Range Rover Hybrid video review
British brand's new hybrid is as capable off-road as its conventional brother.
PT3M15S http://news.drive.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2xdyf 620 349 November 12, 2013Yet despite this added ground clearance, the evil brown and muddy water we’ve just driven into seems to lap halfway up the doors, threatening to breach the Rangie’s maximum 900mm wading depth with the possible result of drowning the engine and – who knows – possibly starting to flow out of the air vents into its oh-so-pukkha leather-clad interior.
Of course the big Range Rover made it through with barely a hiccup and nary a leak. And for anyone who’s into serious off-roading, that’s nothing terribly extraordinary.
Click for more photosRange Rover Hybrid
Range Rover Hybrid.
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Anyone trying to cross a creek that deep on the way to saving the planet in their Toyota Prius is only going to end up with a very expensive insurance write off, and perhaps the world’s most unusual fishbowl for a conversation starter.Drive has already had a steer of the Range Rover Hybrid in mainly city traffic, but this was our first taste of it out in the wild, on and off the road.
For the uninitiated, the hybrid Rangie uses a 3.0-litre diesel engine together with an electric motor just behind its eight-speed automatic gearbox for motive power. Like any hybrid there’s a battery to store electricity generated either during braking or, when EV mode is selected, by the engine itself.
Combined output of the two is 250kW of power and a meaty 700Nm of torque, enough to propel the 2394kg wagon to 100km/h from standstill in a claimed 6.9 seconds. The smaller Sport version of the Range Rover with the same hybrid drivetrain shaves a further 0.2 seconds off that.
Its makers say the aim was to provide V8-like power levels with reduced fuel consumption and the figures bear this out. Compared with the 4.4-litre diesel V8 Rangie, the hybrid produces exactly the same power, torque and acceleration figures, but uses a combined 6.4 L/100km compared with 8.7L/100km. Carbon dioxide emissions are 169g/km instead of 229g/km for the diesel V8.
It arrives in Australia around next April at a price likely to threaten the $200,000 mark. And while most owners are unlikely to push their expensive purchase’s off-road limits to any degree, the fact is the hybrid Range Rover is a particularly adept bush-bashing mud-plugger.
Part of the reason for that is that electric motors produce 100 per cent of their torque (or pulling power) as soon as they start spinning. With its low range gearbox that equates to a mighty amount of muscle for crawling out of tight spaces at very low speeds. Together with the Range Rover’s host of mechanical and electronic devices for maximizing traction and ground clearance it can go places unimaginable in other luxury SUVs.
The battery, which is the size of a small suitcase, sits under the floor and does not impinge on space for luggage and a full-size spare tyre. It is mounted in a watertight container of strengthened steel to mitigate against damage in off-road driving.
On the road it provides a more unusual, but not unpleasant, driving experience. Stab the start button and nothing seems to happen: the dashboard lights up but the diesel engine doesn’t, and you can move away for a short distance on electric power alone.
It will go further – up to about 1.6km – if EV mode is selected and the relatively small battery is drained. Left in this mode the diesel (when it starts) is diverting power to recharge the battery and performance is reduced.
In normal mode, the driver is most aware of the engine constantly stopping once the throttle is lifted, then restarted when it is re-applied. You don’t feel the restart, but distantly hear the starter motor doing its brief job.
The idea is that as the vehicle is slowed the motor becomes a generator to recharge the battery so the diesel engine isn’t needed. Incidentally, when low range is selected for off-roading, the diesel engine runs all the time and the vehicle doesn’t operate in purely EV mode.
Other than that, it’s a driving experience similar to any other Range Rover: a commanding driving position above the road, a plush ride and solid if vaguely roly-poly handling, lots of quietness and plenty of space within the large cabin.
Extra acceleration is copious and instantaneous and the brakes have a nicely modulated feel which isn’t always the case in hybrid vehicles where braking is used to regenerate battery power.
The big question is probably why the owner of a sizable and expensive SUV would be interested in saving a little fuel by buying the hybrid version. If the answer is in achieving a modicum of social responsibility from a type of vehicle many people love to deride while losing nothing in the way of off-road ability, performance and luxury, then the Range Rover Hybrid has hit the mark.
Range Rover Hybrid
Engine: 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 hybrid
Power: 250kW at 4000rpm
Torque: 700Nm at 1500-3000rpm
Transmission: 8-spd automatic, AWD
Consumption: 6.4L/100km and 169g/km CO2
Price: $200,000 (estimated, plus on-road costs)
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