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Land Rover 4x4 Systems - A Guide

The Rover Company introduced the Land Rover in 1948, three years after World War II came to a dramatic end with the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Heavily inspired by the Willys MB, the first-ever Landy rolled out in 1948. The four-wheel-drive icon would be later baptized Series I to differentiate it from later iterations.
Old Land Rover Defender and the unibody Land Rover Defender 61 photos
Photo: Land Rover
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Brothers Spencer and Maurice Wilks masterminded the Land Rover in 1947, with the first pre-production Series I registered in 1949. Originally envisioned as nothing more than a mechanical workhorse, the Landy became synonymous with off-road capability. Over the years, however, the automaker launched a helluva lot of four- and all-wheel-drive systems.

This story aims to shed light on said systems, but first, there's an obvious elephant in the room that needs addressing. What is the difference between four- and all-wheel drive? Although used interchangeably – even by automakers – 4WD usually refers to part-time systems that allow the driver to choose between rear- and four-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is a permanent setup, although there are a handful of exceptions to this rule of thumb.

The front-biased Jeep Renegade 4xe, for example, features an internal combustion engine that drives the front wheels exclusively. The rears are connected to an electric motor, and in EV mode, the plug-in hybrid crossover is technically RWD. That being said, let's kick off this guide with the Land Rover Series.

Land Rover Series

Land Rover Series I
Photo: Land Rover
The earliest of Landies use a Rover-developed freewheel between the front propeller shaft and transfer box. The freewheel is called this way because it's designed to disengage the front axle from the transmission after lifting off the accelerator pedal. Early Series I vehicles also rock a ring-pull mechanism. Located in the driver's footwell, this contraption locks the freewheel device in 4WD.

Fast forward to the early 1950s, and the original constant 4WD would be replaced by something a bit simpler. Instead of a freewheel, a dog clutch in the transfer case locks the front and rear propeller shafts. The Forward Control cab-over-engine model line uses a part-time 4WD setup, namely a four-speed manual tranny and a two-speed transfer case. With the notable exception of the Stage 1, which uses the Range Rover's full-time 4WD system, part-time 4WD was the norm for the Landy until 1985.

That's when Series III production came to a grinding halt in favor of the Defender, which launched in 1983 as the Land Rover 110 (that would be its wheelbase in inches). The 90 followed suit in 1984, whereas the 127-inch version would be introduced in 1985. Back in 1992, the British automaker estimated that 70 percent of all Land Rovers ever produced were still on the road. It's nigh-on impossible to tell how many Series vehicles are still out there, though…

Range Rover

Range Rover
Photo: Land Rover
Incorrectly hailed as the first luxury 4x4 (or sport utility vehicle if you prefer a more contemporary designation), the Range Rover launched in 1970. A body-on-frame design produced in three- and five-door flavors, the first-generation Range Rover sported a vacuum-operated manual diff lock. Come 1983, it was upgraded to a mechanical diff lock.

Land Rover worked its magic yet again in 1989, when the Range Rover switched to a viscous coupling. Similar to its predecessor, the 1989 to 1995 Land Rover Range Rover featured a 50:50 split. Internally referred to as P38A, the second generation also features full-time 4WD and a viscous coupling. Developed with BMW's expertise and money, the subsequent L322 uses a Torsen-type center diff (Torsen T-2) and a chain-driven transfer case.

The L405 is a bit more sophisticated, for it uses a two-speed transfer box, a bevel gear center diff, an electronically-controlled multi-plate clutch, and ZF's long-running 8HP torque-converter automatic transmission. Codenamed L460, the fifth-generation Range Rover soldiers on with low-range capability and the 8HP mentioned just earlier. This generation of the Range Rover will welcome an electric powertrain in 2024 for the 2025 model year, with said powertrain most likely consisting of two electric motors à la the slow-selling Jaguar I-Pace.

Land Rover Defender

Land Rover Defender
Photo: Land Rover
The 90, 110, and 127 adopted the Defender nameplate in 1990. Discontinued in 2016, the OG employs full-time 4WD and a lever-operated manually locking center diff. A polarizing successor to the body-on-frame original, the unibody Defender from 2019 onward sports permanent four-wheel drive and a two-speed transfer case. Bodied in aluminum, the second gen is no mall crawler.

Center and rear locking differentials help the Defender traverse difficult terrain, but remember that off-roading capability is more than a matter of how many locking diffs your vehicle has. The choice of tires and the squishy bag of meat behind the steering wheel also matter, as does reliability. Given Land Rover's notorious reputation for abysmal reliability, the tech-laden L663 clearly isn't as dependable off the beaten path as the much simpler first generation.

