From the Land Rover Media Drive in Scotland, the 2012 Range Rover Autobiography

In certain colors, I really like the body matched trim, I’m just not sure what the thought behind the black surrounding the grille is??

Thanks again Patrick!

While not nearly as interesting as the previous Discovery 4 post, it still has some neat updates.  Although it’s so close to the previous years brochure, I think there’s a lot of Photoshop’ing going on.  The must not have a huge printing budget for the last year of this model…

So again, being the same brochure, I’m just going to point out a few interesting differences for 2012…

You can also check out this post to see more of the 2012 updates coming for the Range Rover

Here’s the Autobiography inlay on Lined Oak Anthracite:

Link to brochure:

http://landrover.tagworldwide.com/rangerover/120/rangerover_120_en_INT.php

This is interesting, well interesting to me at least…

Not sure how new this is to the UK Range Rover site, but while I was checking it, as I do from time to time, there was a new item listed – “Headlining”.  In the US, the only leather headliner option is for the Range Rover Autobiography package and with that I believe there are really only two colors.

For the UK listing it appears to be available across the entire range, from the lowly Vogue to the range topping Autobiography

Vogue:

Autobiography:

Price List:

Still going through and figuring out the various systems in the 2011 Range Rover – while testing the Adaptive Cruise Control last night, I noticed it did a lot more braking then I expected.  So tonight I rigged up my iPhone to record while hanging around my neck and gave the system another test.

There’s nothing quite like a vehicle braking itself, and braking quite hard at that.  My foot was just resting on the brake pedal the entire time, but don’t try this at home.

I was playing around with the Adaptive Cruise Control tonight on the 2011 Range Rover, I’ll try to post about that soon – anyway on one of the rapid automated decelerations, a Tire Pressure warning popped up.  The interesting thing here was that it actually indicated which tire was low, in my previous 2008 Range Rover, it was just a single indicator, it was up to you to find the tire at fault.  I hadn’t seen this mentioned in the owner’s manual so, here’s what it looks like – sorry for the shaky-cam picture.

We’ll start this one off with a quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off:

It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

I was fortunate enough to pickup my 2011 Range Rover Autobiography a few weeks ago after ordering it back in September with no definite ETA. 

In a word  – Awesome. 

It’s about as close to a bespoke Range Rover as you can get in the US and it really feels like one.  The full leather trim feels both way upscale & the little differences in the leather or the way the trim goes together give it a real hand made quality.  The 510HP engine finally gives the Range Rover what it should always have had a Rolls Royce like – effortless power supply.  It seems in almost any situation, when you put your foot down, the Range Rover responds immediately.  Then on top of all that there are all the new technological gadgets that a Range Rover never really had before, and while a generation behind Mercedes or BMW, it finally feels like a modern vehicle.

I’ve had a 1995 P38A, ‘03 Range Rover HSE, ‘06 Range Rover Supercharged & an ‘08 Range Rover Supercharged, so I can talk with first-hand authority on what’s changed, what’s better & what’s worse.  And that’s really just what this review will be.  You can go to any other site and read a regular review that goes on and on about the normal stuff and lists standard features.

In fact, here are a couple right here:

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Range-Rover-44-TDV8-2011-CAR-review/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/land-rover/8089617/Range-Rover-Autobiography-long-term-report.html

That said, this will be a way for me to both compliment and complain about the Range Rover. 

And to start with that “revolutionary” LCD-TFT Instrument Cluster.  For the 2010 refresh the Range Rover received a 12.3” TFT-LCD to replace the standard gauges – speedometer, tachometer, etc…  Here’s what it looks like in the official PR video:

It’s definitely a neat feature and a real conversation piece for anyone seeing it for the first time.  The images & text are very crisp, clear & bright – with only minimal washout from the sun at various angles.  But after getting used to it, it doesn’t seem to be any better then actual gauges and is really what I believe just a field test for the hardware that they may use in the next Range Rover.  You’d think with all that space on the screen, they could easily take advantage of it to display navigational arrows or even what’s playing on the stereo.  But no, in normal use, it’s the two dials with a big empty black space between them.

