The Continental Irish Commercial SUV of the Year 2023 is the Land Rover Defender Commercial, writes Trish Whelan.
The award was presented this morning by Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland to Eddie Kavanagh of Jaguar Land Rover Ireland with Joe Reyfus, chairperson of the Motoring Media Association of Ireland.
The presentation was at Harris Commercials during a function organised by the MMAI, whose Van Jury members voted on the category, part of the overall Irish Car of the Year and Irish Van of the Year annual awards organised by the MMAI in association with Continental.
A category award under the umbrella of the Irish Van of the Year awards, the Commercial SUV of the Year is voted upon by a jury of the most experienced light commercial vehicle journalists in Ireland, who took into account such attributes as load capacity, reliability, overall versatility, cost of ownership and driving comfort.
The overall Irish Van of the Year award for 2023 was won by the VW ID. Buzz. German premium tyre manufacturer, Continental Tyres, is the main sponsor of the Irish Car and Van of the Year awards.
The Land Rover Defender has been named as the 2021 World Car Design of the Year at the annual World Car Awards, writes Brian Byrne.
The brand previously won the prize for the Range Rover Velar (2018) and Range Rover Evoque (2012).
A panel of seven automotive design experts reviewed the contenders to establish a shortlist of recommendations for the jurors’ final vote, made by the 93 international journalists that comprise the jury panel.
The fourth model in the Range Rover lineup has gone on sale in Ireland at a starting price of €62,240, writes Brian Byrne.
The Velar is available with 2.0 and 3.0 diesels and 2.0 and 3.0 diesels, with power outputs between 180hp-380hp, all with automatic transmission.
There are four grades, and all are 4WD with JLR's Terrain Response system.
It is the first Land Rover to use the Lightweight Aluminium Architecture that underpins the Jaguar XE and the F-Pace. It has the same wheelbase as the F-Pace and is built on the same assembly line in Solihull.
The Velar gives Range Rover its first mid-sized SUV and will target the Porsche Macan and BMW X4.
What kind of will power does it take to decide to eliminate your tribe? writes Brian Byrne. To collectively cease to have children, and if one happens to be born that it be thrown from a cliff to its death?
That's part of the tragedy of the Diaguita tribe which lived in what is today northwestern Argentina in the 15th century.
In their city of Quilmes near Cafayete, they resisted the Inca empire which spread from Peru through the Andes, though they later accepted a certain co-existence in return for technologies such as irrigation which the invaders brought. In the Inca decline, the Spanish invaders became their next enemy, and for 130 years they fought against subjugation, eventually being defeated.
This is the Land Rover new generation Discovery, revealed tonight ahead of the press days for the Paris Motor Show tomorrow and Friday, writes Brian Byrne.
The reveal was made on a Guinness World Record-beating Lego model of London’s Tower Bridge made from 5,805,846 Lego bricks, beating the previous record by 470,646 pieces. It’s the tallest Lego structure ever built at 42.6’ high.
The car is longer, narrower and taller than the outgoing Disco, and is designed to hold seven people comfortably, according to its designer Gerry McGovern.
The company says it has more room than key rivals Volvo CV90 and Audi’s Q7. It is also lighter than the outgoing car by some 480kg as it shares the same aluminium platform as the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
Powertrain offerings will include a version of the 2.0 Ingenium engines developed by Jaguar Land Rover and used in a number of the recent models from both brands.
This is the first sight of Land Rover’s completely new Discovery, due for public debut at the Paris Motor Show, writes Brian Byrne.
According to JLR’s chief designer Gerry McGovern, the new 7-seat car will ‘redefine’ the large SUV. No further details are available in advance of the 28 September reveal.
The Discovery was first produced by Land Rover in 1989, becoming the second model for Land Rover and necessitating the change for the original Land Rover series cars to the name Defender.
The new one will be the third generation of the nameplate, though due to extensive revisions to previous versions, it has been in development as Discovery 5.
A specially-modified Land Rover Defender Station Wagon will start a tour of Britain and Ireland with the 2015 Rugby World Cup Trophy on 10 June, writes Brian Byrne.