Rather than Solihull in the United Kingdom, the modern-day Land Rover Defender is manufactured in Slovakia at Jaguar Land Rover's Nitra plant. The only other Jaguar Land Rover product assembled in Slovakia at the moment of writing is the Discovery, which is historically related to the Range Rover.

Land Rover Discovery

Land Rover Discovery
Photo: Land Rover
The Disco was introduced with much pomp in 1989. No fewer than five distinct series were launched over three generations. Originally slotted between the Defender and Range Rover, the Discovery made use of the Range Rover's full-time 4WD system and coil-sprung suspension. The Discovery Series II of 1998 to 2004 was the final Land Rover to be derived from the first-generation Range Rover (1970 to 1996).

Offered with five doors exclusively, the Discovery Series II flaunts three open diffs. When a wheel loses traction, the traction control system brakes said wheel and transfers available torque to the other wheels. The Discovery 3, which marks the beginning of the second gen, uses an electronically-controlled rear diff and a lockable center diff. Terrain Response originally had five settings to choose from: normal, rock crawl, mud/ruts, grass/gravel/snow, and sand.

Land Rover enhanced the Terrain Response system for the Discovery 4 with a launch control function for sand mode to reduce wheel spin. Rock crawl was also upgraded to apply the brakes under 5 kilometers per hour (3 miles per hour) to reduce unwanted lurching. The Discovery 5 is a unibody that defaults to a 50:50 split with each ignition cycle. Torque vectoring and shift on the fly at up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour) are two other highlights, along with Terrain Response 2 and All-Terrain Progress Control. You can think of the latter as cruise control for off-road scenarios, with ATPC working at vehicle speeds between 2 and 30 kph (1 and 19 mph).

Land Rover Freelander

Land Rover Freelander
Photo: Land Rover
The hideously underrated Freelander is Land Rover's first unibody, a front-biased sport utility vehicle with a transversally-mounted engine. Marketed as the LR2 in North America, the Freelander also happens to be Land Rover's first-ever two-wheel-drive model.

Penned by Gerry McGovern during the British Aerospace era of the Rover Group, the Freelander started arriving on dealer lots when BMW was calling the shots. Produced in three-door Hardback, three-door Softback, and five-door wagon configurations, the grandfather of the Discovery Sport and Evoque could be had with a viscous-coupling AWD system that directs torque to the rears when the front wheels lose traction. Equipped with an intermediate reduction drive mechanism (a fixed-ratio transfer box connected to the transmission), the all-wheel-drive Freelander also offers hill descent control that also operates in first gear and reverse.

Internally designated L359, the second generation would come as a five-door exclusively. Based on the Ford EUCD platform of the original Volvo XC60, the Freelander 2 leveled up to a third-generation Haldex coupling and a wet multi-plate clutch. Fourth-gen Haldex would follow suit in late 2008. The system offers torque splits ranging from 90:10 to 50:50. Also worthy of note, the Freelander 2's platform served as the basis of the LR-MS, which is also known as the D8. Said platform morphed into the Premium Transverse Architecture for hybridized and electric applications, although Jaguar Land Rover has yet to launch a PTA-based EV as of December 2023.

Range Rover Evoque

Range Rover Evoque
Photo: Land Rover
If you could turn back time to 2011, you wouldn't be wrong to think that Land Rover inadvertently shot itself in the foot by launching the Range Rover Evoque as the premium alternative to the Freelander 2. Looking over the delivery figures for calendar year 2012, the Evoque outsold its lesser sibling by a tremendous margin: 108,598 units versus a meager 48,332 worldwide. Then again, what did you expect from such a good-looking sport utility vehicle compared to the aging Freelander 2?

Initially all-wheel drive, the Evoque welcomed the two-wheel-drive eD4 in 2012. Regarding the crossover's all-wheel-drive system, Land Rover decided on fourth-gen Haldex for a 90:10 default torque split. The feeder pump and multi-plate clutch pack direct up to 50 percent of the available torque to the rear wheels before wheel slip is detected. Opting for all-wheel drive also means roughly 75 kilograms (165 pounds) more than the front-driven eD4.

The Evoque would drop Haldex Traction for two GKN Driveline-supplied AWD systems in 2013. The more impressive of the two is called Active Driveline. It comprises a power transfer unit and a rear drive module. The Twinster rear drive module further acts as an electronic differential. Last but certainly not least, the Active Driveline doesn't transmit any engine torque at all to the rear wheels in regular driving conditions, resulting in slightly better fuel economy than the Haldex Traction unit.

