The all-new 2013 Range Rover
Has Land Rover gone too far in Exploring a new design language?
By Shahzad Sheikh
Prompted by wholesale leaking of images on the internet and a fast-approaching on-sale date (next month!) Land Rover has at last officially revealed images of the car that’s been spotted all over Dubai in recent weeks in light camouflage – the all-new Range Rover.
This isn’t just a refresh or a mild makeover, it’s a completely new car that endeavours to take over the illustrious ‘King of the Hill’ mantle of the big daddy Range Rover.
Touted as the world’s first SUV with a lightweight all-aluminium monocoque body structure, the fourth generation Rangie has lobbed a whopping 420kg off the previously substantial weight (39% lighter).
The suspension has been extensively revised, not that there was much wrong with the decade-old current car’s ride, as it had evolved beyond its previous roly-poly leanings. The Terrain Response system also gets a work over – but again, how did they improve something that’s already brilliant?
Inside there’s an improved quality of materials, the sound insulation has been ramped up, and there’s 118mm more legroom and of course the electronics have been uprated.
So frankly it’s all sounds brilliant, and when it goes on sale in September it should sell-out and people will kill for the first deliveries that arrive in early 2013. Another massive success for Land Rover, securing the future of an icon and a legend, job done!
Not quite so fast… We desperately want to like the Range Rover, because we’re big Rangie fans here at MME, so we’re reserving final judgement on the car until we see it for real. But trawling through the web and social media, the new styling does not appear to be meeting with universal approval with unflattering comparisons to the Ford Explorer – although the Ford’s a pretty handsome car in itself.
The problem I believe, is one that every car manufacture in possession of a cult-classic design faces when it comes out with an all-new model. It has to retain enough of the original car’s identity to maintain brand loyalty and retain the heritage of the badge, but at the same time it has to be significantly different enough to make a very clear statement of being entirely new.
It’s the dilemma that the designers of this 2013 Range Rover would have faced, and they certainly gave into the temptation to introduce some radical departures from the traditional Rangie themes that people have grown very used to.
The strong jutting-jaw bumper has vanished, the previously upright grille is slanted back and the massive and purposeful headlights have been on a low-carb diet and slimmed down significantly. So much so, that the space that’s left over, is filled with gills. Following the style of the Evoque, the lights sweep back into the fenders, which is again a departure.
Thankfully the fluted bonnet and ‘Range Rover’ bonnet script remains, and the overall silhouette is familiar. The side gills have broadened out significantly, multiplied and stretch the full height of front door now, which gives the doors a slightly crumpled look. The pillars are now far less pronounced sitting flush with the glasshouse.
The glazing height also appears to be lower than before with the roof appearing to slope down more significantly at the back – which would worry me slightly as the large glass area was one of the most appealing traditional aspects of a Range Rover. I do hope it’s maintained the throne-like upright, arm-on-the-door high seating position.
The rear is more familiar although it seems to have a great departure angle due to a more tapering bottom edge, and the taillights mirror the fronts by intruding into the fenders – both have perhaps an unfortunate similarity to the much cheaper Explorer.
Personally I think it’s a grower, and may take a little time to get used to. It’s a new car that jars because it apes a design that is reassuringly familiar, but introduces bold new styling statements that seem to contradict the messages of the previous car. Seeing it in the metal will confirm whether it retains the dignity and attitude that needs to be inherent in a Range Rover, and sitting in it would confirm if it still feels like one.
Can’t wait!
Alrite, maybe my opinions are a bit strong, but they are opinions after all. The new Range looks, to be honest, pretty ugly. The sloping front, looking like a protuding chin, makes matters worse!
The main thing about a Range Rover was its road presence, and if this is the design, well then,it suffers hell of a lot!! What happened to the traditional idea of a Range Rover being a tank, albeit with a VERY luxurious interior? Why would they take styling cues from the Evoque?
Evolution happens all the time, yet why, in this particular instance, does it have to be so ugly??
Nice opinion piece, you should run through an editor or someone to proof read it, a lot of grammatical errors ruin a perfectly good read.
Noted and wrists duly slapped! Thanks
I think it looks great, design has to moved forwards and the old one is starting to look like a big box, similar to the Land Cruiser, G Wagon, etc.
Impressive that they’ve managed to reduce the weight by nearly 40%.
I think y’all are just blinded by the price tag. Just because the Explorer is cheap doesn’t rule out the fact that the guys at Range Rover might not have copied them. The old one was the best and shall remain so. Look at the prado, the old one is still found everywhere, and the new one is just ew and therefore, you dont see it as much. Another thing is that this new one looks just hideous.
Its not that I hate these cars ( I had a Range Rover Autobiography myself ), its just saddening that they lost their image because of “peer-pressure”
All I can say is that this new Range Rover represents three steps forwards in terms of engineering over the previous model (420kg don’t just vanish into thin air) but, sadly, also one crucial step backwards in terms of design. Anyone who has even the slightest passing interest in cars will still recognize this as a Range Rover, even if he/she does so after a few moments of wondering if it’s the new Ford Explorer. So, it is an improvement over the old car, even if only from an ‘overall’ point of view.
But what I fail to comprehend is that if Mercedes-Benz can go on improving the G-Class, with AMG engines and COMAND infotainment systems, whilst endlessly sticking to the same tried, tested and trusted aesthetics without hesitating, no matter how awkward they feel when they throw a twin-turbocharged V12 engine into the engine bay of a car which was originally designed as a commercial vehicle – why couldn’t Land Rover have done the same thing with the new Range Rover.
I know the Range Rover and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class are not exactly direct rivals but they are rivals in some sense as they both have been around for a long time and they both allow you to go straight into the heart of the Sahara desert whilst ensconced in a cocoon of luxury. Automotive ‘peer-pressure’, as Dhruve accurately describes it, is not good enough an excuse. I just hope that the all-new Defender goes along the lines of the DC100 concept and goes into production as a car which is still a Defender but with modern off-roading technology and design changes which, though drastic, have functional benefits and don’t accidentally make it look like a similarly sized Ford.