Colin-on-Cars - Super luxury styling for new Range Rover

The new Range Rover – only available locally from mid-2022 – has been launched in Europe and the words ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ tell an apt tale of the levels of tech and luxury that are incorporated in the latest iteration.  

With a suite of powertrain options – and a pure-electric Range Rover set to join the line-up in 2024 – plus a choice of four, five or seven-seat interiors available across Standard and Long Wheelbase body designs, the New Range Rover is at home in any environment.

Thierry Bolloré, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, says: “The New Range Rover is a superb manifestation of our vision to create the world’s most desirable luxury vehicles, for the most discerning of customers. It writes the next chapter in the unique story of pioneering innovation that has been a Range Rover hallmark for more than 50 years.”

Land Rover’s new flexible Modular Longitudinal Architecture, MLA-Flex, underpins every aspect of this luxury SUV that will be available in South Africa in a choice of HSE and Autobiography models.

A First Edition will be available throughout the first year of production, based on the Autobiography and featuring a unique specification. It is exclusively available in a Sunset Gold Satin finish, among a choice of five exterior colours. Both Standard (SWB) or Long Wheelbase (LWB) body designs are available with five seats, while the New Range Rover LWB model is available with a third row for extended comfort for up to seven adults.

The surfaces provide a clean and contemporary appearance – and contribute to a drag coefficient of 0,30, making this possibly the most aerodynamically efficient luxury SUV in the world.

The luxurious interior is underpinned by modern, intuitive and relevant technologies, designed to work harmoniously with the finest materials and wellbeing innovations to create a calm sanctuary for all occupants – turning every trip into an experience to savour.

Nick Collins, Executive Director Vehicle Programmes, Jaguar Land Rover, says: “The New Range Rover takes the lessons learned over 50 years of evolution and combines them with cutting edge technologies to deliver supreme refinement, comfort and wellbeing. It does this through pre-emptive suspension that primes the vehicle for upcoming corners, next-generation noise cancelling with new headrest speakers and clean air technology that can help significantly reduce odours and viruses – creating one of the quietest, most relaxing, modern luxury travelling experiences imaginable.”

The Range Rover was the first luxury SUV to feature Electronic Air Suspension, in 1992, and the New Range Rover continues this pioneering approach with Dynamic Response Pro and pre-emptive suspension that uses eHorizon Navigation data to read the road ahead and prime the suspension to provide perfect responses.

The intelligent technology also works in conjunction with the Adaptive Cruise Control with Steering Assist to smooth out body movements resulting from sudden changes in speed. Fully independent suspension underpins the luxurious ride and features Land Rover’s first ever five-link rear axle, which isolates the cabin from surface imperfections more effectively than ever using advanced air springs.

Advanced hazard detection means the doors can automatically pause until the sweep of the door is cleared.

Drivers can even control the new Range Rover from outside the vehicle using Remote Park Assist, which is operated using a smartphone app. It allows the luxury SUV to manoeuvre into and out of parking spaces while the driver monitors progress nearby – perfect for entering or leaving narrow city spaces or negotiating rural gates.

Every New Range Rover features All-Wheel Steering for an effortless drive with heightened high-speed stability and improved manoeuvrability at low speeds.

The electrically operated rear axle provides up to seven degrees of steering angle and, at low speeds, turns out-of-phase of the front wheels, giving the New Range Rover a turning circle of less than 11 m– the smallest of any Land Rover. At higher speeds the rear axle turns in phase with the front wheels for enhanced stability and comfort.

The New Range Rover is also the first Land Rover to feature Dynamic Response Pro. The powerful new active 48-volt electronic roll control system is faster-acting and more efficient than a hydraulic set-up, with a torque capacity of up to 1 400 Nm fed into the anti-roll bars to keep body movements under control.

The intelligent All-Wheel Drive (iAWD) transmission is controlled by Land Rover’s Intelligent Driveline Dynamics (IDD) system, which monitors grip levels and driver inputs 100 times a second to predictively distribute torque between the front and rear axles, and across the rear axle, for optimum traction on and off-road.

