First pics: Range Rover Evoque 5dr
Land Rover is planning a five-door variant of the Evoque and a raft of other changes to its existing models.
The five-door Evoque will sit on the same platform as the car launched last week, with shortened front doors and narrow-aperture rear doors, but will most likely debut in 2012.
Elsewhere as part of a general overhaul, there will be a revised Freelander, a new engine range for the Range Rover Sport, a reclassification for the Defender and the possibility of a streamlined Discovery diesel range.
The revised Freelander is set for production with noticeable changes to the interior, where a new instrument panel, switchgear and centre console will lift the quality feel of the Freelander cabin.
More soft-touch plastics and a move closer to the new Discovery, in terms of fit and finish and trim materials, will make the Freelander appear much better value for money.
For 2011, the Range Rover Sport will get a revised engine range, focusing on 3.0-litre TDV6 diesels. The 268bhp 3.6 TDV8 will be replaced with a version of Jaguar’s 271bhp, twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6.
Controversially, the new 305bhp 4.4-litre TDV8 will be reserved as an engine for the Range Rover, a decision said to have annoyed some dealers who have customers waiting for a diesel V8-powered Range Rover Sport.
A lower-powered, single-turbo, 241bhp 3.0-litre TDV6 is likely to continue as the entry-level diesel variant.
The Discovery diesel range could well be streamlined for 2011. The entry-level 193bhp 2.7 TDV6 will be phased out and replaced with the 241bhp 3.0 TDV6. Top-end Discovery TDV6s will then be powered by the 271bhp twin-turbo 3.0 TDV6.
Land Rover will also reclassify the Defender as a commercial vehicle, in a move related to new legal requirements on vehicle weight and size, but one senior source has assured Autocar that the “vehicle won’t change”.
