Land rover to release two new full hybrid models – Evoque and Discovery Sport P300e PHEV
Welcome to 2020 Land Rover. It is about time. The company that is as timeless as a broken vintage watch, Land Rovers engine line up is rather interesting. From puny 4 cylinder petrol engines to powerful six and eight cylinder diesels. The latter are what makes a luxury car, since these engines can deliver the power effortless, and with a nice background whoosh. There is a problem though. The engines available are in comparison with other brands hopelessly outdated. Yes, the RR Sport has a hybrid system, but come on, it´s not enough. It is therefore a salvation that the more volume focused Evoque and Discovery Sport gets a hybrid system.
Okay, so let´s get into the nitty gritty. The hybrid system is a three cylinder with 200 hp which in itself is damn impressive. I have only seen these numbers in the new Fiesta ST. A 109 hp electric engine powers the rear wheels giving a four wheel drive system, as long as the battery is charged. Speaking of which, the battery has a capacity of 15 kWh, which is one of the bigger ones I have seen out there. Pure electric range is claimed to be 66 km. Fuel consumption is 1.4 L/100 km.
Some performance numbers, since they are rather impressive. In the Evoque, 0-100 km/h is done in 6.4 s, and in the Discovery Sport, in 6.6 s. 135 km/h is reached in pure electric, and when you run out of juice the battery goes from 0-80 % in 30 minutes, IF there is a 32 KW DC outlet, which I highly doubt there are on the roads. So a time of just under 7 hours is needed to fully charge with a standard type 2 outlet. Land rover is offering Mode 2 and 3 cables, which I haven’t fully understood yet, but it could be just another name for the type 2 and CHADEMO cables. It should be noted that even though it is possible to charge with 50 – 100 kW with the DC rapid charger, which will never happen since the charging speed is limited to 32 kW.
Good work Land Rover! All we need now is a hybrid six cylinder with about 450-475 hp for the bigger models.
