Eco-friendly Range Rover Evoque won't have hybrid engine option 12/15/2010
New reports indicate that the upcoming 2011 Range Rover Evoque will not feature a hybrid powertrain, despite Land Rover touting the vehicle as an eco-conscious choice.
Autoblog reports that the unibody Evoque will come standard with front-wheel drive, while consumers can choose to upgrade the vehicle with an all-wheel drive option. Instead of earning its environmentally friendly label with a hybrid powertrain, the car will run on a four-cylinder diesel engine.
Land Rover global product director John Edwards told the source that because the Evoque was conceived of as a lightweight vehicle, the small diesel engine is capable of reaching the fuel efficiency marks the manufacturer hoped to achieve. Any hybrid components to the engine could possibly increase the weight and complexity of the vehicle, potentially making the engine both less cost-effective and less efficient.
According to Edwards, if Land Rover were to provide consumers with a hybrid powertrain option on any of its models, the models most likely to receive the upgrade would be the Land Rover LR4 (marketed abroad as the Discovery) and other Range Rover vehicles.