New Cars for 2017: Land Rover
Discovery: On sale in late 2017, this give-me-my-name-back replacement for the LR4 will offer three rows of seating and the familiar stepped roofline. It is expected to be much lighter than the outgoing LR4, which was so heavy that when it hauled ass, it had to make two trips.
Discovery Sport: The littlest Landie now offers InControl Touch Pro, a 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment complex that features smartphone-like controls, app-like displays, app mirroring, and high-resolution graphics. There are also new driver-assistance and convenience options, as well as an Intelligent Dynamics package that includes adaptive magnetorheological dampers and sportier dynamic-mode chassis settings. The Tile app is now compatible with Land Rover’s proprietary phone app. With it, you can slap small, square Bluetooth-enabled tags on stuff you don’t want to forget (your kid, for example, or your car keys) and the Disco Sport will alert you to their whereabouts. Finally, the new Dynamic Design pack allows us to type “Dynamic” again and brings alternate fascias, black exterior trim, and contrasting interior stitching.
Range Rover: The new SVAutobiography Dynamic model aims to bring Range Rover Sport SVR attitude and handling to a higher tax bracket by packaging the SVR’s supercharged 550-hp V-8 in the short-wheelbase Range Rover. SVAD the Impressor also gets a revised suspension, as well as a laundry list of special interior and exterior flourishes. For the rest of the lineup, 19 new paint colors are available, as is InControl Touch Pro. The navigation system now incorporates a function that learns your regular routes, while freshly available technologies on both Range Rovers and RR Sports include a tow-assist function that enables steering in reverse with the terrain-select knob; a low-traction launch function that limits torque; driver-fatigue monitoring; and automatic emergency braking. Oh, and Intelligent Speed Limiter, which reads traffic signs and ensures that you won’t exceed the speed limit while it’s activated. Fun.
Range Rover Evoque (shown above): The higher trims get InControl Touch Pro, while lesser versions get the unprofessional version, InControl Touch. That stuff is far less interesting than the introduction of the Evoque convertible, the world’s first luxury droptop based on a British SUV that once offered a near-$100,000 special edition designed by Posh Spice. The convertible’s top can be lowered in 18 seconds at speeds up to 29 mph, while a half-hatch out back provides access to nine cubic feet of storage. The drivetrain is the same turbocharged 240-hp four-cylinder and nine-speed automatic as found in tin-top Evoques. Pricing starts at $51K, or about $4000 more than the two-door Evoque.
Range Rover Sport: Redact the stuff about the SVAutobiography Dynamic from the Range Rover, and there you go.
Dead: LR4
