POWERTRAIN & PERFORMANCE
THE new Ingenium diesel is a 3.0-litre in-line six with twin turbochargers set up in a sequential system. In this D250 trim it makes a healthy 183kw and 570Nm. Step up to the D300 engine, which is only available in SE spec and above, and you’re getting 220kw and 650Nm from the same hardware.
The Ingenium family of engines is modular so, put simply, the six-cylinder is the same as the four-pot, with another pair of 250cc chambers tacked on to the end. Like the other Ingenium engines, the six-pot diesel runs a 48V system in what Land Rover calls a mild-hybrid system; although, there is no electric-driven drive delivered back to the powertrain.
The low tune of the D250 never leaves you wanting more in the 110. It’s a smooth and refined engine providing a linear power delivery through its rev range. It’s also very quiet inside the cabin and, when compared to the P400 petrol engine, you’d be hard-pressed to pick that this is the diesel during normal driving.
Put your foot down on the throttle and hold the gears in the eight-speed auto and the six-pot puts out a sweet-sounding growl, again comparable a performance petrol six.
During our week with the D250 it returned 11.37L/100km of fuel consumption compared to high 16s previously recorded during similar drives in the P400 petrol Defender. If the P400 is the performance engine in the range and the D250 is the economical one, we can’t wait to find the middle ground in the D300!