Land Rover is a Worldwide Partner of this year’s international ... MORE
So, is the new Discovery Sport just a rebadge for a new generation Freelander? In a sense, yes, writes Brian Byrne. In another, no.
Nope, I'm not fudging the answer. First, Discovery Sport is now the smallest Land Rover badged SUV in the famous off-road brand's lists. So yes, it replaces Freelander. But it also substantially upgrades what Freelander was.
What Land Rover has done is put some kind of order on its product naming. There are now two distinct 'pillars', Land Rover and Range Rover. The former 'premium workhorse', the latter 'luxury workhorse'.
Defender?, I hear from the back of the hall ... hmmph, there's always one of you. Defender is done. Gone. Reflected in the point that the ESB put in an order last year for 40 special chassis-cab versions because they wanted to have them in stock before production ended. Which it has. There will be a replacement next year, but L-R is keeping pretty close on what it will be called, and on what it will be based. Defender has been the closest direct descendant of the original post-WW2 Land Rover, and anyone who learned their off-roading without the electronic technology of its more sophisticated family members have already been heard in grumble tones.
Land Rover is setting up a Heritage Division to provide parts for a variety of models that have been out of production for longer than a decade, writes Brian Byrne.
Following on from the similar and recently launched Jaguar Heritage Division, the initiative will make available body, trim and extended ... MORE
Demand for the new Discovery Sport is running ahead of the local distributor's allocation of supply, writes Brian Byrne.
Although Land Rover Ireland expects to sell 350 units of the Freelander replacement, launched in mid-February, this year, the company's Eddie Kavanagh says they could easily sell another ... MORE
Land Rover Ireland has introduced the Discovery Sport here at a starting price of €37,100, writes Trish Whelan.
Replacing the Freelander, the new car retains a compact footprint but offers a 7-seat option and a significant upgrade in style and finish over the predecessor car.
Powertrains at launch are based on the familiar 2.2 diesel sourced from Ford, but a new series of Land Rover's own new Ingenium engines will be added to the options later this year. In addition to a 6-speed manual, a 9-speed automatic is available. There are four specification grades on offer.
The importers expect to sell 350 units of the new Discovery Sport this year, out of a total of 2,000 units across the range of Discovery, Range Rover, and Defender models.
Freelander was always kind of the Cinderella in Land Rover, writes Brian Byrne.
The first generation got an iffy name for reliability that wasn't necessarily deserved, and anyhow it became a best seller for the brand. The second one got over the reliability rep, but for some reason was never considered a competitor in the same arena as Discovery and the upmarket Range Rovers. Despite being a very decent performer both on and off road. Just how decent was shown by the success of its later and dressier sister, the Range Rover Evoque. Fine clothes against (relative) rags, no recognition of the same personality underneath the dusty working clothes.
But the fairy godmother has done her wand-waving, and Freelander is reborn. Renamed too. Discovery Sport is fresh, well-dressed, and ready to take its deserved place in the premium kingdom of JLR.
Supply issues delayed its arrival to Irish showrooms, and the official launch this week is a little tardier than the importers OHM would have liked. But there's a strong interest in the Discovery Sport, and with a fairly reliable hope of getting 350 units this year, they'll probably have no difficulty in delivering them all to customers. Along with the 2015 sales of the always strong-selling Evoque, the importers are planning to take 20 percent of the premium medium SUV segment. Land Rover Ireland boss Eddie Kavanagh says there's a really big expression of interest from a non-Land Rover owner cohort.
The new car has, uniquely in its category, an option of seven seats, which will make its own extra space in the sales figures. It also comes with an upgrade of luxury, more room generally — those in the rear can have almost as much space as do back seat occupants in a full-size Range Rover.
And, well, it's cheaper. At least to start. The entry level is now at €37,100, or more than €2,000 less than the starting price of the previous version. Though you can at the moment order it in upspec to the tune of €57,350.
The standard specifications are strong. Terrain Response with four settings for offroad use. A wading depth of 600mm which is better than that of the iconic Defender. Superior on-road handling performance thanks to a torque vectoring by braking system as used in the Jaguar F-Type sports car, and a new multi-link rear suspension. An SUV first with its pedestrian airbag. And, since many Land Rover owners need to tow, there are a number of solutions here which facilitate this. Oh, and a full-size spare wheel. Under the boot floor in the 5-seat, under the vehicle in the 7-seat.
