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"Was it really 42 years ago? WhenDavid Bache, Gordon Bashford and Spen King&amp;#039;s original Range Rover first appeared in the showrooms and the world boggled at a 4x4 equally at home on the ranch as it was parked outside New York&amp;#039;s MoMA?   Video window may take a few moments to load...          They had an original pre-production Range Rover at the Moroccan launch of this fourth-generation model. Badged VELAR (Italian for `veil&amp;#039; or `cover up&amp;#039;), these early 14 ft. 8 in., 3880 lb. cars were a perfect hoot to drive around Marrakesh, but bore so little relationship with Gerry McGovern&amp;#039;s new 16 ft. 4 in., 4,850 lb. goliath that it was hard to believe they could have come from the same company.        2013 Range Rover    Aluminum Construction   Yet the new fourth-generation Range Rover could have been a lot more goliath-like had it not been for its all-aluminum construction. This is the world&amp;#039;s first all-aluminum monocoque SUV, using lessons learned from the Ford P2000 concept sedan from 1999. There are some spectacular weight savings here. The body is 39 percent lighter than the steel body on its predecessor, which results in total weight savings of up to 926 lbs., although on one of the two U.S. specification models, the naturally-aspirated, five-liter gasoline V-8, that figure is only 700 lbs.   So what&amp;#039;s new here is the aluminum, but there&amp;#039;s a lot that goes with this material change, including aluminum subframes for the short-and-long-arm (SLA) wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension. Even the front brakes get Brembo aluminum callipers and there are composite/aluminum structures in the B-post to help prevent passenger-cell intrusion in the fearsome North American pylon tests. The final drive units are cased in aluminum and the upper part of the legendary Range Rover picnic table, sorry, &amp;quot;horizontally split tailgate&amp;quot; is in SMC reinforced polymer composite.        2013 Range Rover    While the engines and most of the permanent four-wheel drive system are carried over from the old model, there are changes, including the adoption of the new ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, with steering wheel paddles to swap ratios. There&amp;#039;s the latest Terrain Response system, which matches driveline settings with what&amp;#039;s under the wheels using a series of icon indicators. The air-sprung suspension gets a total revamp to cope with what amounts to an entire complement of passengers less to carry about and the electronically assisted power steering has its software mapping configured to suit.   Looks Count, But it Can Back Them Up   While it looks bigger, in fact the new Range Rover is only about an inch longer than its predecessor, but it walks softly, with a lower roofline and a degree more subtlety about the coachwork. In fact the third-gen Range Rover was a pretty mashed up automobile. Launched in 2002, it was designed under BMW ownership to accept 7-series electrical systems, then re-engineered under Ford ownership to accept Jaguar engines, then blinged up under Indian ownership to suit world markets; the poor old thing was an on-street identity crisis.        2013 Range Rover    The new Range Rover is an altogether better-looking machine, with a cleaner design and the sparkly bits like LED lamps tucked away under glass covers. Design chief, Gerry McGovern and his team have done a fine job with this big car by not over adorning it - witness the Infiniti FX if you want to see how not to do it. But it&amp;#039;s not all Brooks Brothers for the farm boys. One of the things the Range Rover has done traditionally better than almost any rival is driving off the road. The paper specifications look good, with a longer wheelbase, which improves approach and departure angles and, despite the lighter construction, the same maximum towing weight of 3.44 tons. The permanent four-wheel drive goes via a locking center differential and optional locking rear differential. The Terrain Response system is augmented with electronic traction and safety aids including: hill-descent control, gradient release control, hill-start assist, dynamic stability control, electronic traction control and roll-stability control, which pumps up the outside of the vehicle in bends to maintain stability.        