As shown above, that’s the “normal” display – warnings/system settings will appear in the middle area when needed but for the most part that black area remains completely blank 99% of the time.

The funny thing here is that if you look at almost all of the brochure pictures available they show the display with the graphic of a Range Rover in that middle area like this, from the official website.

If you notice at the bottom of the display it shows Mud-Ruts and the other Terrain Response icons, the reason for that is because that Range Rover profile graphic is only displayed for a few seconds when turning on Terrain Response.  Then it switches to a display like this:

This is the only time the power of the TFT-LCD is put to use and actually even more so when in Rock Crawl as in this shot below from the official website:

I’ll just finish with something I noticed the marketing people are doing when describing the new system.  And while I realize I’m nit-picking and the way they word it makes it valid but they like to say as on the website:

The new 12 inch TFT-LCD virtual instrument panel uses the same technology found in high-quality computer laptops and can be both personalized and adapted to suit various driving conditions or personal preference.

And again in this very recent print ad below , they tout:

“TFT-LCD instrument cluster creates a new standard of customized driver information and control”

I guess you could say it’s customized in the sense that you can turn on and off a few options but for the most part, there isn’t really much to customize.  Outside of what you previously(pre-2010) set through the main touchscreen – language, units, etc.., you can turn on/off the flashlight effect which can be seen in the previous picture where the road & engine speeds have a highlight on them while darkening the other numbers on the dial.  And that’s really it – no option to display the audio system info or to display navigational prompts – I don’t even think there are any color options, not that I’d want any, just pushing “customizable” point.

And just to cover my bases, yes there are other settings there, but again there’s no reason any of those settings couldn’t be set through the touchscreen.  I don’t see how turning on and off the HBA through the touchscreen really makes it customizable.  And really, I guess they are there to give the right-hand steering wheel controller something to do.

And one more shot of the Forward Alert system in action, so you can see that they do actually use the in between section from time to time.  When turned on(through the LCD, ha), Forward Alert will pop up the triangle warning and sound a chime if it senses you’re going to possibly collide with a vehicle in front of you.  It’s actually really neat.  There is a curve near where I live that when the situation is just right will cause it to go off every time I approach it, and that’s where I was when I took this picture – sorry it’s so blurry, but I think you’ll get the idea.

.

So can anyone at Land Rover actually explain some of the customizable options?  Will we ever see some software updates on the 2010/2011’s that will give us more functionality?

I’ll just close this one now and get back to the general feel of the 2011, all the little things they’ve added and tweaked are indicative of a Range Rover model at the end of it’s run – like they did with the 1995 Range Rover Classic interior & the 2001 Range Rover 4.6 chrome interior bits. This is also a sign of what should be a very solid truck with years of polish.  I can’t say enough good things overall about this latest Range Rover, but they still do seem to be stuck at that 90% point – where if they just put in 10% more work, it would be perfect (for a Range Rover that is).

And up next, some little differences I’ve noticed…

Thanks for reading! 

And one other video – something I filmed the other day – Starting the Range Rover:

Land Rover just released a great new batch of photos of the forthcoming Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate.  For me it’s the close up of the front window controls & the front door card shot itself that really show the small details they’re focusing on with this limited edition.  And again I have to say – these are the kind of things that Land Rover should have had in the vehicle for a while- less plastic BMW trim, more wood & metallic trims.  We also get a good shot of the wheel with the new branding on the middle cap, just like the Evoque – “Range Rover”

Enjoy!

Just something I shot for the minutia nuts – enjoy!

