Range Rover Diesel
Range Rover Diesel – Big In Stature, Economical In Operation
The Range Rover is regarded as one of the finest luxury SUV’s in the world. First development started in the mid 1960’s, when Land Rover got the notion that there was an emerging market for a luxurious 4WD vehicle. As a result, the first Range Rover was unveiled in June 1970, and enjoyed immediate acclaim. It had full time 4WD, could go anywhere, and had car-like performance, good handling, ride comfort and refinements, combined with the ruggedness and the 4 x 4 ability of a Land Rover. In Malaysia, it became a favourite choice of rich tin miners, estate managers and owners, and became an icon of success. With a V8 gasoline engine and thirsty carburetors, it gave all of 8 miles a gallon, and that put it out of the reach of the average man in the street.
Land Rover, the owners of the Range Rover, aren’t exactly known for their short model runs, and the Range Rover remained basically the same for the next thirty years, until 2001, when the latest model was launched. Much of the DNA has been retained, and there is no mistaking the new Range Rover for anything else, at least from the outside.
A closer look at the specifications, however, will reveal that major improvements have been made, re-establishing its lead again as the best SUV in the world. Having reviewed the gasoline 4.4 litre version a couple of years ago and being thoroughly impressed by its agility in spite of its seemingly ungainly size, we took the 3.0 litre diesel turbo version for a shakedown.
I must confess that I am a supporter of diesels, and to me, it makes sense to have a diesel engine power these large and heavy pieces of machinery. Tipping the scales at 2.5 tons, and weighing in excess of 3 tons when fully laden, the Range Rover would require a large amount of fuel to keep it on the move. The biggest laugh you will get with the diesel is when you pull into a petrol station, and find that you can get up to 885 kilometres for approximately RM70 of diesel fuel. That works out to be about 8 sen a kilometre. We pushed ours a fair bit, and got a figure of close to 11 sen per kilometre average for our 1000-kilometre test run.
The 3.0 litre engine is a turbocharged straight six common rail diesel, developing 130 kW of power at 4,000 rpm and 390Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm. Power is transferred to all 4 wheels through a 5-speed automatic gearbox with ‘Command Shift’ (read as manual shift option) that is available in both high and low gear ranges. Low gear range is to provide additional flexibility and maximum torque for negotiating difficult terrain. The Range Rover has a claimed zero to 100 kph acceleration of 13.6 seconds (our test car attained a time of 14.0 seconds). Top speed was a little over 190 kph on the meter.
The very backbone of the Range Rover has been reconfigured, moving from a body-on-frame construction to a ‘monococque’ type body, strengthened in the right places to maintain rigidity, and allowing more flexibility in construction. In order to keep body weight down, the entire inner frames of the doors are made of cast aluminium, and the door skins are made of cast and extruded aluminium. The bonnet itself is also made of aluminum, with the outer skin pressed as one single part. Land Rover claims that the new Range Rover is no less than 2.5 times more rigid than its predecessor. Not that anybody cares, considering the fact that almost 100 percent of the buyers would never even think of taking this SUV off-road; mind you, the Range Rover will take to the dirt like a duck to water, but nobody in his or her right mind would want to cut a new trail through virgin territory with one of these. That’s best left to the Ranger’s sibling, the Land Rover.
Permanent 4WD remains as the standard feature, with ‘on-the-fly’ shift between high and low gear ranges. On the road, traction control works full time in real-time to give the best delivery of power to the road and keep the vehicle stable around bends. The hallmark of the 4-wheel independent suspension is the air suspension, computer controlled to sense the terrain, and raise or lower the vehicle according to its speed, and also the amount of oscillation of the shock absorbers. The extraordinary ride quality and ride comfort is largely due to the air suspension. An added bonus of the air suspension is its ability to make the Ranger Rover ‘squat’ lower like a camel to allow passengers to get on or off. Hill Descent Control takes the mystery out of negotiating steep down slopes. A touch of the HDC switch activates it, and the on board computer takes over, applying brakes on individual wheels or accelerating to keep the Range Rover on an even keel; all the driver has to do is steer.
Inside the Range Rover, creature comforts abound; tilt and reach adjustable steering wheel with memory, electronically controlled seats, cruise control, and ‘climate control’ air conditioning. Six interior colours are available for customers who can wait for specific order requests; all are luxuriously comfortable.
At RM663k, the Range Rover diesel is not so expensive when compared to other luxurious SUV’s of similar engine capacity, but the amount itself makes it very exclusive. I wonder if the excellent fuel economy would make a difference to the buying decision.