We had a good road run at the launch, and also dirtied the car badly on a fairly decent off-road course with plenty of mud. We know from experience with the brand that it is capable of much more than we put it through, and we'll try and challenge it even more when we get it out seriously in a few weeks' time.
We never believed in Cinderella as far as Freelander was concerned. But now crowned Discovery Sport, it will never have to clean out the JLR palace fireplaces.
Pictured at the launch of the Discovery Sport are Eddie Kavanagh, General Manager of Land Rover Ireland; and Gerard O'Farrell, MD Jaguar Land Rover Ireland.
Land Rover has given its new Discovery Sport a global debut at Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA, writes Brian Byrne.
The replacement for the Freelander provides design cues which will underpin Land Rover styling for coming years, and also offers a 5+2 seating which wasn't available in the current car.
The launch was done in tandem with a 'Galactic Discovery' competition at the spaceport which offers a trip into space for four people with private space launch company Virgin Galactic.
The vehicle will be powered by turbocharged 2.0 petrol and 2.2 diesel engines.
With 9-speed automatic and 6-speed transmissions, the new compact Land Rover will also feature the option of 2WD or 4WD transmissions.
Land Rover's Discovery Vision Concept, for debut at the New York Auto Show, doesn't have door handles. Instead, you wave at it to open the doors, writes Brian Byrne.
The gesture idea, which has already appeared on Volkswagen's touchscreen systems and is coming to a computer near you in the soon future, is also a further advance on the 'kick' gesture which some Ford Kuga owners can use to open their car's tailgate.
The Discovery Vision Concept also charts a new direction in visual terms for Land Rover's large SUV, with much more 21st century looks which will upstream its presence whether roughing it overland or driving up to a city hall diplomatic reception.
The interior has a lot of innovative ideas, not least the option of configuring it from 7-seat to 4-seat 'Limousine' mode, with 5- and 6-seat options in between.
Technology includes laser headlamps and 'smart glass' which provides virtual imagery on an otherwise clear windscreen, changing the whole idea of where instruments and information should be placed.
From next year, the Discovery nameplate will include the replacement for the Freelander in the beginning of a strategy which will provide three distinct brands in Defender, Discovery and Range Rover.
A new small Jaguar will be revealed this summer and go on sale next year, writes Brian Byrne.
The car will target the compact-medium competitors such as the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4.
It will be built on a brand new modular platform developed by Jaguar Land Rover which the company says will in time allow it to develop further models as it expands its markets presence.
Meanwhile, the company still hasn't made a decision on a production version of its Jaguar CX-17 concept SUV, a matter complicated by the fact that in Land Rover it makes world class SUVs already.
And that latter brand's design director Gerry McGovern (pictured above with the Defender 100 Concept) says the company is still trying to make a business case for a new Defender in two or three years' time. McGovern said at the Delhi Auto Show yesterday that the current level of 20,000 Defenders a year needs to be improved five-fold for any new version of the nameplate.
He said the next Defender need not look utilitarian like the current icon, and will be 'more sophisticated'.
Doing around 750km on a normal car launch trip would be most unusual, writes Brian Byrne. But Land Rover trips are never 'usual'.
Though, when you add in the mucky bits offroad, some work above the snow line, and then driving down a ski-jump slope without touching the brakes, it is, actually, all 'normal' for the brand.
It was all in a chance this week to sample some improvements to a number of the Land Rover models for model year 2014. A mix of motorway, mountains and three countries helped to make it all very memorable.
The Discovery for 2014 has had some exterior freshening to a shape that simply doesn't date, so it's only when you look at some of the detail that you realise what's happening. For instance, there's an all-new grille and changes to the lower air intake. The 'Discovery' name has replaced the 'Land Rover' name across the front of the bonnet. And behind, there's no longer a '4' in the Discovery name on the back door. Take this as an indicator that 'Discovery' is now a recognised sub-brand within the Land Rover ethos, just as is 'Range Rover'. Expect to see this idea extended when the Freelander replacement comes.
