Autocar October 27, 2021

IT’S REMARKABLE how fresh and contemporary the Mk4 Range Rover still felt on a recent extended drive. Indeed, the nine-year-old model toppled the much newer – and more expensive – Bentley Bentayga on these pages as recently as April. More remarkable still is just how dated the current Range Rover now looks parked next to the all-new fifth-generation car, revealed this week (p6). Such is progress. The Range Rover has reached that ‘mature’ stage of its existence after more than five decades on sale, where design conventions are so well established that it can confidently pursue an evolutionary process, refining a proven and much-imitated successful recipe rather than seeking an unnecessary reinvention. Yet this is a Range Rover with more riding on it than ever. It is the first in…

GOT A STORY? Email our news editor felix.page@haymarket.com “The new Range Rover EV, confirmed for launch in 2024, will be the brand’s first all-electric model” Land Rover’s bold new era has begun with the unveiling of the long-awaited fifth generation of its full-sized Range Rover. The flagship model has been completely redesigned, updated and upgraded in all respects and substantially electrified in line with the company’s radical plan to slash emissions across its line-up. The new Range Rover is making its debut following the culmination of a five-year, seven million-hour testing programme and ahead of its market launch in spring of next year. The reinvented Porsche Cayenne rival will spearhead a top-to-bottom overhaul of Land Rover’s line-up, in which each model will be offered with a fully electric option by…

LUXURY FURNISHINGS SV’s rear table is mounted on a sculptural bracket formed from billet aluminium, described as “an exquisite piece of technical engineering”. BIRD’S-EYE VIEW Stadium-style arrangement in the seven-seater means rearmost passengers sit 41mm higher than the driver for improved visibility. EASE OF OPENING Electrically assisted doors can open in three seconds, with ultrasonic sensors detecting any obstacles within their sweep. CLEAN AIR ACT New cabin purifying function uses ‘dual nanoe’ technology to fight odours, viruses and bacteria. Land Rover says the system is 99% effective against Covid-19. NO ANNOYING NOISE Noise-cancelling speakers in the headrests monitor road noise, wheel vibrations and engine sound, reacting with a signal of equal strength. EASY REAR ACCESS Electrically operated second-row seats fold forward in just eight seconds to provide walk-through access to…

EVOQUE The current Evoque arrived in 2019 and is not due to be replaced until around 2024, when it will move on to the new EV-oriented EMA platform alongside the closely related Land Rover Discovery Sport. A tangible move upmarket is expected from the Mk3 Evoque, which is also set to be offered with a range-extender EV powertrain featuring a small-capacity petrol motor to bolster the reserves of its battery. RANGE ROVER SPORT Land Rover has yet to detail the new Range Rover Sport, which is likely to arrive around a year after the full-sized flagship. A prototype of the hot SVR version was recently spotted track testing, sporting a more rakish roofline and four beefy exhausts, hinting at its sporting intent. A similar powertrain line-up will be offered, but…

Thierry Bolloré’s radical reinvention plans for Jaguar Land Rover centre on the electrification of both brands. Under the plan the firm will launch six pure-electric variants over the next five years, starting with the Range Rover EV in 2024. All Land Rover models will offer a fully electric powertrain option by the end of the decade in line with the brand’s ambition to achieve a 60% EV sales mix by that point. The electric Range Rover, which will serve as a rival to the BMW iX and Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, remains under wraps (even camouflaged prototypes have yet to hit public roads), but visually it is unlikely to differ substantially from the ICE-powered car. The subtle evolution of the Range Rover’s design over the years suggests its recognisable silhouette is…

The new electric crossover to be built at Nissan’s Sunderland factory, announced earlier this year, will replace the Leaf hatchback, it has been confirmed. The new model will be based on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s CMF-EV platform, as used by the larger Ariya, and will be launched in around 2025. By then, Nissan’s core lineup will comprise five models, all of them electrified crossovers, the Leaf replacement joining the Juke, Qashqai, Ariya and X-Trail. Nissan expects full EVs to account for 80% of its sales by 2030, and by 2025 the firm will have electrified its entire range with either full EVs or ePower hybrids. CEO Makoto Uchida confirmed that Nissan would not be investing in hydrogen technology, instead choosing to focus on battery-electric vehicles. “Our competitors have many solutions for…