Land Rover

First Look: 2010 Range Rover

Short answer? Yes. Those who love what the Range Rover stands for — being able to experience genuine off-roading surrounded by a luxurious cabin — will be absolutely thrilled with the latest generation of Land Rover’s flagship model. And the 2010 contains technology you can’t find anywhere else.

As is the case with the rest of the 2010 class of new Land Rovers, the Range Rover receives as its base model the 5.0-liter V-8 designed by Jaguar Land Rover (the first engine designed with both brands in mind). This engine uses torque-actuated variable camshaft timing on all four cams, cam profile switching, and a variable-length inlet manifold. The supercharged version has 510 bhp, the standard 375, which is only 25 horses shy of the outgoing Supercharged Range Rover. Estimates put 0-to-60 times at 7.2 for the normally aspirated Rover and a speedy 5.9 for the Supercharged. Both use a revised ZF six-speed automatic, revised for improved response to driver input and reprogrammed for better fuel efficiency. The supercharger is a sixth-generation Eaton twin-vortex Roots-type unit, which uses twin intercoolers. This entire setup is packaged within the engine’s vee.

Report: New Land Rover 4.4L diesel not U.S.-bound, but next one probably will be

It really is too bad, at least for us Americans, that U.S. and European emission standards aren’t in sync. The misaligned standards prevent many automakers from offering us Yanks the latest and greatest in fuel efficient diesel engines already available overseas. The disappointing trend continues with the 2011 Range Rover, as Land Rover rather predictably tuned its new oil burning 4.4-liter V8 for Euro-only duty.