Range Rover wins major honour
LAND Rover has secured its first major award for its new flagship model, the all-new Range Rover.
The fourth generation of the off-roader, launched last autumn, has been named Luxury Car of the Year by What Car?
Announcing the award at a presentation dinner in London, the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Chas Hallett said: “The Range Rover combines all the merits of a 4×4 with those of the finest luxury limos in the world.
“The vast expanse of glass and armchair-like driving position make this a great place to travel. The sense of security brought to the mix by the high-tech four-wheel-drive system helps to make this about the most relaxing way, bar none, to cover the miles.”
Accepting the award, John Edwards, Land Rover Global Brand Director, said: “This award rewards everyone at Land Rover who has helped make the fourth generation Range Rover a landmark vehicle. At the same time as we have succeeded in delivering the highest standards of luxury, we have remained true to Land Rover’s core engineering heritage to ensure there is no compromise in Range Rover’s exceptional 4×4 capabilities.”
The new vehicle, which is set to make a big impression in overseas markets, is up to 420 kg lighter than the previous model, it is the world’s first all-aluminium monocoque SUV.
Unrivalled in its capability, the new Range Rover features Terrain Response® 2 which uses sophisticated ‘intelligent’ systems to analyse the current driving conditions, and automatically select the most suitable terrain program.
The new model’s wading depth has also been increased to 900 mm, an increase of 200mm over the outgoing model, even most vehicle’s will probably never drive through anything deeper than a puddle.
Priced starting at £71,295, first customer deliveries in the UK start this month.
In addition to its What Car? honour, the Range Rover has also been named Top Gear magazine’s Luxury Car of the Year and the best 4×4 in the Sunday Times Driving supplement’s Top 100 Cars.
The awards trend follows on from the success of the Range Rover’s smaller stablemate, the Evoque. The entry level Range Rover has so far secured more than 100 titles around the globe.
The new award comes as JLR prepares the Evoque for spring with a special edition. The Sicilian Yellow Limited Edition model, which made its debut at the Brussels Motor Show, is based on the 2013 Evoque Dynamic derivative. The vehicle sports a number of unique features and orders are now being taken with deliveries set for the beginning of May.
