Gaydon, Warwickshire, 5th January 2010
Autocar readers have chosen the Range Rover as their ' Car of the Decade', voting in a poll on leading car review website Autocar.co.uk during the last fortnight.
Autocar's resident car experts nominated and championed 17 great cars launched during the past ten years for readers to choose from – or voters could suggest their own star car.
Of more than 7,500 votes, some 18 per cent – nearly a fifth – were for the Range Rover, a car launched in 2001 to widespread acclaim.
'The Range Rover is a fine choice for Car of the Decade,' said Autocar editor Chas Hallett. 'Most polls like this have results skewed towards the latter end of their timescale, but not this one. That the Range Rover was launched nine years ago yet remains a benchmark speaks volumes for the brilliance of its design – and for the taste of the people who voted for it.'
The Range Rover saw off strong showings from the MkII Lotus Elise, which took second place with 12.5 per cent of the vote, and the Bugatti Veyron and Nissan GT-R, which each polled 8.8 per cent of the total to finish joint third.
Autocar associate editor Hilton Holloway championed the car, saying: 'The Range Rover defined a new type of luxury. Technically sophisticated, beautifully detailed, modern and yet retrospective. It was an overwhelming presence, but in a way that the majority could admire.'
Other notable placings in the survey went to the Lotus Elise-based Vauxhall VX220, Ford Focus, Audi R8, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tata Nano and MkII Toyota Prius.
For more information on Range Rover click here.
You may have seen the terrible devastation on the television or in the newspaper. With so many moving scenes witnessed, perhaps you have been thinking about how you could help? By making a donation today, you really can. While there is no doubt that this operation is extremely challenging, Red Cross aid is reaching those who are in desperate need of shelter, clean water and medical aid. We can also assure you that the dedicated volunteers of the Haiti Red Cross have been there since day one.
We need your help!
A gift of £20 could help provide two tarpaulins shelters for people left homeless by the disaster. £40 could help buy more than 15 thermal blankets to keep survivors warm and comfortable at night.
Many people have lost everything – family members, their homes and their livelihoods. Red Cross volunteers are assisting the injured, supporting hospitals and are also carrying out search and rescue for survivors among many other vital support roles.
Though the situation in Haiti is a difficult one, the Red Cross will continue to reach and help the many thousands of survivors who have already been through so much. Please support the British Red Cross and the people of Haiti at this desperate time!
Please give what you can today to help people who have lost everything. Your support will help the Red Cross distribute emergency relief items, provide clean water, sanitation, healthcare, shelter and help rebuild livelihoods.
To help go to http://www.redcross.org.uk/donatesection.asp?id=102348
Land Rover Defender: Your Favourite Car
The Land Rover Defender has been voted the readers' 'Top Choice' in this year's Reader Awards ahead of over 200 other vehicles.
We are delighted that the Defender has been recognised by What Car? readers as their favourite car. This just highlights the fondness that our customers still have for the iconic vehicle, whose roots date back to 1948.
The Land Rover Defender is a symbol of our 4x4 heritage and it plays a vital role in the lives of thousands of customers from all corners of the globe that buy one each year. Farmers, aid-workers, NGOs and explorers the world over value Defender's versatility, its extraordinary strength, robustness and capability. The unique combination of these attributes helps account for the model's exceptionally high levels of customer loyalty.
Gaydon, UK, 15 June 2009: Land Rover today announced that it has teamed up with Sonim Technologies, to launch the Land Rover S1 by Sonim, a rugged, high quality mobile phone designed to meet the needs of those who work and play in the great outdoors. The mobile phone was unveiled by the world's greatest explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, fresh from his successful ascent of Mount Everest.
The Land Rover S1 by Sonim is the world's first IP-67 rated GSM mobile phone - a standard which indicates it has been tested and found to be totally impervious to dust, as well as dirt, shocks and drops. The Land Rover S1 is also completely waterproof to a depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes and is resistant to extreme pressure of up to 400 kgs.
Joining Land Rover's existing range of branded clothing, bikes and eyewear the Land Rover S1 handset will continue to uphold Land Rover's commitment to developing high quality and durable products.
The current handset will come equipped with a 2Mega-Pixel waterproof camera with built-in flash, built-in GPS, torch light, FM radio, 2GB memory slot, J2ME Java for mobile, WAP browsing through its in-built Opera Mini WAP browser and Bluetooth.
As Lindsay Weaver, Land Rover global licensing manager explained, 'We are very excited about the launch of the S1 mobile phone. Like our vehicles this phone is extremely capable and will work in the toughest of environments. Designed to meet the needs and demands of the outdoor adventurer the phone has an IP-67 rating, which is a first for a commercially available GSM handset, and is operational in temperatures ranging from -20 to 55 degrees Celsius and backed by an unconditional three-year guarantee.
Weaver added: 'We have worked with Sonim to ensure that the phone not only meets their stringent criteria of ruggedness, but also to ensure that this is a true Land Rover product.'
Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim Technologies, commented, 'When we started making these handsets, there was no standard for how to test and benchmark rugged phones, so we created our own. The Land Rover S1 is tested according to our own 'Rugged Performance Standard', a specific 12-point test to ensure our phones remain of the highest quality and don't let you down when you need it most.'
'We are delighted to be working with Land Rover on this product. This ultra-rugged phone will be a great addition to its merchandise range and we know it will appeal to the adventurous spirit of Land Rover's customers'.