In South Africa the New Range Rover will be available in a choice of new Extended Range Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) powertrains, the P440e and P510e, and the Ingenium diesel D350 engine. A powerful new petrol flagship – the P530 Twin Turbo V8 – delivers increased refinement and performance and is 17% more efficient than the previous Range Rover V8.

The New Range Rover is the first Land Rover to be powered by a new 4,4-litre V8 engine, which deploys two parallel twin-scroll turbos – one for each cylinder bank – to minimise turbo lag and optimise efficiency.

The new engine produces 390 kW and 750 Nm of torque, and powers the New Range Rover from 0-100 km/h in 4,6 s with Dynamic Launch engaged, and to a top speed of 250 km/h.

The D350 diesel produces 257 kW and 700 Nm of torque, and powers New Range Rover from 0-100 km/h in 6,1s.

The new Extended-Range PHEVs combine the in-line six-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine, in a choice of 323 kW or 375 kW outputs, with a 38,2 kWh lithium-ion battery – with usable capacity of 31,8 kWh – and a 105 kW electric motor integrated with the transmission. Together, the powertrain provides up to 100 km of near-silent pure-electric driving. With instantaneous electric torque the new P510e (375 kW) accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5,6s.

The PHEVs can reach up to 140 km/h allowing customers to enjoy the New Range Rover as an EV-only model for most journeys in town and country, with overall CO2 emissions lower than 30 g/km9. Typical Range Rover customers will be able to complete up to 75% of trips using electric power onlyif they begin each journey with a full charge.

The New Range Rover will be produced exclusively at the Solihull Manufacturing Facility in the UK, using a state-of-the-art production line housed in the building used to produce early Series Land Rovers. The historic building is the spiritual home of Land Rover and its reimagining as a new, ultra-modern centre for Range Rover production showcases the way the company protects its heritage.

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Colin-on-Cars - Corolla Cross comes off line

The first hybrid model to be produced locally is now, officially, a reality as President Cyril Ramaphosa waved off the number one Toyota Corolla Cross to leave the production line in Prospecton, Durban.

The President – accompanied by a delegation of public officials, including the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel joined Toyota in celebrating the opening of the Corolla Cross production line.

TSAM’s newest production line is a result of the company’s investment commitment to the South African economy and the local automotive sector. Established some 60 years ago, Toyota in South Africa has grown significantly over the years and now manufactures Hilux, Fortuner, Corolla Quest and Hi-ace at its Prospecton Plant, while selected Hino and Dyna models are produced as SKD or semi-knocked-down assemblies.

President Cyril Ramaphosa waves off the first Toyota Corolla Cross

“If you tally up the investments we have made in this plant spanning the last five years – of which Corolla Cross accounts for R2,6-billion, we arrive at a cumulative figure of more than R6,5-billion. So, we are therefore committed to further developing and strengthening our business in South Africa and making a difference in the country, our communities, our suppliers, dealers, customers and of course in own employee’s lives,” says Andrew Kirby, President and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM).

The introduction of the Corolla Cross model has generated a total of 575 new jobs at the TSAM plant while some 1 200 direct jobs were created in the component supply base. Another significant focus during the project was to maximise the local content for this model. This resulted in the localisation of 621 parts with 56 local suppliers – 16 of which are Black-owned. TSAM has also onboarded five new Tier-1 suppliers (all Black-owned) and 12 new Tier-2/3 suppliers. The economic contribution with TSAM’s local suppliers for this project is more than R1,4-billion a year.

According to Ramaphosa: “I had called upon Japanese carmakers to strengthen their investment in South Africa. A few months later at the second South Africa Investment Conference, Andrew Kirby came up to stage to announce Toyota’s new investment (R2,6-billion)… I am particularly pleased to see the announcement that was made has led to the creation of so many jobs – a total of 1 775 jobs made through the announcement of the investment .”  

The new Corolla Cross is based on the Toyota New Global Architecture platform, or simply the TNGA platform. As of August 2021, 32 Toyota and Lexus models are using this platform and now account for approximately 70% of global Toyota sales.

