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Range Rover Sport Electric turns up the fun
JLR has given its most powerful Sport a lively throttle and the suspension to keep up with it, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK from Gaydon.
When the road opens up, the Range Rover Sport Electric reveals what driving enjoyment means. Jaguar Land Rover has tuned the accelerator for a more aggressive response than in the flagship Range Rover Electric, giving the Sport extra bite – and extra fun – when you put your foot down.
An active suspension and sharper accelerator response come into their own through a bend, when the driver slows, turns and gets back on the power as the road straightens.
I drove the Sport Electric at JLR’s Gaydon proving ground in the English Midlands, where the work on its steering, suspension and accelerator response came into focus.
The vehicle shares much of its electric technology with the full-size Range Rover Electric (review here). The flagship is developed for the smooth, unhurried progress associated with Range Rover, while the Sport’s tuning gives the driver a more involved experience.
“It’s much more aggressive,” said Ross Restell, JLR’s vehicle dynamics manager, during a briefing at Gaydon. “The powertrain is tuned to deliver everything for the Range Rover Sport.”
There is plenty for that accelerator to call on.
“We’ve given it … 850Nm of torque. Now that’s the most torque we’ve ever put into a Range Rover Sport,” said Restell. “It gives us a zero-to-60 time of 4.3 seconds. It’s 4.5 seconds zero to 100 km/h.”
The suspension has to keep up with the power, says Restell, and he has spent two decades working on how cars respond to a driver.
“I’ve been here for 10 years doing vehicle dynamics, and I was previously at Lotus for 10 years doing vehicle dynamics. So I’m a bit of a suspension geek.”
The battery contributes to the way the Sport handles by adding strength beneath the cabin and lowering the centre of gravity.
“Obviously, now we’ve got a big structural battery compartment, which has given us a 61% improvement in torsional stiffness compared with a PHEV.”
Torsional stiffness is the body’s resistance to twisting. It gives the suspension a more stable base to work from, while the lower centre of gravity helps the vehicle resist tilting through a bend.
“On top of that as a foundation, we’ve added active roll control,” he said.
The drive modes alter the power available as well as the suspension settings.
“For the first time, we’ve changed power output with driver mode. If you’re in Eco mode and there’s a big driver demand, obviously you get the power you demand. The car will switch immediately to the Comfort mode.”
The modes even have their own sounds.
“Some people try to replicate an engine. Some people try to replicate Starship Enterprise. I think we’ve charted a middle course with this to try to create a purposeful, powerful sound that isn’t one or the other.”
Away from tarmac, the electric motors and traction software take over jobs previously done by a transfer box and locking differentials. The Sport retains a claimed 900mm wading depth, while single-pedal driving lets the driver ease off the accelerator to slow before crossing a crest or entering a dip.
“As a dynamics guy, I get excited about driving on track and driving on the road and throwing a car around,” said Restell. “But actually going off-road with single-pedal driving is something I didn’t expect to be that good. What a benefit it brings when you’re cresting over a rock, or you just want to lift a little bit to go into that dip so you don’t crash into it.”
Regenerative braking uses the motors to slow the vehicle, reducing the work required of the conventional brakes.
“So the brakes on this are smaller than the V8 would be.”
The development tools at Gaydon gave Restell plenty of opportunity to indulge his suspension obsession.
“We’ve mapped 130km of local roads around Gaydon (virtually), and also test tracks that we use physically. That means we can drive a car on our favourite local road virtually and then jump in it physically and compare the two. That means we’ve managed to reduce the development time by six months, which in today’s world is really important, and actually delete a whole physical development programme as well.”
A rolling-road rig also lets the engineers test suspension settings in a real vehicle inside the workshop.
“I can get in a car on a rig and drive to Gaydon Garage, feel the same bump 500 times and tune the suspension actively while sitting on the rig, and then go and drive it. For a damper geek, that’s like heaven.”
The Sport also underwent physical testing in Sweden, Dubai and Morocco, along with circuit and off-road work. At Gaydon, the enjoyment came from driving a car for which the accelerator and suspension had been developed together for the way a Sport owner would want to use them.
The best compliment I can pay the Sport Electric is that I wanted more time behind the wheel.
This is Part 3 of a 3-part feature by ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK on the launch of the new Range Rover Electric and Range Rover Sports Electric vehicles at JLR headquarters in Gaydon, England. See the other stories here:
Range Rover takes flagship into EV era
Range Rover Electric makes off-roading a delight
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”.
