Thread: The New Defender

I don't really understand the MHEV in the new Defender. I'm not sure the small gains it brings are worth the added complexity. Surely, any sort of hybrid car needs to have some ability to operate purely on electric mode for a reasonable distance.

I think the reason for it is probably to improve fuel economy and lower emissions by providing some regenerative braking.

Mechanically driven superchargers typically consume about 10% of the engines power. The mild hybrid uses the braking to charge the batteries and then give the engine a boost in performance. I agree that it seems unnecessarily complex when the could have used a turbo and had electric assist.

Originally Posted by irondoc

I don't really understand the MHEV in the new Defender. I'm not sure the small gains it brings are worth the added complexity. Surely, any sort of hybrid car needs to have some ability to operate purely on electric mode for a reasonable distance.

I think because it will do 0-100kph in 6.1 seconds, according to the press pack. That's second only to a 5.0SC v8 motor in the LR stable. (Thats over a second fast than mine to the mark, and mine is certainly no slouch !) Combined fuel use is 9.6l/100km, as opposed to about 13.8 for the SCV8.

Originally Posted by Geedublya

Mechanically driven superchargers typically consume about 10% of the engines power. The mild hybrid uses the braking to charge the batteries and then give the engine a boost in performance. I agree that it seems unnecessarily complex when the could have used a turbo and had electric assist.

Isnt that what the Defender mild hybrid uses, turbo that is electrically assisted to spool without lag

I did note in the picture, that some of the blue cables are crossing each other without any protection from rubbing against each other.
One would have hoped they'd have learnt something about that..... apparently not.

Originally Posted by 16PMark

I did note in the picture, that some of the blue cables are crossing each other without any protection from rubbing against each other.
One would have hoped they'd have learnt something about that..... apparently not.

So is the wiring still by Lucas (POD) on the new Land Rover?

Originally Posted by Tombie

A hybrid may be ok for urban dwellers, maybe even a full EV. Anyone else will be looking at ICE to be anywhere near practical.

In the next 10-15 years I predict all this is going to do is drive up both Power and Hydrocarbon fuel costs rendering increases to everyone’s Cost of living and lowering living standards.

I’m all for a cleaner footprint and better use of the planet - I’m not yet convinced this is the solution.

Tombie - fully agree and even for urban dwellers full EV solutions and hybrids are a joke - you only charge at night which means for most this is relying on coal powered base load.

Whilst I typically only drive 20km per day and could easily recharge overnight I would only do this because coal powered electricity is low cost. So a hybrid with a 50km range works - but in reality the extra upfront cost could never be justified.

Those switching to EV because they think they are saving the planet are misguided.

What I do like with the current P400 is they are making the supercharger efficient and this a clever solution to overcome turbo lag. I recall many used to slag off the electric driven supercharger in the past.