Bosch European Motors
The Range Rover has set a high bar for luxury SUVs. It was one of the first of its kind and few can compete with its ability to go anywhere, any time, in any weather in a leather-lined interior. Introduced for the 2013 model year, the current Range Rover has aged with grace, but it is aging as new competition arrives in the form of Bentayga and Cullinan. For 2018, Land Rover has given the Range Rover a tech overhaul with a handful of screens inside the cabin, a few updates on the exterior, and more luxury options than ever before. I spent a long weekend with the updated luxury liner to see if those changes spoiled the serene mood鈥攊f they were more tech overload than tech overhaul. The Range Rover has elegant, even minimalist style, compared to the Bentley and Rolls SUVs, but it鈥檚 a look that has needed almost no updates. For 2018, the front fascia has been smoothed out and features new LED headlights. Like the Porsche 911, its design language has evolved over time, but the Range Rover still can be instantly recognized around the globe.
Its squared body, rounded corners and upright traditional SUV stance have a timeless air. It鈥檚 far from flashy, but it has understated presence and class few vehicles can match. Inside the Range Rover is where most of the upgrades took place for 2018. Fire it up inside a dark parking garage, and the glow of 32 inches of digital displays can be overwhelming. The 12-inch digital gauge cluster was familiar enough. It does have odd touch-sensitive and clickable steering wheel buttons to control it but they鈥檙e not hard to figure out. For true confusion, just look down at the twin 10-inch touchscreens mounted on the center of the dashboard. They control nearly every function in the Range Rover, and can be very confusing to navigate quickly without any previous exposure. It took about a day to become familiar with the setup, but making changes on the fly while driving down a highway never became easier. The Td6 badge means a turbodiesel 3.0-liter inline-6 with 254 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque sits under hood; it sends power to all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Push the start button and the turbodiesel clatters to life with far more noise, and less bark, than one expects from a Range Rover. It鈥檚 like a silky-smooth pickup truck for the well-heeled individual without the associated vibrations in the steering wheel. Mat the accelerator and the turbodiesel forgets any notion of turbo lag. It just grinds out a wave of low-end torque, one that feels pretty close to the Range Rover plug-in edition. Range Rover states 0 to 60 mph happens in 7.5 seconds, and that seemed about right. The thin-rimmed steering wheel points the Range Rover whichever way I want with slightly less weight than I would like, but it鈥檚 accurate and tracks down the highway well. On the highway the Range Rover鈥檚 active lane control wasn鈥檛 as accurate or as active as Volvo鈥檚 ProPilot Assist, and doesn鈥檛 even come close to Tesla鈥檚 AutoPilot or Cadillac鈥檚 Super Cruise systems. The Range Rover鈥檚 sensors read the markings accurately, but didn鈥檛 provide any correction or steering input until the luxury barge started to veer out of the current lane. 108,040, my tester was far from cheap and the competition at that price is fierce. 325,000 base Cullinan price tag. But nothing鈥攁nd I mean nothing鈥攃arries the understated presence that the Range Rover does. For 2018, the Range Rover raises the bar for luxury SUVs with a healthy dose of modern, if not a bit overwhelming, technology.
The move would also help VW to achieve its goal to be No.1 with the small-car segment being a key segment of competition in the present and future markets. On the other hand, Suzuki had announced that it would be very much happy to strike any sensible partnership. Before this announcement, Suzuki had lost its ties to General Motors Co. The Japanese firm initially took the GM support in the field of hybrid and next-generation technology. The firm, with the recent tie-up hopes to borrow Suzuki鈥檚 know-how for the development of s minicar platform for the Up! Suzuki has well established its dominance in the Indian Market through 鈥淢aruti Suzuki鈥? On the other hand, it also dominates the unique 660cc minivehicles segment which is prevalent in its motherland, Japan. Volkswagen鈥檚 tie-up with Suzuki has not produced any kind of wave of surprise across the automotive industry. But however, the industry was left baffled after Suzuki Chief Executive Osamu Suzuki denied any talks of a tie-up just a month ago.