2013 Range Rover    Going Up Stream   Look at the brochure and you can&amp;#039;t help feeling that Range Rover is moving up market. The price has increased for a start. Orders are open now for delivery in December and starting prices will be $83,500 rising to $130,950 for the top Autobiography trimmed models. There&amp;#039;s a plutocrats&amp;#039; wish list of 37 exterior paint options, 17 interior colors and three different choices of headlining colors. Wheels start at 19 inches, with 20, 21 and even 22-inch rims available, there&amp;#039;s an optional full-size panoramic sun roof and endless permutations of puddle and step lighting, so folk will just know you&amp;#039;ve arrived in this new Brit SUV.   The cabin reflects this, with a new and cleaner design, which uses Jaguar Land Rover&amp;#039;s thin-film transistor technology for the not-entirely-convincing instrument binnacle, where proper needles and backcards are replaced with graphics. The steering wheel is cluttered with control buttons which take some learning, but at least that leaves the center console pleasingly clear. Gear selection is via JLR&amp;#039;s capstan control and the Terrain Response icons and the heater controls are simple, with a large screen for the new satellite navigation system.        2013 Range Rover    In spite of the large transmission tunnel, there&amp;#039;s lots of room round the driver, with big door pockets, a tiny fridge under the arm rest and a double glove box. The seats are commodious, but the fronts aren&amp;#039;t particularly comfortable in spite of the every-which-way electronic adjustment, lumbar support and a massage function. Climbing in results in the vehicle wheezing and panting on its air springs like a latter day Citro\u00EBn DS, but the high-mounted Command Driving position gives good views out and the traditional clam-shell castellated hood confirms that you are in a Range Rover. Power   Two gasoline engines are offered in the U.S. The 375 bhp/375 lb.-ft., 4,999.7cc, naturally aspirated, 32-valve V-8 gives a top speed of 130 mph and 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds. The 510 bhp/461 lb.-ft. supercharged version of this engine achieves a top speed of 140 mph and 0-60 mph in 5.1 sec. We&amp;#039;ve yet to get City/highway gas mileage figures, but in the NEDC cycle, the supercharged V-8 achieves 17.06 mpg (U.S.) and carbon-dioxide emissions of 322g/km. Both are creamy performers and reduction in body weight means they perform a deal better than their installation in the third-gen model. The ZF eight speed is an accomplished transmission; smooth and almost never stuck for ratio, with a learning function, which holds on to gears when it thinks you are pressing on.        2013 Range Rover   Driving the Range Rover   In 1970, the launch of the original Range Rover was slated for Morocco, but civil unrest prevented it. This time around, the population seemed peaceful enough to fly us out to Marrakesh and drive up the dusty red roads of the Atlas Mountains. For one and a half hours the big Range Rover kept us climbing and comfortable, with the four-zone air conditioning automatically cooling at the bottom and warming at the top. To be fair, this wasn&amp;#039;t the most challenging route, which was proved when we got to the top by a standard two-wheel-drive Honda Civic filled with Moroccans, driving down the route we&amp;#039;d just come up...        2013 Range Rover    On the road, the Range Rover has a new-found stability, although it still `clambers&amp;#039; slightly at speed as a consequence of its long wheel travel. Those expecting the steering precision of a Porsche Cayenne or BMW X5 will be mildly disappointed, but the Range Rover can do things they can&amp;#039;t. That doesn&amp;#039;t mean you&amp;#039;re be driving a wallowing, rolling luxobarge, Range Rover has a fine high-speed stability and it comes off the turns with well controlled body roll and firm suspension. It&amp;#039;s also a highly refined tourer, with a comfort and quietness at speed that means you climb out pretty fresh, however far you&amp;#039;ve driven. The all round disc brakes are excellent, too, inspiring a first-touch confidence and with a linearity that matches their stopping power.        2013 Range Rover    The Bottom Line   Of course it&amp;#039;s the best Range Rover ever. That much is a given, but what the aluminum construction means is that the cycle of burgeoning weight and engine power has ended. That doesn&amp;#039;t mean the Range Rover is a feather-weight fuel sipper, but it does mark the beginning of a virtuous cycle of weight loss, which begets more weight loss. Ignore that and you&amp;#039;ve got a refined, reasonably economical and very luxurious 4x4, which can pull a trailer across the prairie in the morning, climb up to a snowy Colorado retreat in the afternoon and drive you to the theatre in the evening. Just like the original, then, only 42 years later. Can you believe it? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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