Land Rover Discovery Sport

Land Rover Discovery Sport
Photo: Land Rover
Land Rover dropped the Freelander nameplate in favor of Discovery Sport in order to bring its FWD-biased crossover closer to the more prestigious and way pricier Discovery. In a way, Land Rover was also forced to drop this moniker due to reliability woes, a recurring theme at Land Rover after Rover was acquired by Leyland Motors in 1967.

Fifth-gen Haldex is the lesser of two all-wheel-drive systems available, with GKN Driveline supplying the Active Driveline system. It works in a similar fashion to the Evoque's Active Driveline. Neither has low range, but the Discovery Sport makes up for that with a low-ratio first gear. The ZF 9HP's electronic brain is programmed to select second gear when pulling away from a rest, although first can be manually selected by the driver. Of course, the nine-speed auto defaults to first when selecting an off-road mode.

The Halden and GKN all-wheel-drive solutions are manufactured in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Originally based on the D8 platform, the Discovery Sport adopted the Premium Transverse Architecture in 2019 for the 2020 model year. Said platform is shared with the Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar E-Pace. Coincidentally, all three can be had with three-cylinder turbocharged engines. A member of the Ingenium family, the 1.5 turbo is available in mild-hybrid and plug-in specifications. Both versions use an eight-speed auto from Toyota subsidiary Aisin.

Range Rover Velar

Range Rover Velar
Photo: Land Rover
To understand the Velar, we first have to rewind back to 2016. One year before the mid-size crossover entered series production, the Range Rover lineup comprised three models: Evoque, Range Rover Sport, and Range Rover. Named after the company under which Land Rover produced 40 pre-production examples of the Range Rover between 1967 and 1970, the Velar is twinned with the Jaguar F-Pace.

A hugely successful product from day one, the Velar is based on the D7 platform. In other words, it's related to the likes of the Jaguar XE compact executive sedan to the aluminum-clad unibody Land Rover Defender. The Velar is equipped with torque-on-demand AWD and a single-speed transfer case. Torque distribution is handled by the Intelligent Driveline Dynamics system using information from sensors that monitor yaw rate, lateral acceleration, throttle position, and steering wheel angle. An active locking rear differential is standard on six-cylinder versions, whereas braking-based torque vectoring applies braking force to the inside wheels to reduce understeer while cornering.

Between 2019 and 2020, the Velar could also be had with a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 packing 542 horsepower and 502 pound-feet (580 Nm) of twist. Said engine is oftentimes listed with 550 horsepower by American dealers and motoring publications. Those ponies, however, are metric rather than mechanical. To be reinvented as an electric vehicle on the EMA platform in 2025, the Velar sold a meager 8,565 units in the United States in 2022, down from a high point of 17,087 back in 2019.

Range Rover Sport

Range Rover Sport
Photo: Land Rover
As implied, the Sport in Range Rover Sport promises a sportier driving experience than that offered by the Range Rover. The first generation was derived from the semi-monocoque Discovery 3, whereas the second is based on the D7 platform. A true unibody since 2013, the Range Rover Sport was separated from the Land Rover Discovery with the adoption of the MLA-Flex platform in 2022 for the 2023 model year. Otherwise put, the current Range Rover Sport is more Range Rover than Land Rover Discovery.

The Range Rover's sleeker brother launched in 2005 as a 2006 model with permanent four-wheel drive. Think two-speed transfer box and an electronically-controlled center differential supplied by Magna. The diff wouldn't mean a thing without the multi-plate clutch pack in the transfer case. V8-engined models further sweeten the deal with an electronic rear differential. The second-gen Range Rover Sport came with two permanent 4WD systems. The Supercharged V8 and SDV6 employ a two-speed transfer case and a multi-plate clutch in the center diff, whereas the TDV6 and Supercharged V6 use a single-speed transfer case and a Torsen differential.

The lesser system defaults to 42:58 and tops 62 percent for the front axle and 78 percent for the rear axle. The SDV6 and Supercharged V8 are 50:50 in regular driving conditions. All of the engine's torque can be directed to either axle when required. As for the third-gen Range Rover Sport, it features the two-speed transfer case (with a 2.93:1 low range) of the Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender. An electronic locking active differential, torque vectoring, and all-wheel steering help the Range Rover Sport in the twisties and off the beaten path.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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