6 minute read
Home in the Range
Cozy up to the elegant 2022 Range Rover, which provides more refinement, customer choice, and personalization options than ever before.
Written by Andre James / Photography courtesy of Land Rover
The fifth-generation luxury SUV, designed, developed, and engineered in the UK, presents a contemporary interpretation of Land Rover’s trademark profile. “The New Range Rover is a superb manifestation of our vision to create the world’s most desirable luxury vehicles for the most discerning of customers. It writes the next chapter in the unique story of pioneering innovation that has been a Range Rover hallmark for more than 50 years,” said Thierry Bolloré, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover.
In creating the 2022 Range Rover, Land Rover filed no fewer than 125 patents covering everything from its pioneering chassis technologies to its PHEV battery. No less than 140,000 hours of computational analysis took place before the rubber ever hit the road. During research and development, a fleet of disguised prototypes dispersed across the globe endured temperatures exceeding 100°F in arid deserts to -20°F in the icy Arctic.
While decidedly forward-facing, the SUV’s falling roofline, strong waistline, and rising sill line discernably trace their origins back through the generations. These trademark features combine with a characteristically short front overhang and a distinctive new boat-tail rear. Underpinning every aspect of the SUV, available in SE and Autobiography models at launch, is a brand-new flexible Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLAFlex), virtually eliminating unwanted noises and vibrations.
The New Range Rover is the first Land Rover vehicle to feature optional Power-Assisted Doors – available at 2023 model year – with integrated hazard detection and anti-pinch features. The practical two-piece split tailgate that has been a Range Rover hallmark since 1970 is updated for 2022, with a series of new technologies providing greater versatility and convenience.
Further enhancing the ride are Dynamic Response Pro and pre-emptive suspension that use eHorizon Navigation data to read the road ahead and prime the suspension to provide appropriate responses. Adaptive Cruise Control with Steering Assist can smooth out body movements resulting from sudden speed changes. Land Rover’s first-ever five-link rear axle isolates the cabin from surface imperfections using advanced air springs.
Land Rover’s award-winning Terrain Response 2 system harnesses the various chassis systems to automatically provide the perfect settings and minimize driver workload across multiple terrains. Alternatively, the driver can manually select the most appropriate setting or use Configurable Terrain Response to create a bespoke chassis set-up. In addition, every New Range Rover features All-Wheel Steering for heightened stability at higher speeds and improved maneuverability at low speeds.
At present, buyers can choose either a turbocharged 3.0liter inline-six that delivers 395-horsepower or a thundering 523-horsepower twin-turbo V-8 engine. Spearheading the Land Rover brand’s Reimagine strategy, a new extended-range plug-in hybrid (PHEV) joins the family in 2023. It combines the inherent refinement of Land Rover’s inline six-cylinder Ingenium engine with a 38.2kWh lithium-ion battery. Together, the powertrain provides a projected range of 62 miles of near-silent pure-electric driving. The 105kW electric motor can reach up to 87mph without using the gasoline engine, allowing customers to enjoy pure-electric driving for most journeys. The battery is located beneath the vehicle and within the wheelbase, ensuring that luggage space and all-terrain capability are uncompromised.
A host of sustainable, progressive, and responsible options are available to outfit the cabin, giving customers a broad range of personalization options to create an optimal ride for everyone from the driver to those in the new optional third-row seats.
Optional Versatile Loadspace Floor protects luggage and boasts a clever floor panel that can be raised forward across the width of the load area around its mid-point to form a partition to contain smaller items and keep them within easy reach when unloading. It can also pivot backward along its leading edge to serve as a backrest when using the lower tailgate as outdoor seating. In addition, the optional Tailgate Event Suite takes the Versatile Loadspace Floor backrest concept to new heights by combining additional lighting, audio features, and tailored leather cushions to create the perfect vantage point for outdoor recreation and relaxation.
Working in tandem with the MLA-Flex system, the Meridian Signature Sound System monitors wheel vibrations, tire noise, and engine sounds in the cabin and generates a canceling signal played through the system’s 35 speakers. Creating personal quiet zones are pairs of 60mm diameter speakers in the headrests for each of the four main cabin occupants.
Building upon Land Rover’s award-winning Pivi Pro infotainment technology, a 13.1-inch curved, floating touchscreen provides intuitive control of all major vehicle functions. The central display offers haptic feedback when customers touch and press the screen, eliminating the need for visual confirmation. Pivi Pro works in harmony with a new semi-floating 13.7-inch Interactive Driver Display featuring high-definition graphics based around a threepanel customizable layout. Not to be left out of their screen time, rear passengers can enjoy an optional Rear Seat Entertainment System, which provides adjustable 11.4-inch HD touchscreens mounted on the rear of the front seatbacks.
Alexa voice AI embedded within the New Range Rover allows users to experience seamless interactivity by working with other Alexa-enabled devices. SiriusXM with 360L debuts on 2022 Range Rover with advanced in-car technology to guide users through the most extensive in-car catalog of SiriusXM channels, shows, and exclusive content.
Representing the pinnacle of personalization, the hand-crafted Range Rover SV will be the first to carry the new ceramic SV roundel and simplified naming strategy – known simply as SV. Available in model year 2023, the SV roundel will identify all-new Land Rover vehicles launched by Special Vehicle Operations in the future.
Both Standard and Long Wheelbase body designs – including a five-seat LWB configuration for the first time – are available with specially curated SV Serenity and SV Intrepid design themes that introduce two-tone front-to-rear contrasting colorways. Exclusive materials encompass lustrous plated metals, smooth ceramics, intricate mosaic marquetry, and soft near-aniline leather, as well as sustainable non-leather Ultrafabrics.
The SV Signature Suite option on LWB models epitomizes the heightened luxury and craftsmanship of Range Rover SV, providing a bespoke traveling environment for its most discerning customers. Its uniquely cosseting seats feature 24-way adjustment with massage functionality, while an elegant electrically deployable Club Table rises theatrically from the fixed full-length center console on handsomely engineered supports to provide a convenient workspace when required.
“Informed by creative intellect and a desire for perfection, it doesn’t follow fashion or trend, but by a modernist design philosophy, combined with over 50 years of evolution, it is quite simply the most desirable Range Rover ever created.” sl
