First Drive: 2010 Land Rover Range Rover

As mid-cycle model enhancements go, the 2010 Range Rover's is more ambitious than some brand-new vehicles. As we outlined in our first look, there are two new 5.0-liter V-8 engines-one free-breathing, one blown-that leverage direct-injection technology to boost horsepower by 23 and 29 percent respectively and torque by 16 and 12 percent. These engines and a quicker-shifting six-speed transmission dramatically improve acceleration performance with no fuel-economy penalty (EPA numbers are expected to be unchanged, while Euro figures improve by seven percent for each).

But the really ambitious bit is an entirely new electrical architecture that strings together 62 different ECUs along a couple medium and high-speed CAN data busses, running new software code developed within Land Rover and Jaguar (the architecture will be shared). Why should you care? Because this new circuitry enables a host of comfort, convenience and safety upgrades, from boring stuff like enhanced roll-stability and trailer-sway control systems to boast-worthy features like the largest automotive flat-screen dash display and continuously variable Bilstein Damptronic shocks that can now assess and anticipate driving conditions and retune the damping rates 500 times per second-that's once every 2.5 inches at 70 mph. (Land Rover believes its predictive control algorithms are unique.)

This new high-capacity electrickery also enables a first-ever implementation of Sharp's latest "dual-view" nav/entertainment screen. By aiming alternating rows of pixels at the driver and the right-front passenger each can view different content-DVDs or TV for whoever's riding shotgun and the typical static displays for the driver (rear-seat riders can end up seeing a bit of both). The system is legal in Europe, but our laws need a bit of tweaking (write your congressman!).

Naturally, this being a Range Rover, not all the improvements are purely sybaritic in nature. The almighty all-roader's pioneering Terrain Response system is also improved with new programming for very gentle launches that prevent "digging in" to deep sand, and quicker brake and traction control response in rock-crawling mode to prevent slipping or rolling off boulders. And five cameras allow the driver to view the ground immediately in front, in back, and on either side of the vehicle to help place the tires precisely on the trail.

So how does it all work? Convincingly. On road, the base HSE model moves out with nearly the same authority as the outgoing supercharged one did. Rover's conservative 7.2-second 0-60 claim is a second quicker than its predecessor and just 0.3-0.5 second off the pace of our last Supercharged test vehicles. Between the added thrust and quicker-witted transmission, overtaking on two-lane roads is a far less white-knuckled experience. Drop the hammer in the Supercharged Rover and a muted but delightful snarl accompanies a claimed 5.9-second romp to 60 mph (that's Infiniti FX50/BMW X6 quick, and we expect our numbers to be closer to the Cayenne Turbo's).

This vitamin H injection conspires with the uncannily flat cornering attitude and the bigger and more powerful brakes (the fronts feature four-piston calipers on the HSE, six-piston Brembos on the S/C), to make these trucks feel vastly lighter and more nimble than their nearly three tons would have you to believe. But the real fun starts when you train all those cameras on a rocky trail and set the electrons to whirling among their myriad ECUs with the singular goal of making this luxury liner traverse gnarly obstacles and scale impossible grades as though it were being borne sedan-chair-like on the shoulders of Mt. Everest sherpas. We flogged a blown Landie on the Les Comes estate northwest of Barcelona. This hilly 1200-acre estate dates to the 10th century and now hosts Spain's only Land Rover Experience off-road school.

Before setting out on the dusty, rocky terrain under the direction of LRE instructors, we selected low range and set Terrain Response to Rock Crawl, which causes the virtual analog speedo to slide to the right, obscuring the 100-plus-mph numbers, making room for two off-roading displays. One indicates which way the front wheels are pointed and shows the status of the diff locks, the other shows wheel articulation. Clamoring up frame-twisting inclines, the driver is struck by the festival of clicks and tocks that indicate the air-suspension adjusting and ABS actuating as the center and rear diffs lock and unlock to best suit the conditions.

