The 2-speed transfer case is still available as an option, and the Heavy Duty package also includes the locking rear differential and a full size spare. The locking rear differential was an option prior to 2014 as well, and my guess is that it was the least popular option for the LR4. A 2010-2013 LR4 fitted with LRD was like a white fly, nearly impossible to find.
I actually think that removing low range from the LR4's set of standard features is a change for the better. The 2-speed box had always added needless cost, complexity and weight to a vehicle that 90% of customers would never dream of taking off pavement anyway. It offered zero advantages over the competition the LR4 was often put up against, such as similarly priced BMWs, MBs, Acuras, Lexus, etc. The LR4 can still make those vehicles look silly off road thanks to its superior ground clearance and sophisticated combination of 4-wheel drive and traction control / Terrain Response. It won't climb over rocks anymore without a low range, but how many owners really care about that? 1 out of 10 maybe.
At least now - 2014 and later - with the Heavy Duty pack you get the Full Monty (a low range AND rear lockers), and if you order one with the HD pack it's because you intend to use it.
The engine downsizing from NAV8 to SCV6 was, in my opinion, purely a marketing move so as not to make the upper crust Range Rover HSE and Range Rover Sport HSE appear less powerful than the LR4 on Land Rover's brochures. I was as disappointed in that decision as most here, and wish Land Rover had picked a better platform - a lighter one - before switching to a V6. Yet the SCV6 is still way more powerful than the 4.4L V8 used for years on the very off-road worthy LR3. So, it can't be that bad (haven't tried one yet, I'll have to reserve judgment until I do.)
I think dismissing the 2014 LR4 as a "neutered" Land Rover is a little unfair, as it can still be every bit as capable off road as earlier model years with the right options, and every bit as luxurious and comfortable on the road... Just a little less powerful and more high-strung from a stoplight than a 2013.