Any regular Influx reader will confirm that we in these offices love Land Rover. In fact, we are midway through an experiment to prove that despite environmental imperatives, practical considerations and spiralling running costs, a Discovery 3 is the most practical motor to take a bunch of young bucks to the ends of these islands for action, adventure and general on and off-road fun.
But the fact remains that there is increasing pressure on the venerable Solihull company to get up to speed and produce a hybrid vehicle. Lst year’s LRX concept (pictured) was the first volley in an initiative, that, according to Auto Express,last week, is about to take flight with a little help from Her Majesty’s Government.
Reports suggest that LR will delve into Jaguar’s well-developed box of technical tricks which is rumored to soon include both hybrid and extended-range EV technologies. Land Rover’s electric drive rear axle is supposedly on the LRX menu, which would work alongside Landy’s brilliant Terrain Response System to put power to the ground wherever possible.
While Land Rover is due to roll out stop/start technology on all of its models with immediate effect to lessen impact tangibly, the LRX would not be launched for at least two years.
But: do would you really have to buy a Hybrid baby-Landy to be an environmentally ethical devotee of the Green Oval? After all, we calculated that in a fifteen hundred mile round trip from the Westcountry to the North Coast of Scotland, we spent £350 in Diesel and emitted a total of around 373Kgms of O2. Divide that by four and you’ve got around 93Kgms per head. Now square that away with the amount of Carbon Dioxide emitted by one plane journey. Throw the cost per head of £90 per head into the mix, as well as costs (and emissions) of airport transfers, excess baggage and the nastiness of budget, cattle-class flying and It’s a no brainer.
The Discovery beats the plane hands down in ethics, costs and practicality. Let alone aesthetics and fun!
The thing is about Land Rovers is that if you use them for the right job, then they are superb bits of technology, engineering and practical motoring that cannae be beat.
Let’s hope that whatever happens with the Baby Lecky Landy, that Solihull doesn’t lose sight of that fundamental fact. And let’s also hope that the car that emerges from the LRX adventure looks as good as the concept.
