Range Rover Evoque set to go plug-in hybrid with three-pot 1.5
LAND ROVER WILL introduce a new three-cylinder petrol engine to its range in the upcoming plug-in hybrid version of the Range Rover Evoque.
Recently seen testing near the Jaguar Land Rover base in Coventry, Warwickshire, the plug-in hybrid SUV uses a 1.5-litre petrol unit mated to an electric motor. It will also be capable of limited mileage on electric-only power.
The car’s lithium ion battery pack will be hooked up to new 48V electrical architecture. Such a set-up was used by the Evoque mild hybrid Concept e of 2015, which placed its batteries beneath the boot floor and retained an eight-speed automatic gearbox to drive all four wheels. Like the concept, the production Evoque’s electric motor is likely also to serve as the engine’s starter motor.
Land Rover has refrained from commenting on the plug-in Evoque’s arrival date, only reiterating its statement from earlier this year that each of its cars will feature an electrified variant from 2020. But sources believe the plug-in Evoque could arrive a year before that self-imposed deadline. This would coincide with the predicted arrival date for the rest of the nextgeneration Evoque range.
The 2019 model will be all new and built on a larger platform than the current car. Along with the eventual hybrid drivetrain, it will be available with pure petrol and diesel turbocharged engines, with each offering improvements in performance, fuel economy and emissions.
The design of the new model is expected to follow the style used on the Range Rover Velar and Discovery, adopting a similarly sleek front end and featuring a more extensively infotainment-based cabin.
When the plug-in Evoque is launched, it will join plug-in versions of the Range Rover Sport and Range Rover, both of which were confirmed to arrive this year by JLR CEO Ralf Speth at the Frankfurt motor show earlier this month. All of the electrified Range Rovers are expected to be based around petrol engines, rather than the diesel hybrid drivetrain used by the current plug-in hybrid Range Rover.
JLR sibling Jaguar is also likely to benefit from the Evoque’s hybrid tech when it’s integrated into the E-pace SUV, with which the Evoque shares many parts.