Land Rover hits the gas with luxury SUVs
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One thing that Land Rover's alluring flagship 2006 Range Rover sport-utility vehicle doesn't feature is good fuel economy, although no powerful premium SUV shines in that area.
The new $74,000-$89,000 Range Rover, which has 305-400 horsepower, delivers an EPA estimated 13-14 mpg in the city and 18-19 on highways and calls for premium gasoline. But few Range Rover buyers in America probably are much concerned about fuel economy in the growing luxury SUV market.
Those buyers have the highest annual median income ($300,000) of any premium SUV purchaser, said Land Rover Managing Director Matthew Taylor, who came from Land Rover headquarters in England for the recent media Range Rover preview near here.
"We've found most of our American customers won't be very concerned about gas prices unless they reach at least $5 per gallon. They're not much bothered with $3-a-gallon prices," said Land Rover North America Vice President-Marketing Sally Eastwood, also at the preview. "We sell many Range Rovers with gasoline engines in Europe, which has stiffer fuel prices than America."
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