Welcome to the Family!

2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 5-door Dynamic

So, today I stopped by Ray Catena Land Rover where they were throwing a big welcoming party for the newest member of the Range Rover family: the Evoque. When I first heard of it, I thought, "Well this car can't be an addition to the Range Rover line. It's small and there's no 5.0-liter V8 under the bonnet." After receiving a tour of the car from one of the people who helped design the Rover Evoque who came all the way from Northern England, I've finally realized why it doesn't need a V8. It has enough power as it is. All Evoques, Coupe or 5-door, are powered by a 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo-4 engine producing 240 horsepower, about as much as the Acura RDX. Don't think for minute that this is a terribly slow car. It will do 0 to 60 in 7.1 seconds. That's 0.1 second faster than the standard HSE Range Rover/Range Rover Sport. It's also more fuel efficient than the big Rovers with an EPA estimated 28 MPG. It's also the cheapest of the big Rovers with prices starting at a reasonable $43,000. With that, you get Satellite Navigation, Bluetooth, iPod/USB docking, comfortable leather seats, a 380 to 825 watt Meridian 11 speaker sound system with subwoofer (get ready DJs!), and a full panoramic roof. The Evoque comes in 3 flavors: Pure if you want something basic, Prestige if you're looking for a little more umph in your physical presence, and Dynamic if you're just seeking to wow the crowd. I'd go with Dynamic since it's the best looking. Another brilliant option that's been on the big Rovers for some time: surround camera system. I got my first glimpse of it while sitting in the Dynamic Evoque Coupe. Basically, there are 5 cameras all around the car: 2 on the front bumper, one on each side mirror, and the traditional reversing camera. So, in the main menu of your center console, you can pull these cameras up to see the world around you. It's like directing a film without the overly expensive equipment. Simply fantastic! So, there we are; the newest addition to the Range Rover family looks and is equipped brilliantly. The remaining question: does it drive like a Range Rover? I'll find that out later. Stay tuned!

The Prince of the Top Gear Test Track

2012 McLaren MP4-12C

You guys remember that rumor of the McLaren going almost a second faster than the king of the Top Gear test track, the Ariel Atom 500 V8? Well, it's not true. But, don't count McLaren out for a second. It might not be faster than an Atom 500 or more exciting than its rival, the 458 Italia. But, it's more comfortable, more scientific, more powerful, and, in a straight line, faster than both of them. On the track, new STIG took the MP4-12C and set a valid time of 1:16.2, just 1.1 seconds more than the Atom 500. So it really isn't an Atom Smasher as I've described it before. But, it is a Ferrari killer as it was proved to run almost 3 seconds faster than it. Well done McLaren. Anyway, the other exciting things that happened on Top Gear...

2011 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 3-Door

...James does some proper Rovering in the new Rover Evoque...

Sebastien Vettel and The STIG

...the X1 Xpert, Sebastien Vettel, breaks more records in the Reasonably Priced Liana...

Hamster and Jezza in the Countryside

...and Richard and Jezza spend some time talking to elderly people, all here on Top Gear.

Watch the episode below and tell me what you think of it.

The Eye of the Rover

Tiger in a Range Rover Sport (Courtesy of Jalopnik)

How's this for awesome? Someone visiting Dubai managed to snap a photo of a Tiger in the passenger seat of an old Range Rover Sport. This should prove how wild things get when you head down to Dubai, but it should also prove that the Range Rover is tough enough to seat any animal, even if it's a small man-eating Tiger.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Dark Rover

2012 Project Kahn Range Rover Sport Diablo

Who said the Range Rover had to be civilized? Land Rover certainly didn't. Project Kahn took advantage of this and have created this Range Rover Sport Diablo in order to scare your rich neighbors. As you can see, this dark Rover is kitted all around with 22-inch RS black rims, a custom Autobiography bodykit with black and red accents, red carbon side vents and some red rubber side steps. Inside is much more personal with a luxurious bespoke finish from Project Kahn themselves with exquisite leather that can be customized according to the driver's wishes. Performance is the same as any RR Sport Autobiography: a 5.0-liter Supercharged 510 horsepower V8 engine. 0 to 60 is done in 5.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 140 MPH. So, think of this as the devil finding shelter in your Range Rover, only he doesn't control you. You control him.

More Luxury for your Rover

2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Luxury Edition

Just when you thought the Range Rover Sport couldn't get any more luxurious, Land Rover decided to give it a bit more umph. Rolling out today is the Range Rover Sport Luxury Edition. WARNING: Don't confuse it with the Rover Sport HSE LUX. These are two completely different cars. Land Rover wanted this new RR Sport to be in-between the HSE and the Autobiography, like Aston Martin is with their Virage. Anyway, some new stuff in this Rover include a new Grille, new accents, new side-vents, more prestigious leather seats, and a walnut finish on the doors. It will be coming here, but Europeans have the option of choosing a less powerful, but more fuel efficient 245 horsepower 3.0-liter Turbodiesel V6 engine. Everyone else gets the standard 375 horsepower V8 or 510 horsepower Supercharged V8 engines. Prices in Europe start at about €110,000, which is about $150,000 here. Clearly it can't be that much because the Autobiography Sport starts at $86,395. So hopefully, the prices are fixed when this Rover enters the showrooms.

Green Rover

2012 Land Rover Range_E Plug-In Hybrid

Land Rover has always been famous for producing gas-guzzling 4x4s, like the Range Rover. However, recently they've improved on fuel. The new Range Rover Sport has a re-worked V8 engine that produces less Carbon Dioxides than a standard V8. They've even introduced the Evoque, the first ever Range Rover with a fuel efficient turbo-4 engine. And now, unveiled at Geneva, we have this, the first Plug-In Hybrid Range Rover. They call it the Range_E and Land Rover does plan on putting this car into production. Right now, they're still testing it, but it seems that the tests are going well. Under the hood of this hybrid is a 3.0-liter 242 horsepower Turbodiesel V6 engine combined with a 69 kW, 93 horsepower electric motor. Altogether, that's 334 horsepower of diesel and electric power being sent to all four wheels. Unlike most hybrids with their CVTs (Continuously Various Transmission), the Range_E has an all new 8-speed ZF Automatic gearbox while the electric motor is fueled by a 14.2 kWh lithium-ion battery. With the diesel tank full and motor fully charged, you should be doing over 710 miles on one tank and one charge. That's very fuel efficient, seeing that my Range Rover can do only 300 miles on one tank of fuel. I hope this car works for Land Rover. It will change the way people think of the Range Rover.