Check out our full written review of the 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport.
Land Rover will bring diesel-electric hybrid versions of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport to the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. First announced last year, these off-road locomotives will be Land Rover’s first production hybrids.
Both the full-size Range Rover and smaller Sport will be powered by the same 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 and 35-kilowatt electric motor, both linked to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. Electricity comes from a water-cooled lithium-ion battery pack.
Total system output is 340 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The hybrid system adds about 264 pounds to each SUV, but their aluminum chassis help make up for that.
Land Rover says the 5,277 pound Range Rover hybrid will do 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 kph) in 6.9 seconds, and reach a top speed of 135 mph.
The Range Rover Sport is about 50 pounds lighter, and can do 0 to 62 mph in 6.7 seconds. Top speed is 140 mph.
Both SUVs return 44.1 mpg on the European combined cycle.
Those numbers are fairly impressive, but the Land Rover hybrids come up short on electric-only driving. Land Rover says the Range Rovers can only travel one mile on electricity, and only below 30 mph. BMW’s Concept X5 eDrive, also debuting at Frankfurt, can travel 19 miles on electricity at speeds of up to 75 mph.
However, the X5 doesn’t come with Land Rover’s legendary off-road capability. To prove that its hybrids are true Range Rovers, the company is sending them on an expedition from its headquarters in England to owner Tata’s headquarters in India.
The trek will cover 10,000 miles and, according to Land Rover, the Range Rovers will be the first hybrids to drive the Silk Road.
The Range Rover and Range Rover Sport hybrids will go on sale in Europe next month, but probably won’t be sold in the United States.
Should Land Rover import its hybrids? Tell us in the comments.
