The all-new Land Rover Discovery Sport, the world’s most versatile premium compact SUV, and the first member of the new Discovery family, is officially here in Malaysia. This 22nd and 23rd of August, 2015, Land Rover will preview it at the One Utama Shopping Centre for all to see.




One can enjoy a spectacular first-hand experience of the Discovery Sport’s all-terrain ability on the unique Land Rover Terrapod mobile track, which transforms into a sprawling ‘off-road’ terrain of steep slopes and inclines at the touch of a button. You need to register for the experience though -  www.landrover.com.my/discoverysportlaunch

 Early birds who register online will receive a limited edition Land Rover gift, while stocks last.

Date : August 22 and 23, 2015

Time : 11.00 am – 9.00 pm

Venue : Ground Floor Fore Court

 Old Wing Outdoor Carpark


For more information on the new Discovery Sport, please go to www.landrover.com.my.

1 Utama Shopping Centre

Jaguar Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (JLRM), authorised importer and distributor of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in Malaysia recently organised a 5 day special off-road driving experience event at Sepang to owners, potential buyers and members of the media. More than 500 Land Rover owners had the opportunity to experience first hand the features and systems featured on Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles. And there are lots of features in all of them. They also were given the opportunity to have a sneak preview of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport (below) as well as the complete range of Jaguar cars in Malaysia. This includes the very tasty and mind blowingly fantastically sounding Jaguar F-Type coupe. They were like trumpets from heaven. But, before I start dreaming of exhaust notes, let's get back to the story at hand.



Managing Director of JLRM, Tuan Syed Mudzhar Syed Ali said that the event was meant to help owners and prospective owners to appreciate the Land Rover brand as well as realise and experience the fullest capabilities of the vehicles. So under guidance of certified Land Rover instructor Mr Kenneth Yap, the owners, prospects and media took to the muddy off road circuit laid out for them.


The participants were taught the off-road driving basics such as understanding vehicle dimensions, clearance limitations, how to tackle hills, ruts, ditches, traversing slopes, crossing deep water and elephant steps. Lots of technical stuff that all Land Rovers can actually tackle including the very on-road biased Range Rover Evoque (pictured above). You would not have imagined the chic little SUV to be able to do mud crawling but it did. I don't need to say anything about the iconic Defender, which showed off its anti stall capabilities where you could walk it like a dog with the driver steering from outside of it as it crawls on its own pace.

The Instructors also shared Land Rover's  'Fragile Earth' philosophy, which stressed that good off-road driving meant getting to the destination without harming people and damaging the environment and the vehicle. I.e, you don't simply chop up the jungle you're in just to get to the other side.

All Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles feature lots of equipment and technology. You get everything from electronic Hill Descent Control, Differential Locks, Traction Control, High and Low Range gears (with on the fly shifting) , Terrain Response, 4x4 information display, dynamic stability control and Air Suspension (equipped on the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Discovery) which enables ride height adjustment.
I happened to tackle the whole off-road course in a Range Rover Sport 3.0 V6 supercharged petrol. There was the whole range of Land Rovers from the Defender, Evoque, Discovery, Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover. But I wanted to be in the Sport. I've always had a spot for the Range Rover Sport because it represents something slightly different from the usual stately full monty Range Rover. It does luxury with a tinge more sportiness and since I haven't laid my hands on one, why not. I also did not really bother with the Defender as that icon would have breezed through all of the tests laid out before it. It has been doing this for over 55 years you know. And I did have an off-road experience in one somewhere in the middle of Raub, Pahang a couple of years ago. So the Sport it was.

Driving the Range Rover Sport 3.0 V6 Supercharged Petrol


First launched in 2013, the Range Rover Sport takes its styling cues from the current full sized Range Rover as well as the smaller Evoque.  This premium Sport Utility Vehicle is a very capable vehicle on road as well as off road with its adaptive and height adjustable air suspension. Unlike some other brands, a Range Rover still excels off-road. It may spend most of its time at country clubs, hotel lobbies or for other mundane on road duties it never forgets its off-road roots. The car, can climb gradients, slopes, ruts, bumps and most rought terrain even on its road biased tyres. Yes, the track isn't super hard core, but it covers most aspects of off-roading without the need for real knobby tyres and winches.

We utilised all of its gizmos to get it through the circuit and on muddy surfaces, the SUV excelled. No issues with traction. Even when we were sliding around, this 2144kg luxury SUV was a breeze to handle. The supercharged power helped. Just a prod is enough. It has 340ps and 450Nm torque to play around. A slight whine of the supercharger pulley tells you that it is working but nothing really gets loud or noisy. It could give junior hot hatches a workout. 0-100kmh in 7.2seconds and a maximum speed of 210kmh.


