The Cat's finally in the bag

The Jaguar and Land Rover product portfolio that Tata inherits.

LRX Concept
Showcased at the Detroit Motor Show in January this year, this compact, three-door 'cross-coupe' concept is the way future Land Rovers/Range Rovers will look. And it does look smashing considering all the heritage cues are there despite looking futuristic.

Shorter than the Freelander, the LRX is designed to be more car-like in driving dynamics without losing out on the core go-anywhere ability of Land Rovers. But more importantly, the LRX features something that is fairly important to Tata and for its own future.

It's supposed to get a terribly efficient 2000cc turbodiesel hybrid that is capable of running on bio-diesel as well. The integrated Electric Rear Axle Drive of the concept means the LRX can use just electric drive at lower speeds even in tough, off-road situations, and the engine automatically kicks in when more power is required.

Hill Descent Control and the Terrain Response system will also feature as standard. There's more to the LRX. It has been conceived with sustainable engineering in mind, which means that it uses plenty of lighter and eco-friendly materials that will make it the only SUV to earn the praises of eco-weenies when it eventually gets on the road.

Jaguar XF
The newest car to wear the hallowed badge, the XF is a replacement to the popular S-Type. Which means it has tough competition in the form of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6. Is the spanking new XF up to it? Absolutely yes.

Visually stunning and distinctive to look at compared to the Teutonic trio, Ford has spent enough money on technology and development on this make-or-break model. It has feel-good features aplenty, British craftsmanship, luxurious bobs and bits, and some fantastic drivetrain options.

The key feature in the XF is the new high-tech, sequential 6-speed shift-by-wire gearbox, while the engine options include a 2700cc twin-turbo V6 diesel, a 3000cc V6 petrol and normally aspirated and supercharged versions of the 4200cc V8 petrol. The XF is not just a new car, it indicates the way new Jaguars in the pipeline will be all about. It's the most important car in the Jaguar line-up.

Discovery 3
The second in line to the Range Rover, the third iteration of the Discovery was introduced in 2004. Equally capable off-road and geometric and minimalist in appearance, the Discovery 3 borrows the petrol V8 and the V6 diesel, and has a 4000cc V6 petrol as well.

The Discovery 3 features Land Rover's Integrated Body-frame that combines monocoque construction with that of the traditional ladder frame. The result is an SUV that is tough yet car-like in handling and refinement

Jaguar XK
More than a proper sports car, the XK is a 2+2 grand tourer "� a machine that rapidly consumes the miles and in great comfort. Available in both coupe and convertible formats, the XK is good-looking and very, very contemporary too.

Unveiled in 2006, the new XK features aluminium construction and bunch of sophisticated technologies. Jaguar's showpiece shift-by-wire transmission was first seen in this car. The 300 bhp 4200cc V8 provides motive force to the car, while in the more powerful XKR version, the same engine is supercharged

Range Rover
It is the flagship from the Land Rover range, an expensive and luxurious but capable off-roader. The Range Rover made its debut in 2005 to much acclaim and indeed is the SUV of choice for many celebrities. The Range Rover Sports takes the driving pleasure a notch higher, with better dynamic abilities.

The Range Rover also comes with the same V8 petrol engine seen in Jaguars, and is seen in the supercharged version as well, and of course there is the V6 turbodiesel too. Other than these three engine options, Range Rover/Sport also has a V8 turbodiesel in its engine line-up.

The sophisticated Terrain Response system patented by Land Rover allows you to control the car depending on the terrain it is traversing at the convenient flick of a switch.

Jaguar X-Type
Theoretically, it was clever thinking by Jaguar to get a new breed of customers by introducing a smaller, entry-level model. And that was the X-Type in 2000. By using the Ford Mondeo platform, Jaguar could keep costs low.

Since the Mondeo was a front-wheel drive car, they had to keep the Jaguar-ness of the X-Type, so had to offer it with all-wheel drive. But the X-Type looked like a shrunken XJ and was not a bold design. Jaguar will have to keep flogging the X-Type till an all-new version is unveiled late next year.

Jaguar XJ
The flagship Jaguar saloon, the XJ is now five years old, and has about four more years in its life before it comes up for replacement. The luxurious XJ did not break any ground in design when it was launched in 2003, but featured high-tech all-aluminium body construction that endowed it with a host of dynamic attributes.

Though well-built and powerful, the XJ couldn't rock its German competitors' foundations "� the S-Class Mercedes, the 7 Series BMW and the Audi A8 proved to be too strong for the XJ to tackle. The key reason for it is that though it used high technology in construction, the XJ still looked like the car it replaced.

Defender
The name Defender of course was retrofitted, as this is the original Land Rover. With origins that go all the way back to 1948, the Defender is still plugging on, doing sterling duty in places around the world where no ordinary machines dare go.

Over time, the Defender has been engineered to be more user-friendly, but the basic chassis architecture remains the same. It is immensely capable and the proof is when you see decades-old Defenders still hard at work in remote corners of the globe.

Land Rover sells the Defender with the 120 bhp 2400cc four-cylinder turbodiesel engine. It still does about 25,000 units every year and comes in three wheelbase lengths and 14 separate body styles.

Freelander
The Freelander is a compact SUV that has competition from soft-roaders manufactured by a host of European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers. The second generation of the Freelander was launched in 2006 and uses monocoque construction, which makes it car-like when it comes to vehicle dynamics.

Like with the other machines, four-wheel drive and the Terrain Response system also features in the Freelander. Engine options include an 3200cc inline-six petrol and a 2200cc four-cylinder turbodiesel.