FIERCELY competitive pricing is being used to help Land Rover win more new friends in the corporate sector.

Executives at the revitalised Midlands company have pitched the new Range Rover from £42,995 on-the-road to clash head-on in the showrooms with BMW's 7-series and the Mercedes-Benz S-class.

'We are lining ourselves up for a direct confrontation with the front runners in the prestige luxury car class — and we're not afraid to take them on,' said Land Rover marketing, sales and service director Matthew Taylor. 'We benchmarked the big Mercedes and we know we've matched or beaten it in a number of key areas concerning accommodation, ride and comfort. But we've gone one better and added all-wheel drive, something that is unique in this sector.'

Due to go on sale in June, the car will come in three trim levels - SE, HSE and Vogue - costing from £42,995 for the 2.5-litre V6 Td6 SE (with eight air bags, tyre pressure monitoring, leather trim with power-adjust seats, cruise control and dual zone automatic air conditioning) to £59,995 for the V8 Vogue (with upgraded leather trim, a wide-screen dashboard monitor, heating for the rear seats and steering wheel, a power sunroof and a centre rear armrest that can double as a ski bag).

'While we're putting a high priority on retaining existing customers, we are out to gain business from our German rivals.

'The Range Rover is 3–4% dearer than its predecessor but has so many more benefits that it is a tremendous value proposition in its sector,' said Taylor.