Jaguar has already announced its 2017 XE sedan would be available with a diesel engine for the U.S. market, so it comes as no surprise Land Rovers may get one here, too.
At the Paris Motor Show, Jaguar announced the XE sedan would get the company’s first Stateside-bound diesel engine, a 2.0-liter turbo four unit making either 163 or 180 horsepower part of the new Ingenium family of in-house engines. But Jaguar Land Rover’s North American bosses are mulling the addition of a diesel to the Range Rover Evoque, according to Autoguide.
JLR’s Marketing VP Kim McCullough said the company’s is encouraged by the greater market acceptance of diesels in the U.S., along with the success German brands have had with the engines here. No timetable was given, but expect it to happen sometime after the XE launches in early 2016.
Frankly, this is news we should’ve seen coming with the news of the XE diesel. So I wouldn’t be the least bit stunned to see a 2.0-liter turbodiesel find its way under the hood of forthcoming Land Rover Discovery Sport, which uses much of the Evoque’s mechanicals. A diesel actually better suits the image of the Disco Sport than the Evoque, but the Range Rover brand commands a higher price tag that could likely be used to offset the diesel’s cost.
Whatever the way it gets here, the notion of a diesel-powered Land Rover that you can buy in the U.S. sounds like seriously good news.
By Zac Estrada
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