Following the introduction of the new Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) last week, Jaguar Land Rover’s ICE to ACE journey continues, moving from conventional internal combustion engines to autonomous, connected and electrified vehicles.
Joining the Range Rover Sport PHEV in electrification is Land Rover’s flagship Range Rover SUV. The new Range Rover P400e provides sustainable performance by combining a 221kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine with a 85kW electric motor. The 297kW total available power output – available through the permanent four-wheel drive system – delivers 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds and a maximum speed of 220km/h.
With an impressive 640Nm of torque, the new powertrain combines to deliver dynamic performance with traditional Range Rover capability, comfort and refinement.
Thanks to its electrified powertrain, the Range Rover P400e emits only 64g/km on the NEDC combined cycle and provides an all-electric range of up to 51km without the Ingenium petrol engine running. For the first time, customers choosing Land Rover’s flagship SUV can experience zero-emission driving.
Drivers of the new PHEV model can choose from two driving modes:
- Parallel Hybrid mode (the default driving mode) – combines petrol and electric drive. The driver can optimise battery charge or fuel economy by utilising one of two charge management functions:
- SAVE function – prevents the battery charge dropping below a pre-selected level
- Predictive Energy Optimisation (PEO) function – entering a destination in the navigation system enables the feature, which utilises in built GPS altitude data for the selected route, to intelligently combine the electric motor and petrol engine to maximise fuel economy
- EV (Electric Vehicle) mode – enables the vehicle to run solely on the electric motor using the energy stored in the battery, the ideal solution for quiet, zero-emission journeys
According to Land Rover, the powertrain’s precision and control make for serene progress in all conditions and across all terrains. Land Rover’s Terrain Response 2 technology has a unique calibration to intelligently and precisely distribute torque from the electric motor, which has no creep speed and is able to deliver maximum torque from zero rpm, to all four wheels, giving greater control during low-speed off-road manoeuvres.
When rapid charging the 13.1kWh high-voltage lithium-ion battery, a full charge can be achieved in as little as 2 hours 45 minutes at home using a dedicated 32 amp wall box. The battery can be fully charged in 7 hours 30 minutes using the 10 amp home charging cable supplied as standard. The Range Rover’s battery is covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile, 70 per cent state of health warranty.
The Range Rover 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engine is longitudinally mounted, with the 85kW electric motor housed in the ZF automatic eight-speed transmission at the centre of the vehicle alongside the 7kW on-board charger. The access point for the cable is at the front of the vehicle, while the prismatic cell lithium-ion battery is mounted at the rear beneath the boot floor. The P400e is available in both standard and long wheelbase body styles.
The new Range Rover has been enhanced with further technologies for greater comfort and convenience:
- Gesture sunblind: opened and closed by an advanced gesture control system that senses an occupant’s hand movement. All it takes to open the blind is a rearward swipe in front of the rear view mirror, and forwards to close
- Air Cabin Ionisation: uses nano-sized charged water particles to cleanse and purify the air for enhanced passenger wellbeing
- Pixel-laser LED headlights: advanced technology is brighter and yet intelligently blanks sections of LEDs to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers
- Activity key: customers can securely lock and unlock their vehicle without the need to carry a conventional key fob
Designed and engineered by Jaguar Land Rover in the UK, the new Range Rover will be produced at the company’s Solihull production facility and is available to order now. Australian pricing starts from $190,000 plus on-road costs, with delivery to start in March 2018.