Land Rover: Greatwall Motors May Become JLR's Chinese Partner: Domain
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) year-long hunt for a Chinese partner may finally end if its advanced talks with privately-owned Greatwall Motors, China's largest SUV producer. The added incentive is that Greatwall has just built a new, state of the art factory in Tianjin, which can produce about 800,000 cars annually at peak capacity - nearly double the 245,000 cars sold by JLR last year. The JV is likely to be inked by this year end and regulatory clearance and other approvals from the government are expected by next year. JLR had last year initiated talks with SAIC and Chery for first assembling Land Rover models and later for a joint production of both the Jaguar and Land Rover models. In October 2009, JLR had said that it could move some production to China in order to avoid import tariffs on British products by the Chinese government. China imposes a 10-per cent tariff on imported auto parts, but since April 2005, it has imposed a higher 25-per cent charge on the value of finished products. It also slaps a 25-per cent tariff on the import of finished automobiles.
Originally intended for agricultural and industrial uses, the Land Rover Series I made its first appearance at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show. Many have said that engineering director Maurice Wilks, who sketched the first boxy design of the Series I in the sand of the UK鈥檚 Red Wharf Bay, based his idea on WWII-era Jeeps. Permanent four-wheel drive and a short wheelbase were part of the initial run, but later Land Rover would add conventional four-wheel drive, a longer wheelbase, additional body styles, and a diesel engine. Most desirable are the Station Wagon models, which were first built by coachbuilder Tickford in 1949 until Land Rover branched out with a factory version for 1956, complete with the lovely Safari Roof. It took six months and one hell of a journey through uncharted desert and untouched jungles, but the two elite student-led teams completed their expedition in a pair of blue Series I Land Rovers.
Trick Ground View tech, first seen as a futuristic concept five years ago (it was called Transparent Bonnet technology), is now available on the production 2020 Discovery Sport. This isn鈥檛 just useful when off-roading, because it also helps drivers navigate city center curbs. It uses camera projections to offer a virtual 180-degree view - effectively making the bonnet 鈥榠nvisible鈥? And that鈥檚 not all. The Discovery Sport is a family-focused vehicle, and families like packing in either people, or stuff in the boot, or both. 鈥?But not with the new ClearSight smart review view mirror, that uses a camera on top of the roof to display video feed with a 50-degree field of vision. It works really well in low-light conditions, too. As mentioned earlier, styling changes are not as headline-grabbing as what鈥檚 beneath. But these new LED headlights give the front end a fresh look, and are joined by a smooth new grille and bumper. Neat darkened LED tail lamps are also new - and we can breathe a sigh of relief because the Discovery Sport has not adopted the offset number plate of its larger Discovery sibling. New downlighters built into the door mirrors are just one of the many neat touches offered on the new Discovery Sport. It can even be unlocked with the Land Rover Activity Key - a wearable band that you can put on when you鈥檙e off cycling, windsurfing or similar. There are four off-road mode: Comfort, Sand, Gras-Gravel-Snow, Mud and Ruts. Or simply switch it into Auto and let the car do the work. Land Rover has even increased the size of the fuel tank, so you can go deeper into the wilderness without worrying if you鈥檒l make it back again.
Build quality isn't exactly to Rolls Royce standards, as you would expect, but these are basically sound and well-built vehicles. Rust is not much of an issue, as body panels are aluminium, though the separate steel chassis needs to be checked. An alternator should be close to 拢85 and a radiator just under 拢300. Brake pads front and rear are about 拢40, respectively. A replacement headlamp costs close to 拢20. It鈥檚 not terribly appropriate to judge the car for its on the road performance - or at least not terribly fair! Any Land Rover of this kind will be not nearly as much at home on the road as it is off it. The 3.5-litre V8 Series IIIs and Defenders are probably your best bet, if on-road ability is important while the diesel Defender pick-up is simply remarkable off-road. Like a Range Rover, the centre of gravity is high and a Defender will lean into bends a little alarmingly. Fear not, they hug the road, despite what you may feel at the steering wheel. The pace will be slow but steady and a snowy B road is unlikely to slow you as much as other cars.