Inside, even whilst traversing ditches, ruts and alternating holes or bumps, the car is refined. The driver's seat is also a nice place to be in with a commading driving position and enough adjustments to be truly comfortable. I do believe that the height adjustable air suspension works well in keeping the car in order. As does the Terrain Response systems and Active Dynamics. When I was seated at the rear, I could still keep on typing messages through my smartphone.

 Actually a whole lot of stuff is adjustable in the Range Rover Sport. It is a gadget lover's dream. I also have to add that the Range Rover Sport isn't something really different from the usual bunch of European cars that most of us are used to. Quite similar and reassuring.

The overall ambiance inside the Range Rover Sport is strikingly similar to what most of us have experienced in the German brands (which is usually the default choice when buying a luxury vehicle in these parts of the world). You could say that it has that Germanic feel to it. It does not feel like something totally British (or Indian since TATA owns JLR) like Range Rovers from days gone by. It feels like what most of us are used to in terms of feel and tactility. No English drawing room feel these days. It is all neat, ergonomic and tidy. Like we are used to. But this isn't a bad thing. The Range Rover Sport still has a sense of occasion. It has road presence and it also has that interior presence that you'd want from owning a luxury vehicle.

Of course, the controls and switchgear is also nice to touch, caress and fondle. Everything feels premium. From the leather seats, steering wheel to the dashboard. It feels right, but I had wished that this 3.0 supercharged variant's interior had the light coloured wood inlays like the larger 5.0liter version as the cabin was all black. It felt good but a little too monotone. Small matter, as everything worked perfectly. But you do have to get used to the slightly confusing (at first) gear lever and its numerous controls and buttons right beside it. I suppose you do need to either read the darn owner's manual or spend a good half an hour figuring out which button does what. Yes. It is a very, very, very complicated piece of machinery and technology with tons of settings and option menus to select. Do bear that in mind folks. You need to know what you're getting into if you want one in your garage.

If the Sport came with proper off-road tyres it would be a walk in a park as it had an answer for most off-road situation that was thrown at it. Then when it was time to head back to the gathering point which was located a few hundred meters away, we just lowered the Sport down to normal ride height setting and blasted off. On the road it was cossetting, quiet and comfortable. Unfazed about what it just went through and its passengers cocooned from the outside world till it was time to open the door and exit its cozy interior.


It was all dried mud on the outside, but totally luxurious on the inside with only our muddy shoes as proof of us stepping in and out of the Sport. I loved the time I spent in the Sport. It also has some semblance of character and that quite elusive sense of occasion in cars that are sorely lacking these days. For a SUV that had normal road biased tyres and a slightly hefty pricetag of RM857,888, it still felt so right plugging around in the muddy tracks located around the Sepang F1 Circuit. The only thing I really wanted was a nicer pricetag. But we can't have them all can't we.

In short, the 2015 Range Rover Sport 3.0 V6 Supercharged is an extremely nice place to be in whether you are driving or seated at the back. I suppose you may balk at its slightly enormous pricetag. But if you can afford it, by all means do so.

Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia has finally previewed the 2015 Land  Rover Discovery Sport here in Malaysia. The preview was part of a four day customer and media experience event held at the Sepang F1 Circuit 4x4 track area. The Discovery Sport represents the third generation of compact SUV produced by Land Rover and effectively replaces the Freelander as Land Rover's entry level SUV.

We Malaysians will most probably be getting the 240hp 2.0liter turbocharged engine based on the Ford Ecoboost and the 2.2liter DuraTorq TDCI engine with about 190ps and a whole lot more torque than the petrol powered engine. Both will be sold with ZF's nine speed automatic transmission on a haldex type all-wheel drive setup (although there is a more efficient Active Driveline system on option but I doubt will be offered here). There is no low range transfer box with either all wheel drive system, to counter this limitation, the ZF 9-HP features a special very low ratio first gear which is only used when the vehicle is off-road or otherwise needed, for on-road use, the vehicle will normally start in second gear.



The good thing about the Disco Sport is that it will be available as a 5+2 seating arrangement. This means that families can put the seats and the space to good use with the two rear seats for occasional usage, comfortable for kids and small adults.

The design of the exterior has all the usual Land Rover and Range Rover cues and has that distinctive forward angled C pillar. It is very recognisable as what it is supposed to be, which is a Land Rover. The interior is filled with plastics, fabric and leather that is close to the same standard as something in Range Rover's entry level Evoque.


Yes, there is some overlap in terms of purpose between this car and the Range Rover Evoque but it can be said that in the Evoque, its main criteria is luxury over practicality and all-road capability. In the Disco Sport, it is the opposite - practicality over luxury and all-roadcapability. The iconic Defender is basically all-road capability over practicality and luxury. This technically explains the difference between buying a Land Rover and a Range Rover. They may intertwine, but are actually quite separate in nature.

