New York auto show:Land Rover rolls out retooled lineup

Land Rover went through a golden period a few years back and knocked out three vital new models in double-time in a significant range expansion. Now those models--the Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport and the LR3--are in line for major midlife upgrades and are being revealed at the New York auto show.

There's plenty of substance to these upgrades, centered on new styling, fresh interiors, chassis improvements and new V8s. Land Rover's seven-seat LR3 even gets a new name, moving a digit up to LR4, to reinforce the message.

U.S. buyers unimpressed by the workmanlike interior of the LR3 can take full credit for persuading Land Rover to sink investment into a swanky upmarket, soft-touch fascia on the 2010 LR4s, on sale in October.

There also is an important change in design philosophy on the LR4, which adopts the Range Rover-style hexagonal mesh grille and a new wraparound bumper. Together, these soften the face of the LR4 in response to anti-SUV sentiments.

"The emphasis now is on the horizontal, not the vertical," design chief Gerry McGovern says.

The deepest of the changes spruce up the Range Rover Sport, which gets 1,420 newly tooled parts. Again, the interior is the major focus, with a new soft-touch dash that moves the Sport closer to its big brother Range Rover. But there also are new computer-controlled Bilstein dampers, shared with sister company Jaguar, to keep the Sport on the pavement.

The 510-hp 5.0-liter supercharged V8, found in Jaguar's new XFR and XKR, also appears in the Range Rover. A potent 375-hp 5.0-liter V8 also is available in all three models.