The car with the invisible bonnet
Damien O’Carroll reports.
While it looks quite similar to the previous model, the new Range Rover Evoque represents a comprehensive technological overhaul of the small SUV.
Land Rover says the new architecture under that familiar skin has been developed for electrification, with a 48-volt mildhybrid available in the new Evoque at launch, while a plug-in hybrid model will appear around 12 months later.
A first for the company, the mild hybrid powertrain works by harvesting energy normally lost during deceleration thanks to the engine-mounted belt-integrated starter generator, storing it in the under-floor battery. At speeds below 17kmh, the engine will shut off while the driver applies the brakes. When pulling away, the stored energy is redeployed to assist the engine under acceleration and reduce fuel consumption. The even more efficient PHEV model – that comes with a three-cylinder petrol Ingenium engine – will join the range next year.
The Evoque also sees the debut of Range Rover’s ‘‘ClearSight’’ technology – a suite of camerabased technologies aimed at increasing interior visibility and, therefore, safety.
The ClearSight rear-view mirror is one such system that transforms into an HD video screen. If rear visibility is compromised by passengers or bulky items, the driver simply flicks a switch on the underside of the mirror and a camera feed from the top of the car displays what is behind the vehicle in crisp high definition. Land Rover says the screen provides a wider (50-degree) field of vision and superior visibility in low light.
But this is nothing new – Subaru has a similar system in the Levorg wagon – but another part of the system is quite new, and that is the ‘‘Ground View’’ system that enables the driver to actually see what is happening under the car.
Debuting on the Evoque, the technology effectively makes the front of the car invisible by projecting camera imagery on to the upper touchscreen to show the driver a 180-degree view under the front of the vehicle.
Range Rover first previewed the technology back in 2014, when a demonstration projected the image on to the windscreen, effectively making the car’s front end transparent to the driver.
While the head up projection technology isn’t quite good enough yet, Land Rover has now realised the first stage by making it available on the Evoque’s dashmounted touchscreen.
Originally developed to be incredibly useful off road, particularly when approaching potentially unknown dropoffs that can’t be seen from inside the cabin, Land Rover also claims that it is of use around town for tight parking spaces (the range of vision extends beyond the track of the vehicle).
You could argue that debuting an advanced system that is well suited for off road applications in the company’s least off roadoriented vehicle makes little sense, but Land Rover don’t believe that about the Evoque, saying that it is ‘‘Every bit a Range Rover’’ and includes the company’s Terrain Response 2 system that automatically detects the surface being driven on and adjusts the setup accordingly.
It can now also wade through up to 600mm water, 100mm deeper than the previous generation Evoque.
Plus you could also argue that a vehicle not as ridiculously capable as a full-size Range Rover or Land Rover could benefit even more from this type of technology, allowing – as it does – drivers to see if an area is a bit gnarly before they blindly stagger into it. Or, perhaps more relevantly, it would also allow one to check the level of pony emissions on the grass at the local club before one exits.