Discovery Sport and Evoque score Ingenium petrol power for 2018

Land Rover will revitalise its Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque range in Australia this year with a new in-house 'Ingenium' petrol engine line-up and a high-performance diesel variant.

The upgrades, earmarked for the fourth quarter, mark the entrance to the Australian market of Jaguar Land Rover’s in-house petrol engine series to replace the four-cylinder Ford engines.

The petrol engines, which are expected to appear later in Jaguar models, arrive in two output levels of 177kW/340Nm – the same as the outgoing Ford engine – and 213kW/400Nm though JLR claims improved fuel economy.

JLR said the focus in designing the new petrol engine has been on reducing emissions. 

Engine technology includes an integrated exhaust manifold, 2000-bar direct-injection fuel system and twin-scroll turbocharger (with ball bearings in the 213kW version), and electro-hydraulic control of the inlet valves for variable valve lift.

JLR claims the valve-lift control reduces pressure build-up and controls airflow in the combustion chambers, increases engine flexibility, improves power and torque to realise improved fuel efficiency and a reduction in emissions.

In the Evoque – which has recently passed the 600,000 unit production milestone since its 2011 launch – the petrol engine is claimed to be 15 per cent more efficient than the previous engine with an average fuel consumption of 7.3 litres per 100km and CO2 emissions of 165 grams per kilometre.

The Evoque has recently passed the 600,000 unit production milestone.

JLR has carried over the Ingenium name from the diesel engines that have been in the market for more than a year.

The new four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine is a product of JLR’s £1 billion ($1.7 billion) engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton, UK. The petrol and diesel Ingenium series engines have been designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK.

Full pricing for the petrol variants of the Discovery Sport and Evoque will not be released until closer to the Australian launch.

However, JLR Australia has announced there will be price increases for some models. It said the Evoque Pure TD4 150 will be priced from $58,690 plus on-road costs, a rise of $2640 on the current price.

The Discovery Sport SE with the same engine lifts $240 to $56,595 plus on-road costs.

Buyers of both models will have the option of a more powerful version of the 2.0-litre diesel engine, the SD4 with 177kW/500Nm, that will be offered along with the similar engine tuned for 110kW/380Nm and 132kW/430Nm.

The new diesel in the Discovery Sport is claimed to average 6.4L/100km and run the 0-100km/h sprint in only 7.5 seconds. More speed is available with the high-performance petrol engine that sprints in 6.8 seconds and has a fuel thirst of about 8.5L/100km.

Changes for the 2018 line-up are not confined to the drivetrain. JLR said the 2018 Evoque convertible will, in response to customer demand for greater personalisation options, come with the addition of 'Lunar/Ivory' interior (on SE Dynamic models) in addition to the 'Ebony' interior.

Customers who opt for the high-performance 213kW engine will also get the 'Dynamic' exterior pack as standard. This pack includes front bumpers with larger air intakes to improve engine cooling, gloss black front grille and side vents and 19-inch five split-spoke 'Style 525' alloy wheels.

All models have new seats with a foam composition to increase occupant comfort. Electric seats have also been upgraded to include four-way lumbar support (up from two-way) with 12-way configuration available as a customer option.

Petrol of diesel? What is your Land Rover preference? Tell us what you think in the comments below.