Other changes to the Discovery include a new 3.0 V6 petrol engine instead of the 5.0 V8 that powered the top end version. Along with an optional single speed transfer box AWD system for buyers who don't need extreme capability, interior upgrades, and steering wheel paddle shift.
Optional too is a very useful 'wade sensing' system which shows in graphic form just how deep the vehicle is operating in rivers, for instance. Blind spot monitors, T-junction cameras, and side view cameras set into the new-shape side mirrors also help maneuvering in tricky situations. The TDV6 we drove has a tree-drawing 600Nm of torque, and a very respectable 35mpg-plus for such a large and useful car. That last is helped by the new stop-start system for saving fuel in traffic.
Arguably my favourite Land Rover model, Discovery 2014 raises the bar even further.
The Range Rover we drove on the trip had the diesel hybrid powertrain system recently launched and shown to be tough and reliable on a gruelling convoy drive along part of the old Silk Road from Europe to China, finishing up in India to mark the ownership of the brand for the last five years. I never did think that I'd pilot a full-size Range Rover that's virtually silent while motoring in slow traffic, and can return more than 44mpg equivalent in a normal range of driving. All the other extraordinary characteristics of the new generation Range Rover still apply.
The new generation Range Rover Sport now also has the hybrid option in its range, as well as the TDV8 diesel which previously was only available in the full-size Rangie. Of the RR models, the Sport is probably my favourite and driving it down that ski-jump slope at what seemed almost a vertical drop was a highlight of the trip.
We also had the Evoque for 2014 in the run over the two days, which brought us from Switzerland into Germany and France and back to Switzerland again via some time in the Black Forest region, a wonderful place to drive even in poor weather. In addition to some cosmetic improving, the car now gets the first in the world 9-speed passenger car automatic transmission from ZF. Though we are unconvinced as to whether nine ratios are ever necessary, it did prove to be creamy smooth in operation. A host of driver aids in the parking, cruising, and emergency action areas are now part of the package.
There's a lot more in the overall group of vehicles for this new model year, but I'm not about to repeat the brochure. When I have a chance for a full review in each case, we'll get down to the nitty gritty.
Land Rover has confirmed that it will stop production of the current Defender by the middle of the decade, writes Brian Byrne.
The car is the icon of the brand, reflecting the original Land Rover car built in 1948. But it now sells in very small numbers.
A replacement may be built on the new aluminium architecture used by the latest Range Rover family, rather than the steel-based DC100 Concept shown at Frankfurt in 2011.
Almost 2m Defenders in its various guises have been sold.
Meanwhile, it is believed that the Freelander name will be dropped when a replacement for the small Land Rover is debuted next year, in favour of using the Discovery name in an extended family of vehicles bearing the nameplate.
The Freelander replacement may be seen in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show, and go on sale in early 2015.
The new generation Range Rover will start at €119,000 when it goes on sale for January 2013 in Ireland, writes Brian Byrne from the model's global launch in Morocco.
Powertrains in the new generation Range Rover will include for the first time the 3.0 TDV6 diesel. The engine is capable of providing the same performance as the 4.4 TDV8 used in the current model, yet cutting fuel consumption and emissions by up to 22 percent.
CO2 emissions with this engine are rated at 196g/km, thanks in part to the stop-start system. A hybrid version to be introduced later next year will bring this figure down to 169g/km.
The 3.0 TDV6 is likely to be the choice of some nine out of ten of the 40 or so buyers expected for the new Range Rover next year, according to Land Rover Ireland's boss Eddie Kavanagh (pictured above in Essaouira with the new vehicle).
Other engines are an improved version of the 4.4 TDV8, which provides a faster 6.5 seconds acceleration to 100km/h, yet with a 10 percent cut in fuel consumption over the current equivalent.
There are also 375hp and 510hp versions of the 5.0 V8 petrol engines, offering 100km/h sprint performances as fast as 5.1 seconds.
The upper end of the price range for the new car will be around €160,000.
Land Rover sales in Ireland are continuing to grow, with more than 950 units sold this year to date, compared to some 600 units last year.
