I’ve been very vocal on my feelings about the LCD gauge cluster in the 2010+ Range Rovers. If you’re basically just going to show analog gauges, what’s the point?
Autoblog had a great post on BMW’s plans for the technology:
Exclusive: BMW developing customizable LCD gauges for refreshed 5 and 7 Series models
And the quote I want to pull out of it:
A BMW engineer we spoke with made it clear that BMW doesn’t want to rely on digital representations of analog gauges. Instead, the automaker is looking at the display as a blank canvas with which it can display a variety of information in an innovative way. However, while consumer customization will be available, BMW believes that keeping the user-tweakability to a minimum is key for ease-of-use and general readability.
I just hope that the beta test all 2010+ Range Rover owners are part of helps to add to future functionality, and fills in some more of that big center void – audio system info, hint… hint…
So, I think this is a new feature…
In this screenshot from a recent Evoque video, we see this:
Looks like we’ll now know who’s not wearing their seatbelts.
Land Rover Confirms Hybrids for Production
Report: Jaguar Land Rover planning 40 new debuts
Jaguar/Land Rover Planning 40 New Models, Variants and Major Technology Introductions
1993 Range Rover vs. 2011 Range Rover
Dinner with Phil Popham, the managing director for Land Rover <—this is an old one, still interesting
Land Rover Discovery IV Design Defect
Q&A: Kim McCullough, Back At Land Rover
85mpg Range Rover … and no road tax
Range Rover at 40 – Minding the Gap
Prince Charles’ 1979 Range Rover for Sale
Some new clever LR4 videos from Land Rover USA:
So I finally saw the Evoque in person and man is it small. But it is without a doubt the best looking vehicle in it’s segment. It really makes the German cars look old.
Land Rover put on an event in New York City on May 14th in Times Square. I happened to be in the city to see the Crosby & Nash concert, so it worked out nicely. They said the event was starting at 12PM and going until 12AM. I got there about 2PM or so and it just all seemed very messy.
It was great to see the Evoque up close. Then I was told I was too close and had to step back by a guy with an earpiece. There were no clear fencing or borders but I was told “DON”T SCRATCH THE CAR!”.
I wasn’t sure what the point of the whole thing was, it was called The Power of Presence. And if it was just there to get people to notice it, that’s fine but lose all the scaffolds and ladders and tents. It lost a lot of elegance because of all the support stuff. I just feel like a real Range Rover should stand on it’s own, they just had too much mess for basically just displaying one car.
When I was there at 2PM, only the Coupe was on display, the 5-door was under a blue cover.
When I retuned again at 11PM, the Coupe was gone and the 5-door was out.
The biggest difference between my 2PM visit and my 11PM visit was all the Range Rover Evoque informational cards that were littering the ground.
And apparently, I have given irrevocable consent to Land Rover using my image “Throughout the Universe”
Like I said, I wasn’t there all day, so I don’t know what I missed but the two times I was there, I was disappointed by lack of “elegance”, for lack of a better word, ha! I know they needed to photograph but let the car be the star of the event, not all the workers eating off the craft services table and the many, many ladders.
P.S. Overheard a middle-aged couple behind me, the husband telling the wife, I think that’s the new Land Rover. <—ha ha, “Land Rover”
So the continued push to remove the Land Rover branding from the Range Rover continues. The latest evidence comes courtesy of
Land RoverRange Rover’s high resolution pictures. For a while now, the glass on a Range Rover carried the Land Rover logo – shown below from a 2011 model:
But a quick zoom in on the Evoque photos and we see this:
and this:
This actual info on the Range_e has been out for a while, here are the bullet points:
* Range_e: Land Rover advanced plug-in hybrid diesel technology debuts at Geneva Motor Show
* Low emissions and exceptional fuel efficiency: Range_e capable of delivering 89g/km CO2 emissions and a fuel economy of 85mpg
* Electric range: over 20 mile range in all-electric EV mode
* Hybrid programme: Land Rover announces intention to launch first diesel-electric hybrid in 2013Sounds great and all, I look forward to an actual Range Rover getting over 13MPG for me. After reading this article:
I realized that I missed the interior shots that a lot of people got at the Geneva 2011 show. It’s those pictures that show us what the Rotary Gear Selector will look like in a Range Rover Sport, it even gets some nice “Range Rover” branding, just like the previous gear shift lever.
