http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blog/index.php/2013/05/03/an-electric-what-how-land-rover-has-made-my-dream-car/ [images] An electric what? How Land Rover has made my dream car by Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield May 3 2013
[images http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/Land-Rover-Defender-Electric.jpg http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/Land-Rover-Defender-Electric-interior.jpg http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/Land-Rover-Defender-front.jpg http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/Defender-Electric-battery.jpg http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/cms-images/Defender-Electric-side-view.jpg ] As anyone who grew up on a farm or particularly rural area will tell you, nothing quite beats the timeless charms of a good old-fashioned Land Rover when your route from A to B involves a few fields, a river, and six inches of mud. Having grown up on a dairy farm, I have to agree: real Landies (not those namby-pamby wannabe off-road Discovery and Freelander models) will take everything you throw at them...and then some. There's just one little problem. While they're capable off-roaders, Land Rovers aren't known for their green credentials. So when Land Rover announced last year that it was putting a fleet of five all-electric Land Rover Defenders through their paces as part of a research project into electric mobility, I knew I had to drive one. At the crossroads between go-anywhere capability and the eco-credentials of all-electric power, I knew it was the vehicle I had previously only dared dream about. No, really, it is electric This isn't an April Fool, or a plug-in hybrid like Land Rover's Range_e prototype. With 27 kilowatt-hours of lithium ion batteries under the bonnet and a 70 kilowatt motor where the 6-speed manual gearbox would ordinarily be, this is a real, drivable electric car, wrapped in the tough macho exterior of a Land Rover Defender 110. Climbing into the cab, there's little to differentiate it from a regular Defender. Only the large red emergency stop button (required because it's a prototype vehicle) and the slightly modified dashboard give the game away. Instead of the usual tachometer, there's a power gauge, capable of reporting power use as well as regenerative braking. Of course, the fuel gauge has had a make over too, functioning as a state of charge indicator. Other than that, everything seems as it should. Simple to drive Turn the ignition on, wait for the on-board electronics to go through a self-test procedure, and the Land Rover Defender Electric is ready to roll. Instead of the usual 6-speed gearbox and heavy clutch, there's a simple forward/reverse gear lever. Foot on brake, you simply select forward or reverse and apply the accelerator. As with any Land Rover Defender, the electric prototype is happy to move a walking speed without drama thanks to its long-travel accelerator and switchable low/high ratio transfer box. Steering is also as easy as it is in a modern diesel Defender, thanks to an electrically driven hydraulic steering pump. Meanwhile, off-road capabilities are enhanced by the addition of a traction control system which helps drivers dictate how much regenerative braking is applied on accelerator lift off. This makes it possible to literally crawl down impossibly steep slopes without touching the brake, while in standard 'road' mode, regenerative braking is strong enough to bring it to a stop just by lifting off the throttle. Heavy duty Replacing the original engine with an all-electric drivetrain has made the Defender electric prototype a little heavier than a conventional 110 Land Rover Defender, but only by 100 kg. Considering the Land Rover Defender will happily carry far more than its own weight without breaking into a sweat, the extra weight isn't even noticeable. To prove that the electric Defender is as capable as its gas-guzzling sibling, Land Rover has put it through a series of arduous tests, including towing 12 tonnes from rest up a 13 per cent incline. Thanks to that low ratio transfer box and 250 foot-pounds of torque from the electric motor, the prototype passed with flying colours. In some areas, the electric Defender even surpasses the original. Thanks to its all-electric drivetrain, the electric prototype can wade through 800mm of water without a problem. The traditional stock diesel Defender can only manage 500mm before it needs modification. Where does it fall short? At a top speed of 70 mph, the electric Defender isn't exactly fast, nor is its 0-60 mph time of 20 seconds particularly exciting. But then again, this is a car built for working hard, not for posing around the suburbs. Endless possibilities Sadly, we're unlikely to see the Land Rover Defender Electric ever go on sale, at least not in its current form. The Defender I know and love is sentenced to death in 2016, after a massive 33 years in production. But that doesn't mean we won't see an electric Land Rover. With the pressure on to improve the environmental footprint of its fleet, Land Rover knows electric drivetrains could be a future technology for the company. And despite a very noisy cabin, the Defender electric is noticeably more quiet than the ICE equivalent, making it ideal for safari parks, maintenance vehicles and day-to-day life on the farm. At those kind of off-road speeds, Land Rover say the electric Defender will run all day without needing a recharge. Yes, Land Rover made my dream car. Now I have to figure out how to get one. 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