2018 Range Rover, Range Rover Sport bookings begin

Land Rover started accepting bookings for the upcoming 2018 Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport. The British marquee is giving a mid-cycle update to its flagship SUVs, with the most significant changes made to the exteriors and the interior. As before, the refreshed Range Rover will get a long-wheelbase version, along with the regular version.

The refreshed Range Rover initially made a debut at the last LA Motor Show and was later spied testing in India, wearing a heavy camouflage. On the outside, the 2018 Range Rover has received significant changes to its face. It gets new Pixel-laser LED headlamps that inset into the gloss black fringes of the refreshed grille, which is designed in a new Atlas mesh pattern. In addition, the new Range Rover models also get a different bumper design, tweaked tail-lamps and a more tapered rake for the rear windscreen.

On the inside, the cabin is quite a departure from the previous car and replicates the Velar to a large extent. For instance, the new Touch Pro Duo infotainment system sports two 10-inch touchscreens on the center console (the top one being adjustable for angle) that allow access to a vast range of features inside the cabin, similar to the Velar. However, there are features which remain exclusive in this flagship, like the new front seats with heated armrests, up to 17 connecting points for charging and multimedia, a deployable centre console at the rear, hot stone seat massage function, gesture-controlled sunblinds, cabin air purifier, 4G Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity for up to eight devices and adaptive cruise control with the queue assist function.

Though equipment and design updates are extensive, the flagships remain the same at their heart and continue to derive power from the same petrol and diesel engines that did duty in the outgoing models. Their engine range starts with the 255hp, 3.0-litre V6 diesel and goes up to the 517hp, 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol.

Prices of the pre-facelift Range Rover that retails in India start at Rs 1.66 crore and goes up to Rs 3.61 crore (ex-showroom). When it arrives, the new model will rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLS, BMW X5 and the Audi Q7.