Just how much good is a diesel Range Rover Sport?
Range Rovers are overweight, thirsty, and basically offer no more interior space than a mid-size station wagon. These gigantic beasts are pretty much the antithesis of everything I look for in an automobile. So why am I impressed with a Range Rover Sport TDV8 in which I had the pleasure of flogging around the midlands of England this past weekend? Because of the truck's enormous torque and impressive chassis dynamics.
The TDV8 nomenclature means that this English vehicle is fitted with Land Rover's new 3.6-liter diesel V-8. Don't get too excited about this engine, as, at least for now, it is not coming to the USA. Our strict emissions standards, inexpensive fuel, and general disinterest in diesel vehicles keep most of the fabulous oil-burning vehicles of Europe only a dream for the educated car nut. At least manufacturers are working hard to make their diesel vehicles U.S. compliant and it looks like a growth of this segment in the future is a real possibility, especially if fuel prices scoot back up above the $3 per gallon. But back to the specifics on this Rover's engine. Not far off idle (2000 RPM), the twin-turbo lump puts 472 lb ft of torque to all four tires. In a drag race, the TDV8 is about on par with the normally aspirated gasoline V-8 Sport-0-60 time in the mid-8 second range. But in the real world, the diesel will show its taillights to its thirstier sibling with only a wiggle of your big toe on the throttle. You see, the 4.4-liter gasoline V-8 available in the States only puts out 315 lb ft of torque at a lofty 4000 RPM. The diesel develops that same amount of torque at only 1200 RPM. But power is only half the story as the TDV8 actually obtains fuel mileage that is on par with many large passenger cars. Using our calculators and lots of good old guessing, we figure the TDV8 Range Rover Sport would get an EPA mileage rating of about 18 city, 24 highway, This is quite an impressive improvement on a percentage basis over the 14 city, 20 highway rating for the gasoline V8 model. The engine in the TDV8 is also very smooth and quiet, so much so that Land Rover was able to tune the exhaust to belt out a very aggressive and sporty engine note. I don't know about you but the low-end torque of a diesel just fits the personality of an SUV perfectly. I don't want to have to spin an engine to the moon just to get a truck moving when a gentle squeeze of the accelerator does the same thing....
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