Land Rover S1 Specification
- Fully submersible to a depth of one metre
- Survives being dropped onto hard surfaces from up to two metres
- Extra-Loud speakers for use in extremely noisy environments
- Extra-long battery life with over 1500 hours of standby time and 18 hours of talk time
- Durable keyboard mechanics and extra-wide buttons for ease of use
- Keypad buttons tested to over 500,000 pushes
- Completely dust and micro-particle resistant – IP-67 Rated
- Resistant to road shocks and vibrations to over 2000 random vibrations in the 500Hz range
- Operational under temperatures from -20° to 55° C
- Resistant to extreme pressure up to 400kg
- Resistant to punctures at 75kg/cm2 of pressure.
- Three year unconditional guarantee
- The phone is compatible with a wide range of off-the-shelf car kits and headsets and comes with complete with charger, belt clip and headset as standard.
The Land Rover S1 by Sonim will be available through www.landroverphone.co.uk, and Mobile stores nationwide from June 2009 priced at £299.99.
Gaydon, Warwickshire, 24 September 2009
Land Rover has confirmed today that a production version of its exciting LRX concept car will be built. The new car will debut next year and join the Range Rover line-up in 2011.
Designed and engineered at Land Rover's state of the art Gaydon facility, the new Range Rover will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient vehicle the company has ever produced.
The new car will be built at the multi award-winning plant in Halewood, on Merseyside, subject to quality and productivity agreements and will be sold in over 100 countries around the world.
Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover said: "The production of a small Range Rover model is excellent news for our employees, dealers and customers. It is a demonstration of our commitment to investing for the future, to continue to deliver relevant vehicles for our customers, with the outstanding breadth of capability for which we are world-renowned."
"Feedback from our customer research also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet their expectations." Phil added.
Gerry McGovern, Land Rover design director said: "The new vehicle will be a natural extension to the Range Rover line-up, complementing the existing models and helping to define a new segment. It will be true to the concept and have many recognisable Range Rover design cues including the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid 'wheel-at-each-corner' stance."
Freelander 2 TD4_e introduces Land Rover's new intelligent Stop/Start system
- Fuel consumption improved by 4.5 mpg and CO2 emissions reduced by almost eight per cent* over the standard EU4 drive cycle
- New gearshift indicator light signals when a higher gear will allow the vehicle to operate more fuel-efficiently
- Characteristic Land Rover durability and all-terrain performance uncompromised by Stop/Start technology
- The first Land Rover model to achieve full End of Life Vehicle Certification
The new Freelander 2 TD4_e is Land Rover's most fuel-efficient vehicle to date. Featuring a new intelligent Stop/Start system, it is the first production vehicle to incorporate technologies from the company's programme of sustainable engineering initiatives, collectively named 'e_TERRAIN TECHNOLOGIES'.
On the standard EU4 cycle, the CO2 emissions of the Freelander 2 TD4_e are reduced by 8 per cent*, compared with the outgoing manual diesel Freelander 2. Moreover, in additional tests, Land Rover engineers have measured fuel savings approaching 20 per cent in heavy urban traffic.
The 8 per cent improvement equates to a CO2 emissions reduction of 15 g/km compared with the standard Freelander 2 TD4 manual (from 194 g/km to 179 g/km*). In terms of fuel efficiency, consumption is improved from 37.7 mpg to 42.2 mpg*.
These gains, coupled with the added benefits of the gearshift indicator light, software developments and efficiencies from low-rolling-resistance tyres, make the Freelander 2 TD4_e the most fuel-efficient production Land Rover ever built.
Phil Popham, Land Rover's managing director, said: 'The Stop/Start Freelander 2 is the first production vehicle to benefit from the massive £700 million investment in sustainable technologies by Jaguar and Land Rover. From mid-2009, the Stop/Start feature will be included as standard on all Freelander 2 TD4 manual models, with no associated increase in list prices.'
Land Rover's new Stop/Start system improves fuel efficiency in urban and stop-start driving. The vehicle automatically shuts down the engine in appropriate conditions, resulting in zero tailpipe emissions and saving fuel that would otherwise be used idling the engine when stationary. When the driver is ready to move off, the engine instantly re-starts.
Sophisticated controls ensure that the Stop/Start system does not compromise the needs of either the driver or the vehicle. For the engine to shut down, the vehicle must be stationary, the gearbox in neutral and the clutch pedal raised. To re-start, the driver simply depresses the clutch and the enhanced starter motor engages the engine, ready for when first gear is selected.
The Stop/Start system is automatically activated each time the ignition is turned on, although there is a switch on the fascia to disable the system, if the driver so desires.
Added fuel economy benefitsAlong with the intelligent Stop/Start system, the Freelander 2 TD4_e includes a series of additional enhancements that help to deliver fuel economy and CO2 benefits.
- A new gearshift indicator light in the instrument pack advises the driver when to change gear if a higher gear will allow the vehicle to operate more fuel-efficiently. This is calculated by the Freelander 2 TD4_e's fully mapped engine.
- Software developments to the driveline systems on the Freelander 2 TD4_e generate CO2 benefits without reducing Land Rover's renowned capability.
- Land Rover engineers are also collaborating with tyre suppliers to drive improvements to fuel economy through reduced rolling losses. Tyre characteristics including rolling resistance are optimised for the entire range of available tyre sizes on Freelander 2 models.
End of Life Vehicle Certification
The Freelander 2 is the first Land Rover to achieve compliance with the 'EU Directive 2005/64/EC' on the type approval of motor vehicles with regard to their reusability, recyclability and recoverability' ahead of forthcoming legislation. This refers to the fact that 85 per cent of the vehicle is reusable or recyclable, while a further 10 per cent by mass is recyclable or recoverable.
