Land Rover

If you are searching for spares for new, used, classic, rare and ex-military vehicles as well as spares, parts, tools and off road accessories, then you might be interested in the new event being held at the Malvern Three Counties Showground, on Sunday the 15th January 2012.

The event is being held at Wye Hall and will see hundreds of traders offering parts and spares for Land Rovers and 4X4 vehicles. The event is being sponsored by Peter James Insurance and the Malvern 4X4 Spares Day is open from 9.30AM with tickets costing £6 per adult, which you can buy on the day. If you have sparts parts to sell then indoor plots cost £25 and outdoor plots from £20.

Car parking is free and more information can be found here  http://www.4x4sparesday.co.uk/

Range_e Plug-in Hybrid diesel-electric

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just awarded Jaguar Land Rover an award for automotive innovation for their Range_e Plug-in Hybrid diesel electric vehicle system. The Range_e concept points the way for future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles, by offering low CO2 emissions and high fuel efficiency for production 4×4 models.

The Range_e is a luxury all-wheel drive vehicle, based on the Range Rover Sport, that is powered by a plug-in hybrid system which brings together a 69kW electric motor and Land Rover’s 245PS 3.0-litre TDV6 diesel engine. The vehicle can be driven for 20 miles on pure electric power, creating zero tailpipe emissions, with overall CO2 emissions at 89g/km. The Range_e offers 85mpg fuel economy and the combined 339PS delivers a top speed of 120mph.

Battery recharging for the 14.2kWh lithium-ion battery can easily be accomplished by using a 240V power source and the system was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The first Land Rover diesel-electric hybrid is scheduled for launch in 2013.

Warranty Direct’s unique reliability index takes into account how often vehicles break down, their average repair cost and time spent in the garage, to calculate the overall reliability of any vehicle. The lower the Reliability Index number, the more reliable and cheaper it will be to repair your car.

If you are thinking of buying or leasing a new 4×4 or SUV, the top-10 models are dominated by Japanese and Korean cars. The Warranty Direct study looked at over 16,000 three-to eight-year old 4x4s and SUVs. It is important to choose the right manufacturer and model as Warranty Direct revealed that this vehicle category is also the most expensive type of vehicle to run.

While some of the models below have been replaced by newer vehicles, it does give you an idea of which manufacturer offers you the best reliability and running costs, especially if you lease and opt for a non-maintained contract. Honda scores particularly well in the study with a Reliability Index score of 6.

Further details of the Reliability Index can be found at www.reliabilityindex.co.uk

Top Ten rated 4×4/SUVs 

Hyundai i40

The new Hyundai i40 has just won the 2011 EuroCarBody Golden Award at this year’s conference which was held near Frankfurt in Germany. The EuroCarBody awards were judged by over 500 attending delegates with industry experts from across the world.

The Hyundai i40 was praised by the judges for its comprehensive engineering, effective development of materials as well as the car’s production efficiency, scoring 37.98 out of a possible 50 maximum points. The closest competitor to the i40 was the Audi A6 which scored 35.86 with the Mercedes-Benz B-Class in third place at 34.66. Other competitors included car models from BMW, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Opel, Land Rover and Volkswagen. 

The Hyundai i40 is currently available in the Tourer model, with the saloon car due out next year, and benefits from Hyundai’s Five Year Triple Care package. This consists of a five-year unlimited warranty, five year’s roadside assistance and five year’s of vehicle health checks. Hyundai Contract Hire has a superb offer on the i40 Tourer on the site at present, for the Hyundai i40 Diesel 115 blue Drive Active 5-door Tourer, which starts from £196.77+VAT per month.

Zara Phillips and her new Evoque

Zara Phillips, a Land Rover ambassador, has just taken delivery of a new Range Rover Evoque, a 5-door Stornaway Grey version with a 2.2-litre diesel engine, 6-speed automatic transmission and panoramic sunroof. Other features on the car included park assist, blind spot monitoring and a surround camera system and the car was handed over at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, where Zara was competing.

The Range Rover Evoque enters UK showrooms this week and Land Rover has already received over 20,000 pre-orders worldwide, 6,000 of these are destined for the UK with the first cars being delivered this Friday, the 9th September.

Land Rover UK Marketing Director, Laura Schwab said,”Zara has been excited about the new Evoque ever since we revealed the first pictures over a year ago and indeed she was one of the very first people to order one. We have a huge presence at Burghley this year, with over 60 Land Rover vehicles in action at the event. It therefore seemed fitting that our first Evoque handover took place here”. If you are interested in leasing a new Range Rover Evoque as your company car, then prices are on the site now.

