Mild Hybrid Range Rover with new 3.0-litre Ingenium petrol motor introduced

After a well-received debut of its 3.0-litre straight-six Ingenium petrol motor on the Range Rover Sport, Land Rover rolls out its new 3.0-litre Ingenium petrol motor on its flagship SUV, the Range Rover.

In February 2019, Land Rover launched its 3.0-litre straight-six Ingenium petrol motor on the Range Rover Sport. More specifically, the Range Rover Sport HST Special Edition became the only Range Rover Sport variant to mark the debut of this motor's 395bhp version. Now though, the same motor makes its debut on Land Rover's flagship, the Range Rover. Based around a new start-stop system, the latest 3.0-litre engine works as a part of the Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV) powertrain, meaning that the engine is paired with an electric motor that can harvest energy through deceleration and store it in a 48V battery. This energy can then be re-deployed through torque-assist, which helps in reducing the overall load on the engine.

The technical specs of the new motor remain identical to those in the Range Rover Sport. In the Range Rover, the motor produces the same 395bhp and 550Nm of torque, with a limited top speed of 225km/h. However, the Range Rover MHEV gets from 0 to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds, which is 0.3 seconds quicker than the Sport. The MHEV powertrain setup also remains unchanged, as the hybrid system uses components like an electric supercharger (in tandem with a twin-scroll turbocharger), which can achieve 65,000rpm in 0.5 of a second. This virtually eliminates any turbo lag and gives the Range Rover MHEV an efficiency figure of 10.75km/l.

The Range Rover MHEV also gets some cosmetic updates and a few feature additions. The paint palette has been updated with two new colour options, with Eiger Grey replacing the earlier Corris Grey and a Portofino Blue replacing the erstwhile Loire Blue. Customers can also opt for an optional 22-inch set of gloss black alloys, in addition to the existing 21-inch wheels. The Matrix and Pixel LED lighting systems have also been updated with the addition of features like Sign Post Dimming and a Tourist Mode. Further, a new Smartphone Pack (now available as standard across the range) enhances connectivity with the addition of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.