With its 2009 Range Rover, Land Rover continues blurring the line between “sport” and “luxury.” While Land Rover has announced new options and appointments for all of its sport utility vehicles, the flagship Range Rover remains particularly attractive, thanks to its sleek blend of form and function.
For ’09, Land Rover will roll out its Autobiography Package, which is available only in new “Supercharged” editions of the Range Rover. Adding more touches of leather – on everything from the console side surfaces to the door casings to the instrument panel – the Autobiography Package is a beautiful and luxurious complement to the upgraded leather trim already coming standard in all 2009 Range Rovers.
Also unique to the Autobiography Package are soft, semi-aniline leather seats, wood trim and a four-zone automatic climate control system. If that’s not enough to sell you – check out the rear-seat entertainment system, which will keep the kids busy for hours on those road trips!
If you’re thinking environmentally, of course, the only way to make your Range Rover green is to select one in that color; even though Land Rover has lowered emissions on all of its vehicles for 2009, the Range Rover is only going to get you 11 mpg in the city and 17 on the highway.
Initial pricing shows the standard ’09 Range Rover at an MSRP of $77,675, and the Supercharged edition rings up at just over $93,325.
Is that new car smell losing its thrill? Could be, according to a new survey released by J.D Power and Associates.
The 2008 APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) Study shows that drivers are less thrilled with their new car purchases than they were a year ago. But it isn’t necessarily the cars themselves that are to blame. Instead, drivers point to prices at the pump, which have gone up 27 percent since last year’s survey.
“The increased cost of filling their vehicles … leads to a greater level of dissatisfaction with fuel economy than in the past,” notes David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates. “Manufacturers that deliver more fuel-efficient vehicles…stand a better chance of delighting their customers.”
And there definitely were some delights to be found. Although Honda fared the best, capturing the highest level of satisfaction in three categories, luxury marque Porsche held its own with top ratings in two categories. It took home the APEAL award for its Cayman in the “Compact Premium Sporty Car” category and for the Cayenne in the “Compact Multi-Activity Vehicle (MAV)” division.
Jaguar also fared well, earning a perfect score in “Overall Performance and Design.”
Luxury models that got the thumbs-up from satisfied drivers were the Lexus IS 250/IS 350/IS-F (Entry Premium Car); the BMW 5 Series (Midsize Premium Car) and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (Large Premium Car).
Joining the Porsche Cayenne in the Premium MAV category was Land Rover‘s Range Rover, which topped the list for Large Premium MAVs.
The survey goes hand-in-hand with J.D. Powers and Associates’ Initial Quality Study, which was released about three weeks ago and focuses on problems experienced by new owners during the first 90 days of ownership. To see how your favorite auto manufacturer fared, click here.
With its 2009 Range Rover, Land Rover continues blurring the line between “sport” and “luxury.” While Land Rover has announced new options and appointments for all of its sport utility vehicles, the flagship Range Rover remains particularly attractive, thanks to its sleek blend of form and function.
Also unique to the Autobiography Package are soft, semi-aniline leather seats, wood trim and a four-zone automatic climate control system. If that’s not enough to sell you – check out the rear-seat entertainment system, which will keep the kids busy for hours on those road trips!