The ability to control wheel speeds precisely with the help of long, linear throttle travel and programmable Hill Descent Control (now with Gradient Release Control to prevent uncontrolled acceleration up to the controlled speed) inspires confidence that is bolstered by the ability to select a camera view and then zoom in on the front tire or the area right in front of the bumper to double-check that you're hitting the line the instructor's aiming you toward. It's an astonishingly competent machine. One suggestion: Permanently defeat the park-distance nanny in Rock Crawl mode.

What price, offroad perfection? $79,275 for the HSE, $95,125 for the Supercharged. Yes, that's steep, except by comparison with a Mercedes sedan posh enough for a night on the town AND a Toyota Land Cruiser. Or a dedicated Rubicon runner AND its trailer and tow vehicle. But know this: The only way to truly get your money's worth out of a Range Rover is to take it off-road. WAY off-road.

EngineLand Rover's new 5.0-liter, shared with Jaguar, features some interesting firsts. The direct fuel injectors are located smack in the top dead center of the combustion chamber, where the spray pattern can uniformly distribute the fuel for optimal mixing with the air. The spark plug is offset next to it on an angle. Every other current DI engine does it the other way --- plug in the middle. Another cool feature is the cam-torque actuated variable valve timing. When a cam lobe is working against the valve spring to open the valve there's extra resistance that tries to slow the cam down, and then after the lobe passes and the valve starts to close, it wants to speed the cam up. When a cam is rigidly connected to its chain drive these fluctuations can't be noticed, but in variable valve-timing systems that use hydraulic pressure to advance or retard the timing, those pulsations momentarily pressurize one side or the other of the hydraulic adjuster. This system uses little check valves to employ these pressure pulses to move the cam, instead of relying on pressure from the oil pump. It's more efficient and way quicker to respond when the engine is cold.

AutobiographyIf the normal Range Rover interior isn't plush enough for you, an Autobiography Package is available on Supercharged models for just $14,500. It features Full Semi-Aniline Leather Seats, Leather Center and Lower Dashboard, Door Panels, Console Sides, and headliner, all of which produces a heady aroma that would make a Harley fetishist swoon. Also included in the package extra wood appointments, the Rear Seat Entertainment with 6 DVD Changer, Climate Glass & 4-Zone A/C, Unique Autobiography 20" 6-Spoke Diamond Turned Wheels, Adaptive Cruise Control, HD Digital Radio and badging.

TFT DisplayCool new flat-screen displays virtual analog gauges, complete with chrome surround reflections simulated. A "Flashlight Mode" setting makes it look like the needle illuminates just the numbers near the end of it, while all other numerals are dim (they can all be bright as well). In off-roading mode, the speedometer slides right to make room for two useful displays showing steering direction, wheel articulation, ride height, and whether the center and rear differentials are locked or not.

Camera ViewsWe love Infiniti's around-view system that shows an overhead view of what's all around the car, but Rover has some cool tricks too, using five cameras -- two near the corners of the front bumper, one below each side mirror, and one in back (there's a sixth low-res camera in the windshield that runs the intelligent high-beam assist if you're keeping a total count). All five camera views can be displayed at once, and then you can touch one or two of them and press "Enlarge" to fill the screen with those images, which can then be zoomed as well. Special views help you see around corners when pulling out of a blind alley, or watch how close you are to the lines on either side of your lane. Cool.

Reverse CameraAnother new wrinkle: The Range Rover's reverse camera shows two sets of lines -- one indicates where the tires will go, and the other what the bodywork might hit. And there's a trailer towing assistant that lets you program in the length, width, number of axles, etc. of your trailer (you can store multiple trailers), then the camera system helps show where the trailer will go as well.

Offroad displayOff-road information can also be displayed on the center screen. The right side articulation display shows the level-ground position of the axles on the dotted white line. The green line indicates how high the body has raised above that line, and the individual red indicators show where each wheel is.