Top of the Range

Just because you're heading into the wild, that's no reason to rough it, writes motoring editor ALASTAIR SLOANE.

BMW set a typically high benchmark when it laid out plans in the mid-1990s for the new Range Rover.

The man responsible for the project was Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, then the BMW board member in charge of research and development. Reitzle liked everything about Range Rover. He had been one of the first BMW executives to support plans to buy Land-Rover from the British back in the early 1990s.

"I've been in love with the Range Rover since the first model in 1970," he said.

But he became separated from his "mistress" when he and board chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder were forced out of BMW in 1999 over billion-dollar loses with what the German press called BMW's English patient - Rover.

Pischetsrieder joined Volkswagen and Reitzle took up a position created for him by Ford as head of its international luxury division, Premier Automotive Group.

The PAG stable included prestige carmakers Jaguar, Aston Martin, Volvo and Lincoln. A year after he took charge, Reitzle added another: Land-Rover.

The purchase was not by accident - PAG wanted Land-Rover for the same reasons BMW did years before: Range Rover.

Observers talked of Reitzle's destiny. He was there when BMW bought Land-Rover in 1994 and there when it sold it to Ford in July last year.

"My beloved baby came back," Reitzle said at the pre-production launch of the new model the other day. "When I left [BMW] the tooling was finished. In the months I lost the product, BMW didn't change anything.

"I was deeply and personally involved in the design, right from the white sheet of paper."

Reitzle promises that the third-generation Range Rover will have none of the niggling quality control problems that affected the reliability of the first- and second-generation models.

In testing, PAG ran 45 prototypes of the new model over more than 2.4 million kilometres, from the heat of the Sahara Desert to the altitude of Mexico and cold of the Arctic Circle.

Reitzle vows to present to buyers a complete luxury four-wheel-drive, up there in quality and refinement with the best saloons from Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

"I promise you, I guarantee, that we will launch the new Range Rover only when it is at the S-Class/7-Series quality level," he said.

The new model retains permanent four-wheel-drive and traditional styling cues but is longer and heavier than its predecessor, yet faster and more frugal.

So what's so special about it? Everything, according to PAG and the head of Land-Rover, Bob Dover. But particularly the blend of high-speed luxury with off-road practicality.

"We believe it is the world's most capable vehicle, with the greatest breadth of ability of any vehicle ever made," said Dover.

Reitzle added: "For off-road capability nobody can beat us. For 140 mph (225 km/h) on the autobahn it is as good as an S-Class or 7-Series."

Among the new model's key features are:

* New, stiffer monocoque body with integrated chassis. (The old ladder chassis has gone. New regulations in the United States will soon outlaw such chassis as being too intrusive in crashes with cars).

* Independent suspension with air springs. Maximum ride height is 68mm more than the outgoing model.

* Manual/automatic Steptronic transmission and shift-on-the-move low-range transfer case.

* Extensive use of aluminium for weight reduction.

* More interior space and luxury than previous model.

* New, more refined petrol and diesel engines with throttle calibrations for on- and off-road conditions.

In keeping with its luxury role, the burr wood and leather interior has been completely redesigned.

But at the same time, said Dover and Reitzle, the inherent simplicity of the original Range Rover remained. "The key to the new vehicle's cockpit layout is a minimalist approach with straightforward and easy-to-use controls," said Dover.

Standard and optional equipment levels have been widened to provide new choices for buyers. There is satellite navigation with an off-road function, in-car cellphone and in-dash windscreen television.

The CD/stereo system comes with a choice of six or 11 speakers and special amplifier.

The vehicle is lavishly equipped, with the latest in safety devices, including new headlight technology and early-warning rear brake lights.

"Land-Rover is the world's pre-eminent manufacturer of four-wheel-drive vehicles and the Range Rover is the original luxury sport utility vehicle," said Reitzle.

"The new Range Rover is truly extraordinary. Its unique combination of go-anywhere skill and luxury means its closest rivals aren't other four-wheel-drives but the finest luxury saloons in the world."

* The next Weekend Drive will reveal the NZ Herald car of the year.