Land Rover

Land Rover has handed over a fleet of Land Rover vehicles to the tournament officials at the Rugby World Cup 2011 at the Eden Park stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. The fleet is mainly made up of Range Rover Sports and Land Rover Discovery models and will be used throughout the tournament (which kicks off on Friday the 9th September) by RWCL and RNZ 2011. All the vehicles have been customised for the event with RWC 2011 branding, number plates and commemorative badging to celebrate Land Rover’s sponsorship as the Official Vehicle for the tournament. 

Kit McConnell RWC 2011 Tournament Director, said,”Rugby World Cup Limited is delighted to have a long term partnership with the globally renowned Land Rover brand”. Land Rover is also giving rugby fans the chance to interact with current and former rubgy players by launching a new app, featuring “Tackle the Pros”.  This new app is available  for Blackberry, PlayBook, iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone 7 and is available in English, French and Spanish.

The free app provides the following features;

• Live commentary of matches with score updates
• Half time and full match video highlights
• Tournament news, fixtures, results, statistics and standings
• What RWC 2011 events are being held in New Zealand for visiting rugby fans
• Information about stadium location and facilities

If you want to download the official RWC 2011 app this will be available from the 24th August (NZ time) and the web address is www.rugbyworldcup.com/mobileapp

Range Rover Evoque

Land Rover is supporting the 2011 CLA Game Fair which is the world’s largest country sports and pursuits event, which takes place this year between the 22nd to the 24th July at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Land Rover will be showcasing a wide range of their vehicles including the new Range Rover Evoque Coupe and 5-door which offers a “compact” Range Rover with cool styling, underpinned by traditional Land Rover quality and engineering.

In addition, Land Rover will be offering their renowned Land Rover Experience, which enables you to experience the off-road capability that has made the Land Rover brand so well-known around the world. They are also sponsoring the fair’s new VIP Club which offers the use of a concierge service, refreshments throughout the day and exclusive seating to enjoy the vast range of country pursuits, competitions, demonstrations and crafts. The Range Rover Evoque is proving to be a popular model for Land Rover and we have Range Rover Evoque business car leasing on the site now.

Titan the Robot

The 2011 Motorexpo, which was held at London’s Canary Wharf, was a resounding success with more than 410,000 visitors attending the event. Motorexpo is the UK’s largest, free-to-visit gathering of car manufacturers and there were just over 250 new cars on show. Manufacturers who were showcasing their vehicles included Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Saab, Skoda, Tesla, Vauxhall and Volvo to name just a few.

New models such as the BMW 6 Series Coupe, 2012 Jaguar XF, Lexus CT 200h, Mercedes-Benz SLK and CLS 63 AMG, Saab 9-5 SportWagon and the Bentley Continental GT all made their UK public debuts. Popular attractions at the event were the characters from the Disney.Pixar blockbuster “Cars 2″, Lightning McQueen and Finn McMissile and of course Titan the Robot.

The “Drive the Future” green zone was also popular with showgoers able to see electric cars such as the Vauxhall Ampera, Mitsubishi i-MIEV and Tesla Roadster. If you want to put the date in your calendar for next year the event will be held from Monday the 11th through to the 17th June. Full details and information on how to get there can be found at www.motorexpo.com

Salon Prive 2011

If you like your exotic, exclusive, luxury supercars you will be pleased to know that the Lamborghini Aventador and the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport will be headlining the 2011 Salon Prive event, which is being held next month at Syon House, West London. You will now be able get up close and personal to many of the world’s exotic cars at one location, with the following supercars on show;

• New BMW 6 Series coupe and convertible
• Maserati Gran Turismo MC Stradale
• Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante
• New Range Rover Evoque
• Aston Martin Virage and V8 Vantage S
• Hennessey Venom GT
• Arash AF-10
• GTA Spano
• Eagle E-Type Speedster Lightweight
• Rolls Royce 102EX
• Jensen Interceptor R

Other manufacturers showcasing their cars include Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar Cars, Lexus, Maybach, Noble, Porsche, Spyker and tickets for this exclusive event start from £175+VAT, which are available off the official 2011 Salon Prive website @ www.salonprivelondon.com

Land Rover Discovery 4

The Land Rover Discovery 4 has just been named as the Best 4×4 in the 2011 Diesel Car Awards for the second year running.

Colin Green, Managing Director Land Rover UK, said,”We are thrilled to receive this award, doing so for the second year running shows that the Discovery 4 continues to hold a clear advantage over its market rivals”. Land Rover business car leasing is on the site now.