From a regional marketing perspective, the Corolla Cross is produced in both right and left-hand drive variants and is also the first model to be produced en masse on the continent. It will be exported to more than 40 countries in Africa.

The introduction of hybrid technology in the Corolla Cross line has required altogether new assembly processes as well as vehicle testing systems, and these are now part of TSAM’s standard operating systems at the Prospecton Plant.

For the Toyota customer, hybrid technology has the obvious benefits of lower emissions and significantly reduced fuel consumption while reinforcing the overall driving performance – but for TSAM, the introduction of the low-emission Corolla Cross in hybrid guise is significant in that it is integral to the company’s roadmap towards Carbon Neutrality.

The launch of South Africa’s first locally-produced, volume Hybrid Electric Vehicle not only allows many more local customers the opportunity to accelerate their own change to green mobility far quicker than what was previously possible, but also establishes the building blocks for TSAM’s long-term sustainability as a globally competitive and relevant exporter. TSAM is committed to the adoption of New Energy Vehicles in the South African market and will keep pace with the green regulations in our export markets such as the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Kirby adds that TSAM has set a “very ambitious” target of selling more Hybrid Corolla Cross models than traditional internal Combustion Engines (ICE) models by 2025.  To put this into perspective, in 2020 the local industry only sold 324 New Energy Vehicles (155 of them being HEV, 77 PHEV and 92 BEV), and this year to-date, only 322 have been sold (169 of them being HEV, 46 PHEV and 107 BEV).  Incidentally, most of these have been Lexus models.

“We plan to fundamentally change the NEV landscape in South Africa from a few hundred NEV’s a year to well over 10 000 units per year,” says Kirby. 

His sentiments are echoed by Toshimitsu Imai, General Manager Africa Support Division in Toyota Motor Corporation and Chief Operating Officer at Toyota Tshusho Corporation: “We are trying our best to make a significant contribution to reduce carbon emissions. We are currently proposing hybrid technology for South Africa as it is important for local vehicles to have proper range or mileage.”  

As a final step towards carbon neutrality, TSAM is investigating ways to eliminate or off-set the balance of its carbon emissions, especially those originating from the use of natural gas in its production processes. The company plans to invest over R2-billion to realise these goals in the next seven years.

“This isn’t just limited to reducing vehicle emissions; our activities span the entire value chain, which includes our suppliers, manufacturing facilities, offices, parts warehouse as well as our dealer network. For example, since 2006 we have reduced our total factory carbon emissions by 34%, improved our energy efficiency by 29% and already achieved carbon neutrality at our Hino Manufacturing Facilities and at some of our other office sites… In fact, we are targeting to be 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2028,” explains Kirby.

- To watch the highlights of the Corolla Cross Line-Off Ceremony, please click here: Corolla Cross Line-off Ceremony - YouTube
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Toyota adds hybrid Corolla and RAV4 to local line up 

Ahead of the launch of the Toyota Corolla Cross that will become the first hybrid model to be manufactured in South Africa, Toyota South Africa is increasing its options with the introduction of the Corolla Hybrid and RAV4 Hybrid. 

In the African context, hybrid is the way to go as a method of ‘greening’ the motoring pasture ahead of a comprehensive roll-out of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure – that also would be dependant on a stable power supply from Eskom. 

In fleet management terms, hybrid makes a strong case considering the wildly escalating price of fuel with potential savings of hundreds of thousands of Rand for larger fleets – although this is somewhat mitigated by the (still way too high) pricing on hybrid derivatives. 

This powertrain technology debuted in 1997 in the Toyota Prius. While the Prius has undoubtedly been the poster child for Hybrid, Toyota has recognised the need to expand this new energy technology to other mainstream model ranges - in pursuit of greater Hybrid adoption and wider market appeal.

 

The Corolla Hybrid

Based on the 11th-generation Corolla sedan, the Corolla Hybrid features Toyota's latest generation 2ZR-FXE engine (shared with the Prius). This 1,8-litre, four-cylinder mill employs Atkinson-cycle technology to deliver a supplementary 53 kW and 163 Nm (at full capacity) – to boost overall system output to 90 kW. 

