2016 Range Rover gets diesel engine

While Land Rover’s epically expensive and ultra-deluxe Range Rover SVAutobiography and sporty Range Rover Sport HST soaked up the limelight at the brand’s New York auto show stand, they weren’t the only news makers. The regular Range Rover receives a smattering of minor updates for 2016, including a new diesel engine, a power bump for the base gas V6 engine, and some new tech.

Starting with our favorite topic, power, the mid level 2016 Range Rover HSE’s supercharged 3.0 L V6 gains a 40 hp boost. Now, with 380 HP, the HSE stands a little taller above the base Range Rover, which still makes do with 340 ponies. The Td6 single turbo 6 cylinder diesel engine being offered in the 2016 Range Rover Sport joins the Range Rover lineup, where it makes the same 254 HP and 596 NM (440 lb-ft) of torque. The diesel Range Rover is expected to achieve 22 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, a respectable set of estimates that’s far, far above the next most efficient big Rovers, the supercharged V6 at 17/23 mpg.

Land Rover hasn’t touched the Range Rover’s handsome exterior—we’re okay with that—but it has introduced a new InControl Remote smartphone app that allows owners to remotely lock and unlock their doors, start their engine, and activate the horn and lights to help locate their car in crowded parking lots. Additionally, the backup and surround-view parking cameras now feed drivers a higher-resolution image, and the backup camera gets a standard washer function to keep it clean.

Every Range Rover has a standard power tailgate with gesture-based (kicking) activation; Land Rover cleverly placed the sensors on the sides of the bumper so that users can open the tailgate with a kick from the sidewalk. Finally, a protocol was added to lower the Range Rover’s air suspension to its “access” height automatically when shifted into park. Pricing for the 2016 Rovers will be released closer to the on-sale date this fall.