2013 Land Rover LR2 gets smaller engine, more efficiency, more luxury

Land Rover released the details of the 2013 LR2 compact SUV on Wednesday. It will be cleaner, more efficient and include more equipment than it has in previous years.

The interior will get the bulk of the upgrades. For 2013, Land Rover will add a new center console, a new seven-inch color touch screen and a better audio system from Meridian. The Terrain Response dial is replaced by switches, while a small five-inch screen sits in between the gauges on the dashboard. Passive start will replace the key dock, meaning the car will fire up at the touch of a button. A new rearview camera is also added, along with the voice-activated “Say What You See” system.

That system prompts the driver visually with the commands he or she needs to say to control the audio, navigation, climate and phone functions. Land Rover says the prompts are displayed in a step-by-step format.

The big news is that Land Rover is dropping the six-cylinder engine in favor of the Ford EcoBoost four that comes in the Evoque. It will make 240 hp and 251 lb-ft of torque. Over in Europe, they’ll get a 150-hp turbodiesel four-cylinder engine. All-wheel drive and six-speed automatic transmissions are standard. The new engine is good for a 14 percent reduction in CO2 over last year’s model. The new system will also save fuel using Land Rover’s Intelligent Power System Management (IPSM), which directs the alternator to charge the battery only as the car slows down.

Three new colors are offered for 2013 including Aintree green, Havana brown and Mauritius blue. Seventeen-inch wheels are now an option on the base model. The front and rear lights have been massaged and now have xenon and LED accents.

Three trim lines are offered. The base model comes with cloth seats, the upgraded HSE model gets a gloss black grille surround and leather seats, and the top-level HSE LUX trim gets woodgrain accents, 19-inch wheels, Windsor leather seats and premium floor mats.

The 2013 Land Rover LR2 will start at $37,250 when it hits the United States.

By Jake Lingeman