Land Rover, Revamping Itself To Become More Utilitarian AND Distance Itself From RR?

Autocar reports:

Land Rover’s long-term product plan has taken a back seat while the Range Rover line-up has been given priority.

The recent Discovery revamp has assured the seven-seater a future in its current form until 2014 at least, and Project Icon, the plan to replace the Defender, is being finalised.

But the long-term strategic direction of the Land Rover brand and its model range is still being firmed up.

Significantly, there isn’t yet a concrete production plan for the next-generation Discovery after 2014, and the replacement for the Freelander is still up in the air. Likewise the project to create a seven-seat Freelander (codename L486) was quietly shelved when the effects of the economic crisis struck in 2009...

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wins555 - 4/8/2010 2:49:13 AM

-1 Boost

Project Icon should be fast tracked and it must retain its utilitarian image and purpose. Discovery is a notch below the Range Rover kind of like a GX470 and a Lx570 is to Lexus. Which should make the Freelander quite irrelevant since Land Rover is all about off road capability and utility then Luxury. Unless it wants to compete with every other mainstream manufacturer and offer SUVs for all categories, then the Freelander should evolve to become world class to go against the likes of Rav4, Murano, X3, Ml, and so on. And for pete's sake improve the quality. IMO, Land Rover should stick to its roots which is manufacturing competent off road SUVs (Discovery and Defender), and A luxurious SUV that is as capable off road (Range Rover). Don't try to be everyone at the same time.

M35MT - 4/8/2010 12:27:24 PM

+1 Boost

You argument is somewhat flawed. The LR2/Freelander2 is quite a competant off-roader. Low range? No. Air Suspension? No. Locking Diffs? NO. So why is it worth a sh*t? In nearly every test I have seen this truck in, it not only shines in the off road category, it puts the immediate competition (X3, GLK, EX, etc.) to shame.

Compare the LR2 to more capable rivals (Rubicon, Xterra, etc.) and the LR2 is certainly at an obvious disadvantage in rock crawling and overall ground clearance, yet it bests these rivals in deep snow, mud and especially sand. This is thanks to the advanced AWD system it has. It is really an amazing balance between on road comfort and off road capability. No, it's not perfect, but is it worththy of the LR name? I think so.

As for the rest of the lineup, I expect it to look something like this:

LR2/Freelander - Future uncertain, probably axed

LR4/Discovery - Replacement in 2014 - based on the Icon like the article suggests

Icon/Defender - Hopefully out in 2014, hopefully on sale in the USA with a price well below $50k.

Range Rover LRX - On sale in 2011 as a 2012 model. This will be far less capable than the LR2, but still have an advanced AWD system and help to curb their fleet MPG average

Rover Rover Sport - Top seller, will remain a key model in the lineup. Replacement probably in 2013/2014. No 7 seat option, that would make it too long and bloated, (see: Audi Q7)

Rover Rover - Flagship, obviously not going anywhere. 2013/2014 replacement. More expensive and lightweight materials used. Hopefully a diesel or hybrid option will make it to the USA in order to meet new fuel economy standards.