With the embargo over, Land Rover has released the official press release and full high-res photos of the Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate Edition.  There are a few neat items that I’ll point out in another post but for now, here’s the official word, with higher-res pictures at the bottom:

THE NEW RANGE ROVER AUTOBIOGRAPHY ULTIMATE EDITION

• The most luxurious Range Rover ever debuts at Geneva Motor Show
• First class levels of luxury for both driver and passengers
• Rear cabin now includes Apple iPads* as standard
• Hand crafted finest soft feel leathers and machined aluminium detailing
• Super yacht inspired teak loadspace floor
• Choice of the advanced LR-TDV8 or the effortless LR-V8 Supercharged
• Priced at $170,000
• Only 500 have been commissioned for buyers around the world, and fewer than 50 will be available in the US

Gaydon, Warwickshire, 9^th February 2011, the new Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate Edition, a hand-finished exclusive addition, will make its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

The flagship model adds a handcrafted luxury interior, using specially selected soft feel natural leathers, to an interior renowned for being one of the finest in the automotive world.

The driver benefits from the recognisable command driving position offering excellent visibility and comfort, and the rear passengers now experience first-class-style accommodation never before seen in a Range Rover.

Two stand alone electric rear seats enhance space and comfort for the rear passengers, making the Ultimate Edition the definitive chauffeur vehicle. The addition of a rear console extension, including a machined aluminium laptop table and drinks chiller, and two Apple iPads* as standard (the first car to do so), takes the Range Rover rear seat experience to new levels of luxury.

The luxury theme extends to the rear load space, with a super yacht inspired teak floor with metal and leather detailing.

The interior story is completed with high-end semi-aniline leather seating and Oxford leather on the door casings, dashboard top and steering wheel. For the first time, Kalahari wood veneers are used on the facia and door top rolls and unique interior colourways of either dark cherry or Arabica are available

Two new unique exterior colours, either Roussillon Red or Otago Stone, are available along with body coloured door handles, dark atlas radiator grille and side vents to create a sophisticated finish. This Ultimate Edition is fitted with new and unique 20” multi-spoke diamond-turned alloy wheels, and unique tailgate badging. Customers also have the option of an Exterior Design Pack and deployable side steps.

The all-V8 engine line-up includes the superb new 4.4 litre LR-TDV8 Diesel engine with a new eight-speed transmission incorporating Drive Select with Paddle Shift as standard. This LR-TDV8 combines superior power with 313PS, 700Nm torque whilst delivering even lower fuel consumption and 14% less CO₂ emissions than its predecessor in line with the stringent EU5 emissions standards. The combined cycle fuel consumption of the new LR-TDV8 4.4-litre is just 30.1mpg, making this the first Range Rover ever to better 30mpg.

The 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox tuned by Land Rover engineers to combine silky smooth shifting with exceptionally rapid response and improved fuel economy, catapults the Range Rover from rest to 60mph in a mere 7.5 seconds and complete the 50mph-75mph dash in just 5.1 seconds.

The LR-V8 5.0 Supercharged engine is also available delivering awesome power and torque, 510PS and 625Nm, propelling the Range Rover from 0-60mph in a breath-taking 5.9 seconds.

Both variants come with Land Rover’s award-winning Terrain Response^TM system, which optimises the vehicle set-up for virtually all on-road or off-road driving situations, with five different settings to suit different terrains including new Hill Start Assist and Gradient Acceleration Control.

This Ultimate Edition was designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK and exclusivity is assured as each vehicle will be built to customer order only. 500 units will be produced and sold in over 20 markets globally.

Pricing will be announced by individual markets later this year.

All I can say is wow – this popped up on Autocar.co.uk and was a complete surprise.  A new limited Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate Edition will be shown at the Geneva Auto show next month.  With just 500 examples worldwide, and costing around £130,000, this will be the Ultimate Range Rover.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/255361/

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/the-ultimate-luxury-range-rover/255363

For me it’s always about the interiors and seeing what we see here, it makes me even more excited about what they’re going to do on the all new Range Rover we’ll see in 2013.  This is the kind of bespoke look we need.  And those wood door toppers are a direct throw back to the 1981 Range Rover Vogue – Why didn’t we have that all along??  AWESOME – NEED MORE PICTURES!  And those are iPads in the rear headrests.  And it looks like it has the electronically retractable running boards too.

And for a quick throwback – here’s a spec sheet on the 1981 Range Rover with it’s wood door capping and Picnic Coolbox, just like the Ultimate!

So there it is – Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate