The new 2022 Range Rover will offer peerless refinement and unmatched capability within a breathtakingly modern design, Land Rover has claimed, as the covers come off its all-new car.
Revealed via a livestream on YouTube, the new Range Rover follows the 50-year DNA of earlier models, but aims to raise luxury to a whole new level – one well clear of Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and more akin to Aston Martin and Bentley.
Offered with a range of engines, including plug-in hybrid EV, plus a pure electric version from 2024, the Range Rover comes in standard or long-wheelbase versions. It also offers four, five or seven seats for the first time.
The PHEV provides an electric driving range of up to 62 miles, and will deliver either 440hp or 510hp.
As well as straight-six turbo petrol engines, there will be a 4.4-litre V8 twin-turbo range-topper, sourced from BMW, which produces 530hp for 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds.
Orders for the new Range Rover are open now, with prices starting from £94,400.
Pinnacle of luxury
JLR chief creative officer Prof. Gerry McGovern says the fifth-generation Range Rover is “informed by creative intellect and a desire for perfection.
“It doesn’t follow fashion or trend, but a modernist design philosophy… from the impeccable restraint of its exterior to the flawless tranquil sanctuary of its cabin.”
This is the first Range Rover to have power-assisted doors, lightening the load before you even get inside. Land Rover says cabin tech has been designed to ease the cognitive load on the driver, too.
There’s even next-generation active noise cancellation, which plays through the in-car entertainment system’s 35 speakers, including those in the head restraints.
Perfect air quality is guaranteed by Cabin Air Purification Pro, using ‘nanoe X’ technology that is ‘scientifically proven to significantly reduce viruses and bacteria, including SARS-CoV-2 viruses’.
Amazon Alexa voice AI is built in, as are wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The new Range Rover is also going vegan, with premium upholstery that combines Ultrafabrics and a Kvadrat wool blend. This material generates just 25 percent of the CO2 of traditional leather.
Centrepiece of the dashboard is a curved and ‘floating’ 13.1-inch Pivi Pro infotainment screen, providing haptic feedback when users touch it. There’s a new semi-floating 13.7-inch interactive driver display as well.
Sophisticated styling
Features such as an unbroken waistline give the Range Rover a sophisticated look. Cleverly, there are no rubber strips where the edge of the door meets the glass, as the waist finisher is hidden beneath.
The ‘milled from solid’ look results in a drag coefficient of just 0.30 – making this the most aerodynamic luxury SUV in the world.
Other features include ‘hidden until lit’ lighting within the new boat tail-style rear (but Range Rover fans can rest easy: the famous split tailgate is retained).
On-the-road sophistication is promised from air suspension that uses eHorizon navigation data to ‘read the road ahead and prime the suspension to provide perfect responses’.
All new Range Rovers have all-wheel steering, making them more stable at speed and, by creating a turning circle of less than 11 metres, easier to manoeuvre around town.
Owners can also use an app to ‘remote control’ their new Range Rover from the outside. Useful for parking in tight spaces.
As for reliability, Land Rover – which filed 125 patents during development of the new Range Rover – says it will be a ‘new quality benchmark’, thanks to 140,000 hours of computational analysis and a particularly punishing global testing programme.
As with every Range Rover in the past 50 years, the car will be built exclusively at Land Rover’s Solihull plant, now redeveloped as ‘a new, ultra-modern centre for Range Rover production’.
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