Expect it to be launched very very soon as if you remember I posted spy shots of the Disco Sport over in Ara Damansara recently. I asked one of the presenters at the event and he mentioned that the SUVs were being put through their paces for dealer and sales personnel training.

Speaking about Land Rovers something interesting happened on the 30th of April 2015. This was a long weekend with two public holidays. It saw 100 Land Rover enthusiasts hit the roads for a 1,000km journey from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu and back. Imagine a 1955 Land Rover series 1 doing that. Amazing.


Press Release
MAY DAY DRIVE TO COMMEMORATE A LAND ROVER ICON



Kuala Lumpur, May 18, 2015 – Sime Darby AutoConneXion’s Jalan Ipoh showroom was a hive of activity on the evening of April 30, 2015 although it was the eve of a long weekend.

About 100 Land Rover enthusiasts braved pre-holiday traffic jams all over town to witness the flag-off for the Series Land Rover May Day Drive hosted by Jaguar Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (JLRM), the exclusive importer of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in Malaysia.

The drive was organised by the Land Rover Owners Malaysia (LROM) Club in honour of the iconic Land Rover Series models, the predecessor of the Defender model.  The original Land Rover Series 1 was born in 1948 and is celebrated all over the world as a true workhorse.

The event was even more significant as Jaguar Land Rover United Kingdom has announced that the last of the current Land Rover Defenders will roll-off the production lines by the end of the year, marking the end of an era.

The Series Land Rover May Day Drive saw seven Land Rover Series 1, 2 and 3 models embark on a 1,000km drive from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu and back.  The convoy was flagged off by JLRM managing director Tuan Syed Mudzhar Syed Ali at the stroke of midnight.

Tuan Syed Mudzhar said that the company was happy to support the event as the ubiquitous all-aluminium Land Rovers were instantly recognisable icons of the brand.

“For the past six decades, the Land Rover Series models and subsequently, the Defender, have played crucial roles in nation building all over the world.  The model was and remains the mainstay of many security forces, development agencies and service organisations due to its unmatched off-roading capabilities and almost unbreakable design and construction.  They are true workhorses,” he said.

Among those who turned up to join the festivities was workshop owner Liew Chee Leyong, 42, in his impeccably restored 1955 Land Rover Series 1 Mark 2, complete with a trailer.

“I found the battered vehicle at a scrap dealer’s yard in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan.  It took eight months to restore it to its current condition with all original parts that I collected over the years,” said the proud owner.

For new LROM member Teng Hon Chee, 63, the gathering would be the first of many he intended to join and he was looking forward to participating in drives and off-roading activities with the club.

“I have driven my Land Rover Defender double-cab pick-up all the way to Langkawi and Perlis and thoroughly enjoyed it.  There is always a place for the Land Rover Defender even in this day and time of electronics and advanced technology.  There is simply nothing like it out there,” said the retired businessman.

According to LROM president Rate de Silva, the drive was successfully completed with no mechanical issues, except for a tyre puncture, despite heavy traffic and adverse weather conditions.

“The youngest vehicle on the trip was 32 years old and the oldest was 59. This is a testament to the reliability and endurance of the Series Land Rover and the dedication of their owners,” he said.

Imagine. Over Seven thousand Land Rovers servicing a community of only thirty thousand residents. That's a ratio of 4.2 persons to 1 Land Rover. If you aren't aware of which community I am referring to, it is the one called Cameron Highlands.



If you watched the Discovery Channel or even the Travel channel on the television over the past few years you may have come across documentaries featuring the Land Rovers in Cameron Highlands. And now even famed American auto magazine Road & Track has s feature on it. If you love this icon of an automobile, you should have a read here.

There are Land Rovers of every age and era. There are series IIs, III, and the newer Defenders running up and down Cameron. With their limited to travel (throughout Cameron Highlands and limited to Tapah, Perak 'CH' markings and road tax (20% of the actual value if I am not mistaken) you can see farmers and vegetable transporters using Land Rovers to transport their cabbages, cauliflowers, strawberries and other vegetable. It is a sight to watch them ply the windy roads with their produce piled up high.

There is also no official Land Rover presence in Cameron Highlands. This is another unique thing about the Land Rovers in Cameron. There is a thriving local industry supporting these Land Rovers without an official presence by the manufacturer. Owners get their Landies repaired by local mechanics and some fixes are Toyota engines, Nissan gearboxes or the original engines and transmissions from the newer Land Rover Defender, if the owners have the budget that is.

Anyway, here are some pics of Land Rovers, different types and variants and age taken by yours truly sometime last year. I think it is fitting since Jaguar-Land Rover has deciced to stop producing this icon by 2015. An end to an era. I do hope the replacement will be as iconic as this ol' lady.