Range Rover Hybrid powers the jobs market

Then, with a muted cough – well maybe more of a sneeze – a diesel engine quietly kicks in as the car gathers speed.

Is this the future of motoring? Certainly, the assembled media at Jaguar Land Rover's press day in Herefordshire seem to think so.

There may have been 39 sets of keys on the table, and more than £2 million worth of hardware outside, but it was the Range Rover Hybrid that everyone was clamouring to get hold of.

Up until now, dual-fuel cars which combine electric power with a conventional engine have made a limited impact on the UK car market.

The Toyota Prius has developed a loyal following among the environmentally conscious, and proved a hit with London taxi drivers thanks to its exemption from the congestion charge.

But the West Midland car giant hopes this new addition to the Range Rover line-up will open diesel-electric power to a whole new audience when the first cars are delivered early next year.

With a 0-62 mph acceleration time of 6.9 seconds and a top speed of 135mph, the Range Rover Hybrid is about as far removed from the staid image associated with hybrid-powered cars as it is possible to get.

However, with a potential 44mpg available on the combined cycle, and a 26 per cent reduction in emissions compared to a conventional diesel, the new model is about the closest thing you can get to an environmentally friendly Range Rover.

Certainly, the conventionally powered variants of the new Range Rover have been a runaway success since they first went on sale a year ago. In the first eight months alone, 27,000 of the luxury off-roaders were sold, with 80 per cent of them destined for the export market.

And the recent resurgence in the Land Rover brand is crucial to the recovery of the West Midland economy. Not only will sales of the new model help support the 6,000 jobs at the main Land-Rover plant in Solihull, but parent company Jaguar Land Rover is also investing £500 million in a new engine plant on the outskirts of Wolverhampton.

This will eventually lead to the creation of 1,500 jobs – the recruitment process for the first 600 workers began this week – plus countless more in the supply chain.

The hybrid Range Rover combines a conventional 3-litre diesel engine with a 35kW electric motor, producing a total of 340bhp.

John Edwards, Land Rover's global brand director, is certainly not backward in his claims about the potential of hybrid power.

"The addition of smooth electric drive enhances refinement, cuts CO2 emissions, and delivers staggering performance on a par with a V8," he says.

The first thing the driver will notice on getting into the car is that the rev counter has been replaced with a power meter. A green band shows you the way to drive in the most eco-friendly manner.

A dial below that shows how that when you step off the accelerator, a regenerative braking system uses the momentum of the moving car to recharge the batteries. An additional fuel gauge-like meter shows how much battery power is left.

And should you be careless enough to run out of fuel, a fully charged Range Rover Hybrid can manage a mile on battery power alone.

And the good news for anybody with £98,415 to spare is that the hybrid power plant offers few, if any, disadvantage over a conventionally powered Range Rover.

While the cutting in and out of the diesel engine is a little disconcerting initially, one quickly becomes accustomed to this, and at low speeds around town, the silent progress of the electric power could be seen as a positive benefit. And turning the transmission to 'sport' mode allows the car to be powered by a seamless combination of electric and diesel power.

It is estimated that compared to a normal V8 diesel, the hybrid power plant will save the customer around £1,000 a year – although they will have to pay around £6,000 more to begin with.

At the end of our run through a combination of town and country driving, the trip computer revealed that the Range Rover had managed without the use of its diesel engine for 29 per cent of the time.

Of course, with a starting price just shy of £100,000, the Range Rover Hybrid is a car that few people will get the chance to drive.

But the fact that Land Rover is confident enough to fit diesel-electric power to a car at this end of the market – and with few discernible drawbacks – shows just how far the technology has come.

And it could also be a clear pointer to the future direction of motoring.

By Mark Andrews