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The new baby Range Rover will become the first-ever two-wheel-drive Land Rover, company bosses have announced today.
Although the Qashqai-rivalling small SUV previewed by the LRX concept (pictured above) doesn't officially have a name - LR refers to it simply as the Range Rover Compact at present - it will definitely be available in front-wheel-drive form when it goes on sale early next year.
Land Rover had initially discounted the idea of a two-wheel-drive Rangie, but has now conceded that - with front-drive variants making up 22 per cent of all SUVs sold in Europe - it would be foolish not to offer the fuel-efficient option.
Fear not, off-roadistas - the compact Range Rover will also be available in full-time four-wheel drive.
Land Rover has also confirmed that the hybrid version of the compact Rangie will not be available at launch, but should arrive some time in 2012.
Even in non-hybrid guise, the coupe-ish SUV will be the greenest Land Rover ever. Expected to use a revised version of the Freelander's 2.2-litre turbodiesel, the two-wheel-drive variant should emit less than 120g/km of CO2 while returning around 50mpg.
So... a front-wheel-drive Rangie: Land Rover moving sensibly with the time, or brand sacrilege? Vent your collective spleen.
Sam Philip/Piers Ward
Land Rover goes two-wheel drive
Next year’s baby Range Rover will be Land Rover’s first-ever front-driver. This will anger some, we fear
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Jaz370 commented on this article
at 05:17 pm on 10 May 2010
hmmmmmm seem to be following the suit of Nissan with their 2wd/4wd QASHQAI and soon JUKE....hardly an original idea ...tho it is a good looking looking beast
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deprived_yank commented on this article
at 05:34 pm on 10 May 2010
What is wrong with the world? We'll prolly get the FWD in the United States of Awesome, but not the diesel ("you mean that stuff you out in trucks...I mean, lorries?"), so it'll never be as fuel efficient here as it could be. But honestly, I never thought I'd live to see this day.
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petrolhead1106 commented on this article
at 05:53 pm on 10 May 2010
it looks ok but its a stupid idea.
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mingachimp commented on this article
at 06:10 pm on 10 May 2010
me thinks this will fly off the shelves BUT 50mpg today is just not good enough they should have gone for 60mpg like beemers
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lycosman commented on this article
at 06:19 pm on 10 May 2010
2 wheel drive doesn't fit on a off-road. I don't care if they're making something else, Land Rovers are off-roaders.
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