing a target on your back. Face it: Joining the Hummer as the poster brand for gas-guzzling SUVs, the Rover also screams “conspicuous consumption” at a time when fiscal restraint is mandated. Call me paranoid, but I swear I can feel the daggers being thrown at me by hybrid drivers as I thunder by them in a 2,572-kilogram beast consuming four times the fossil fuel of their parsimonious little Priuses, Insights, et al.

Debuting over 60 years ago, the Defender has done its part to get people across everything from the deserts of Africa to the jungles of your girlfriend’s panties. It has been a man’s man SUV since your dad was a kid, belonging to a group only the few and the proud have been able to join: hard-ass purpose-built-with-no-compromises off-roaders (think bricks that like to swim). Unfortunately, Land Rover and its new owners have decided to go and crap on its thick-browed-bully by luxurizing it (there’s a new word for you) even further with these Fire and Ice special editions.

The new 2010 Range Rover, new 2010 Range Rover Sport and new Discovery 4 will have their UK public debut at the 2009 Motorexpo, which starts today and runs until Sunday, June 14 in Canary Wharf.

The significant improvements to these vehicles include: two new refined and powerful engines, delivering improved fuel economy and CO2 emissions, striking exterior design changes, and completely redesigned interiors bringing new levels of refinement, technology and craftsmanship.

Prices for the 2010 Range Rover – on sale from mid July – have been announced today and reflect an increase in the level of specification (including some major technological enhancements) and an improvement in performance – which all add greater customer value.

Land Rovers have always gone their own way – often literally. While off-roading demands a low center of gravity and muddy trails would seem to warrant hose-out interiors and body-on-frame-construction, the British automaker has long contented itself building tippy-looking unibody boxes with tall greenhouses and opulent cabins – the anti-Humvee, as it were. Further, in recent iterations, they’ve packed their products with immense electronic systems, air suspensions, dial-a-topography Terrain Response controller, and so on… the very sort of complexity that ought to be enough to send English sports car enthusiasts running back to their therapists’ offices.

Land Rover boss Phil Popham says that the firm “is not even considering” an alternative to UK government guarantees on crucial loans, despite speculation over the last 24 hours that the deal is on the brink of collapse.

Jaguar Land Rover’s owner Tata wants the UK government to guarantee a £340m loan from the European Investment Bank, as well as trying to secure a slice of the £2.3bn that’s been made available to help British-based car manufacturers. But there has been intense speculation that Tata is unhappy with conditions being placed on the deal, including the government having a seat on the board.

Land Rover is introducing a new armoured version of its multi award-winning Discovery 4×4 vehicle.

The new Discovery Armoured combines Land Rover’s legendary all-terrain capability with discreet, state-of-the-art protection, whilst providing highly versatile and comfortable transportation for five people and a generous 500kg payload.

Benefiting from Land Rover’s extensive experience in the armoured vehicle market, including the Range Rover Armoured, the Discovery Armoured is supplied with a full three-year, 80,000km factory warranty on the base vehicle and armour, along with comprehensive after-sales support from specialised technicians.

As MT editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie once said in regard to the 2005 Land Rover LR3 (our 2005 Sport/Utility of the Year award winner), “Whether it’s Rodeo Drive or the Rubicon Trail, there isn’t a sport/utility in the world that will cover the terrain as quietly, confidently, or comfortably.” While we didn’t get the chance to tackle the Rubicon during our recent drive of the 2009 Land Rover LR3 HSE LUX, we can attest that the latest edition of Land Rover’s midrange premium off-roader still lives up to all the hype when cruising Rodeo.

The Old Sodbury’s Land Rover Sortout will be exhibiting, for the second year, on 17 and 18th May.

This year Brookwells will be exhibiting on 17th May.

There will be hundreds of stands of Land Rover and 4×4 parts and accessories. Visitors will have a possibility of buying used, take offs, obsolete stock, body parts, engines, gearboxes, axles, bulkheads, clutches, accessories, improvements, conversions, even complete projects.

Apart from buying Land Rover parts and accessories, there will be also a possibility of meeting the specialists who can be a source of information.

Buyers will have a chance of buying non commonly seen Land Rovers parts and accessories from Overseas sellers.

Lucky for us, Land Rover doesn’t change much this year on the swanky and affordable LR2 model.

This year’s LR2 loses a trim level, the base SE level, leaving the HSE as the only version.

The sole powertrain teams a 230-horsepower, 3.2-liter V6 engine with a six-speed automatic transmission.

In my week behind the wheel in this luxurious SUV, I got about 22 mpg, which is pretty average for the weight and engine in this model.

The orginal Freelander was very much Land Rover’s poor relation. This one could be the value buy of the breed.

It’s closer in size to the last generation Discovery, and it now also features the terrain response system, with its handy dial that sets the centre coupling for the four-wheel-drive, the stability control, engine management and transmission according to the ground you’re traversing.

On slippery surfaces it’ll deliver torque gradually, with early upshifts and high sensitivity for the stability control. Sand? The gearing’s more aggressive, the Haldex coupling redistributing torque to suit. Useful, but that’s not what underlined this car’s talents.