Fifth-Generation, 2022 Range Rover Revealed
The fifth generation of this luxury SUV offers new powertrains, more tech, and extra luxury, all of which is wrapped in concept-car design. The 2022 Land Rover Range Rover is cleaner than the model it replaces. There are no superfluous lines, tacked-on accents, or bulging fenders and there's no grossly oversized grille dominating its face. Even though it looks like a concept car, with its uncluttered front end, slab sides, and slitted vertical taillamps, plenty of classic Range Rover styling cues have been retained.
Note the falling roofline, strong shoulder, and rising sill, traits that have been nameplate mainstays for five decades. The design of the new Range Rover evolves the model's established appearance but simplifies things down to the elemental aspects of the look. It looks especially smooth, including the rounded edge of the door blending with the glass in a fluid transition. These little touches give the big model an impressive drag coefficient of just 0.30.
Range Rover claims to have pushed the envelope in terms of luxury finishes, with the SV trim (which arrives with the 2023 model year) featuring ceramic knobs and switchgear (in white or anthracite), wool-blend upholstery, and marquetry wood veneers in a mosaic pattern. The SV offers two design themes: Serenity, with a copper-colored roof and matching accents on the wheels and grille surround, or Intrepid, with black trim and anthracite gray as the accent color.
The new Range Rover interior features a 13.1-inch central touchscreen that runs JLR's Pivi Pro operating system, which adds haptic feedback and includes Amazon Alexa integration as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ahead of the driver sits a new 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster with a configurable display. The 1600-watt Meridian sound system, which is exclusive to the Autobiography and First Edition, includes active noise cancellation and boasts 35 speakers—including in the headrests. Perhaps the ultimate luxury: The optional cabin air purification system can filter SARS and Covid pathogens. Come next year, entering and exiting the Range Rover will be made easier by the optional new Power-Assisted Doors, which also can be controlled via the touchscreen.
Underneath all the finery, the new Rover debuts the brand's MLA-Flex architecture, which is said to be 76 percent aluminum. Torsional rigidity is up by a claimed 50 percent. Powertrain choices include inline-sixes and a turbocharged V-8. An EV is also promised but won't arrive until 2024. The familiar turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six with 48-volt hybrid assistance returns as the base engine in the SE. It delivers 395 horsepower.
Optional on the SE and standard on the Autobiography and First Edition is a new 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 making 523 horsepower. With it, the new Rover hustles to 100 km/h in a factory-estimated 4.4 seconds. A plug-in-hybrid six-cylinder arrives a few months later for the 2023 model year and makes 434 horsepower. Its 38.2-kWh battery (usable capacity 31.8kWh) gives it a projected EV range of 100 km. A 105kW electric motor integrated into the transmission is brawny enough to propel the Range Rover at speeds up to 140 km/h.
All-wheel drive is standard and can now disconnect the front axle. The Range Rover adopts Land Rover's Clearsight front camera system, which can stitch together a forward-view image as if the front bodywork were see-through. The default ground clearance is 295mm, and the air suspension offers a maximum rise of 144mm. The Rover can wade through nearly three feet of standing water. As in the Defender, there are six off-road driving modes.
The major chassis innovation is the addition of four-wheel steering, which is standard. The rear wheels turn as much as 7 degrees, trimming the turning circle to 36 feet. Air suspension again is used but gets new twin-valve dampers that adjust rebound and compression separately. The Range Rover also adds 48-volt electronic anti-roll bars. For enhanced grip, a locking rear differential is standard, while the Terrain Response 2 system, with its six driver-selectable modes, allows you to tailor how the vehicle behaves on different surfaces, from snowy highways to boulder fields to sand dunes and practically everything in between.
The 2022 Range Rover is available for order now, with deliveries to commence in spring 2022. Expect the plug-in hybrid powertrain to be available three months later. Prices start at $105,350 for the SE and $153,350 for the Autobiography, with the First Edition currently the most expensive offering at $159,550 for the standard-wheelbase variant and $164,850 for the long-wheelbase version. When the SV arrives, it will be even dearer still and sit at the top of the lineup.
