Back to the future - again

The Range Rover Sport goes luxury. Land Rover says more than 5000 changes were made to the vehicles. Photo / Supplied

Land Rover takes its updated Discovery4 and Range Rover models into a luxury SUV segment that for the past five years has occupied around 2 per cent of the overall market.

The segment largely withstood the financial ravages of the past 18 months to hold a 2.3 per cent share (1271 sales) in 2009, up from 1.8 per cent (1290 sales) in 2008. The best recent year was 2007, when top-end SUVS had 2.5 per cent share, or 1919 sales.

The 2009 result was therefore reasonably strong, considering the overall new-vehicle market in New Zealand was down nearly 28,000 sales - roughly 550 new vehicles a week - on 2008.

For Land Rover, however, sales were down 47 per cent. It was a domino effect in an upside-down world - production cutbacks at the factory meant a shortage of stock.

There was a runout of old models and a reluctance to top up with newer ones as the global recession hit.

"We reacted by pulling stock right back," says Motorcorp Distributors chairman Russ Reynolds. "That didn't help in selling cars. We were perhaps over-conservative in the environment, not wanting to get caught with old stock."

But the first month of 2010 has released pent-up demand for the new products. January sales of Land Rover in New Zealand are up 116 per cent on the same month last year. This follows a 92 per cent hike in global sales for the last three months of 2009, when the new Land Rovers appeared overseas.

"These new models will see an increase in the luxury SUV market in New Zealand," says Reynolds. "There are still challenges ahead, but we expect a good year - we have started from a very solid base."

The shortage of new stock across the industry has led to a demand for good NZ-new second-hand vehicles, reminiscent of the 1970s, before used imports.

"We haven't got to the situation where a second-hand car costs more than a new one but every distributor is reporting strong demand for good quality used NZ-new stock," says Motor Industry Association chief executive Perry Kerr.

Demand for the new Discovery4 and Range Rover Sport and Vogue models has in turn boosted demand for near-new examples.

The facelifts go far deeper than cosmetic touches. Land Rover claims more than 5000 changes were made to the vehicles, including bigger and better brakes.

Outside, there are smoother, simpler surfaces, particularly at the front, with a new more aerodynamic bumper on the Discovery 4.

The Range Rover Sport has a new two-bar grille, side vents, front bumper and mudguards to create a more sporting stance. The Range Rover Vogue has a new bumper and grille and the interlocking circular design headlights feature LED technology.

Inside the Range Rover Vogue has a new virtual instrument cluster with traditional dials replaced by a Thin Film Transistor (TFT) screen which has greater flexibility in presenting more information.

There is also a dual-view screen option, which allows the driver and passengers to look at different things on the centrally mounted dashboard screen at the same time.

This could include Sat.Nav information for the driver, while passengers watch a DVD. The latest technology allows different images to be displayed at different angles.

The Discovery 4 has new fascias, doors, seats, consoles, instruments, switch gear and steering wheel.

The Range Rover Sport gets a more luxurious cabin, while retaining the sporty cockpit feel with new seats.

A revised suspension set-up on the Discovery4 reduces body roll and improves ride quality.

The Terrain Response™ 4WD system has been improved for all models and a "Sand Launch Control" programme added to prevent the wheels from digging in when starting off from a standstill in soft sand. Changes to the Hill Descent Control (HDC) inhibit the initial acceleration to improve descending on steep inclines.

The new engines - a 3-litre TDV6 and two 5-litre V8s - provide more power and torque, greater refinement, more efficiency and better economy and lower emissions, says the company.

The 3-litre TDV6 replaces the 2.7 version and produces 180kW and 600Nm of torque, for a 29 per cent hike in power and a 36 per cent lift in torque. Economy and C02 exhaust emissions have improved by 9 per cent, says Land Rover.

The fuel-injected 5-litre unit replaces the 4.2-litre engine. The new V8 produces 375kW/510Nm in the Discovery4 and Range Rover Sport. The supercharged variant and its 375kW/625Nm is available on the Vogue and Sport.

All models come with a six-speed automatic transmission with manual mode.

The Discovery4 starts from $89,990, the Range Rover Sport from $134,990 and the Range Rover Vogue from $184,990.