2017 Range Rover Sport gets four-cylinder diesel engine

IN A SIGN of the times the 2017 Range Rover Sport will adopt a four-cylinder diesel from 2017.

Dubbed the SD4 S, it will replace the TDV6 S as the price leader in the Range Rover Sport line-up. That means a $90,900 plus on-roads price tag and the least expensive way to get into a ‘proper’ Range Rover.

If that doesn’t sound too exciting there is good news, as the SD4 will come with the option of dual-range gearing, as part of a $5500 off-road option pack that also includes height-adjustable air suspension. The TDV6 Sport will also be offered with a dual-range gearing option in 2017 giving another option for drivers who want to run 19 inch wheels.

The TDV6 and the new SD4 both come with a more practical wheel and tyre spec in the form 235/65R19s, whereas the SDV6, with its bigger brakes, can’t run on 19s and has less-practical 255/55R20s instead.

The new four-cylinder diesel comes from the Jaguar Land Rover’s new Ingenium engine range, and despite being just two litres in capacity it claims a solid 500Nm and 177kW. Given the aluminium-monocoque construction of the RRS means a modest kerb weight of around 2100kg (for the SD4), the performance of this four-cylinder engine still should be pretty handy.

By way of comparison, the current TDV6 3.0-litre diesel claims 190kW and 600Nm, so a drop in both power and torque with the four but not as significant as you may think it would be. The 2.0-litre four is also lighter than the TDV6, and with an ADR fuel claim of just 6.2L/100km it’s 10 per cent more economical as well. To achieve its impressive power and torque outputs the Ingenium diesel uses a sequential bi-turbo arrangement.

The SD4 S also gains a bit of kit over the outgoing TDV6 S, including a bigger (10.2-inch in place of an 8.0-inch) touchscreen, sat-nav, autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning, front parking sensors and xenon headlights.

Interesting to note that the last four-cylinder turbo-diesel offered in the Range Rover in Australia was a 2.4-litre VM Motori that claimed just 80kW and 240Nm. It lasted from 1987 to 1990.

The Range Rover Sport SD4 S arrives in Australia in the first quarter of 2017.