The Hybrid powertrain also employs a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearbox - which seamlessly integrates the two drive sources, feeding power to the front wheels. Toyota's latest generation hybrid models utilise a 'starting reduction gear' to improve acceleration from standstill and provide a more direct-drive feeling when taking off. Drivers thus get the comfort and convenience of a 'two-pedal' arrangement while not sacrificing on driveability, performance or fuel economy.   

The Corolla Hybrid is offered in the Xs spec level. This mid-tier grade combines all the key comfort and convenience features while keeping with the Hybrid's more pragmatic bias. 

 

Standard specification includes LED head and taillamps with Daytime Running Lights (DRL) and automatic control, keyless entry, power-adjustable and heated side mirrors and full colour coding. Other cabin niceties Include cruise control, climate control, a reverse camera, power windows all-round, multi-Information display (MID) and three-spoke leather steering wheel with steering switches.  

The audio system comprises a touchscreen audio with Bluetooth, USB and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto functionality, playing through six speakers.  

The Corolla Hybrid rides on bespoke 15-inch alloy wheels, shod with energy-saving 195-65-R15 tyres which boast a low coefficient of friction. 

The Corolla Hybrid offers a claimed average fuel consumption figure of 3,5 l/100 km. CO2 emissions are equally low, registering 81 g/km. Combined with a 43-litre fuel tank, the Corolla Hybrid has a theoretical range of over 1 200 km on a single tank.  

Corolla Xs CVT Hybrid - R 419 900  

A six-services or 90 000 km service plan is standard with service Intervals pegged at 15 000 km / 12- months. Toyota's standard 3-year/100 000 km warranty is included as is an 8-year / 195 000 km Hybrid battery warranty.

 

The RAV4 Hybrid

Based on Toyota's angular 5th-generation sport utility, the RAV4 Hybrid combines a 2,5-litre Hybrid powertrain with the TNGA-based 5-seater SUV. The A25A-FXS engine is shared with other global Toyota and Lexus stablemates, such as the Lexus ES and NX300h and the Camry Hybrid. 

It boasts many of the same technologies shared by the Corolla Hybrid, in a larger displacement four[1]cylinder offering. Featuring an 'undersquare' design with Toyota D-4S port and direct-injection, the Atkinson cycle engine generates 131 kW and 221 Nm in 'ICE' state.

The electric motor punches out 88 kW and 202 Nm (at maximum state of charge) to deliver a total system output of 160 kW. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a CVT transmission. 

The fuel consumption index is listed at 4,7 l/100 km with CO2 emissions registering 107 g/km.

 

The RAV4 Hybrid is offered in tweaked GX trim  and boasts LED head and tail lamps complete with DRL's up front, rain-sensing wipers, heated and power-operated side mirrors and keyless entry. 

Occupants are catered for with dual-zone climate control, three 12-volt power outlets and multiple cupholders. Driver convenience is boosted by the fitment of Cruise Control, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, multi-information display and a tilt & telescopic steering wheel finished in leather and incorporating steering switches.   

The infotainment system centres around Toyota's touchscreen interface, delivering sound output through six speakers while interfacing via 3 x USB inputs, Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto mediums. 

Driver support systems include Park Distance Control (PDC), anti-lock braking, EBD, VSC, Trailer Sway Control (TSC), Hill Assist Control (HAC) and Drive Mode Select (Eco/Normal/Power). A full complement of crash bags is present, including side and curtain variants, as well as an anti-theft system.

 

The RAV4 Hybrid rides on 17-inch alloy wheels with 225-65-R17 rubber joined by a full-size spare wheel. Roof rails, a rear spoiler, blue Toyota insignia, Hybrid badging and mud guards also form part of the standard repertoire. 

RAV4 GX Hybrid CVT - R 555 300 

A six-services or 90 000 km service plan is standard with service Intervals pegged at 15 000 km / 12- months. Toyota's standard 3-year/100 000 km warranty is included with an 8-year / 195 000 km Hybrid battery warranty.