I have been reading an interview with the Design Director for JLR and their objective is for large SUVs to weigh no more than 1500kg and small/medium ones not to exceed 1000kg. The Evoque replacement comes into the 1000kg objective category. Now he did not say how long it would take to achieve the objectives so it could be three Evoque or Range Rover generations in the future. But what was very clear was their determination for each successive generation to be lighter than the outgoing model. As we know the new RR is 400kg less than the previous model. JLR have invested heavily in high strength steel and aluminium fabrications and see the futuer going via aluminium, magnesium alloys, carbon fibre and composites and potentially graphene based parts. He stressed that being a maker of premium cacrs JLR would be better placed to use these more exotic materials than would the smaller mass produced cars. But even here we see VAG have shed 100kg from the new Golf and it is a larger car than the outgoing model.
It will be interesting to see how the caravan world responds to the drive for lighter cars which still retain a towing limit well above their Mass in Service. Applying the 85% guidance to say a 1300kg Evoque/Freelander3 would give you a MTPLM of 1105kg. Given that the future generations of cars will be lighter, have stiffer bodyshells and better suspension aided by electronics the caravan world will have to seriously start to think what their response will be and must consider the car-caravan combination as a holistic system.
Me I will be buying shares in Eriba, or Gobur which have low MIRO and massive payloads!
It will be interesting to see how the caravan world responds to the drive for lighter cars which still retain a towing limit well above their Mass in Service. Applying the 85% guidance to say a 1300kg Evoque/Freelander3 would give you a MTPLM of 1105kg. Given that the future generations of cars will be lighter, have stiffer bodyshells and better suspension aided by electronics the caravan world will have to seriously start to think what their response will be and must consider the car-caravan combination as a holistic system.
Me I will be buying shares in Eriba, or Gobur which have low MIRO and massive payloads!