(Wed 08 Apr 09)

The revised version of the Range Rover has gone on display at the New York International Auto Show. From the outside it looks only slightly different from the current model, with a few detail changes to make it look more contemporary, and the 268bhp 3.6-litre V8 turbo diesel engine remains the same as before.

But the petrol alternative is brand new. Known as the LR-V8, it's a five-litre supercharged unit which develops far more power (503bhp) than its 4.2-litre predecessor, but also has combined fuel economy and CO2 emissions figures of 19mpg and 348g/km. Neither of these statistics is likely to please Friends of the Earth very much, but they are more than 7% better than the 4.2 managed.

The new car also has a plethora of safety aids, including adaptive cruise control, trailer stability assist, understeer control, blind spot monitoring, automatic high beam assist (which puts the headlights full on when necessary and switches them back to low beam to avoid dazzling other drivers) and a surround camera system which gives a near-360 degree view of the surrounding area and has a function for zooming in for extra clarity during close shaves.

There are no instruments in the traditional sense - instead the new Range Rover has a 12" Thin Film Transistor screen which displays information in graphical form. And the interior also has the world's first dual-view touch screen, which allows the front passenger to watch, for example, a DVD on one half while the driver follows navigation instructions on the other half.

The 2010 Range Rover will go on sale in the UK in July this year. Prices have not yet been confirmed but are expected to be higher than those of current models, though not by more than a couple of percent.

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