Taking Its Cue From The Design Of The Range Rover, The Latest Freelander Has Cemented Its Position As The Classiest Compact 4x4 Around. Andy Enright Reports
The Land Rover Freelander is a car that has always forged a reputation as a compact 4x4 standing a class apart from its competitors. For many Freelander buyers, the prospect of opting for a Nissan, a Honda or a Toyota is quite beyond the pale. This explains why in the past, despite the fact that these rivals had in certain respects overtaken the Freelander, the little Land Rover often still got the order. Trading on that sort of goodwill only lasts so long however, and constant enhancements to the car have continually improved it.
The latest version of Britains best selling 4x4 has at last matched reputation to reality.
For the 2004 model year, there was a completely revised interior (by far the old cars weakest link) and a major external restyle including a fresh face and tail. The range also benefited from the addition of the Freelander Sport version, a model which the Solihull company claims is their sharpest handling and sportiest offering to date. More recently, further tweaks to the line-up have been deemed necessary. Two new 'Definitive Edition' Land Rover Freelander models, 'Adventurer' and 'Freestyle', have been added to the line-up and a higher level of specification on both 3 and 5 door models introduced across the range. The 'Adventurer' derivatives (priced from £17,300) boast standard features that include air-conditioning, front sports seats, 16" alloy wheels, alarm and front fog lights. The 'Freestyle' models have in addition, 17" alloy wheels, park distance control, heated front seats, a six CD auto changer, mud flaps, powerfold mirrors and glass roof panels (3 door only), and are available from £19,300. Above these variants sit the Sport derivatives (priced from £21,600) which now come with privacy glass, roof rails, 18" alloy wheels, heated front seats and leather/Alcantara seat facings.
"The latest Freelander is good enough to trade on excellence rather than badge snobbery"
Few Freelander customers have ever had any cause for complaint regarding the cars exterior styling and the most recent makeover has brought it into line with current Land Rover group design thinking. The usual targets for restyling - namely front bumper, headlights and grille - are all replaced with a Range Rover look, the lights in particular claiming to boost intensity by some 70%. The bumpers are also body coloured front and rear. The tail lamps have been raised to a higher position, thus improving their visibility and reducing the likelihood of being obscured in road grime or off-trail dust.
The Freelander Sport takes these visual enhancements and then beefs them up still further with the fitment of monster 18-inch alloy wheels, made to look even more aggressive due to the slight lowering of the firmer suspension set up. As such, its not designed for serious off-road usage but other Freelanders are surprisingly capable in that regard. Hill Descent Control (HDC) is fitted to all Freelanders and is a clever piece of kit. On a sticky, steep descent, when you engage HDC, the system selects first gear and uses the anti-lock brakes to automatically maintain a descent speed of 5.
6mph. Should the track get slippery or become more undulating, this will reduce to 4.4mph. The ABS system is complemented by EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and Electronic Traction Control (ETC) is standard to limit wheelslip in conditions such as mud and snow.
The engine choices remain exactly as before and theres a choice of three-door or five-door bodystyles. Meanwhile, this cars status as the most capable compact 4x4 you can buy hasnt altered very much: if you plan to go seriously off road - even very occasionally its simply not worth even bothering with anything else in this sector. At one time, you paid heavily for that privilege but under new Ford ownership, Land Rover has woken up to a changing market and realigned its prices. As the European market leader in the compact 4x4 sector, it was appropriate that the Freelander should be the first car of its kind to offer V6 petrol power, in this case the 2.5-litre 177PS unit already found in the Rover 75.
Youd expect this to transform the car and it does, offering nearly 50% more power and torque than the continuing 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol unit. The BMW-sourced Td4 turbo diesel unit is just as impressive in its own way. This 2.
0-litre 16-valve direct injection uses common rail technology to develop 112PS. Low down pulling power (ideal for heavy off road work and urban use) is particularly impressive. In recent times, the Freelander has been guilty of trading more on badge snobbery than product excellence but the latest car rectifies that issue. It was only a matter of time before the build quality of the Range Rover would trickle down to Land Rovers baby.
Now that it has, the opposition will have to go back to their drawing boards.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Land Rover Freelander range
PRICES: £15,995-£26,595 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 10-13
CO2 EMISSIONS: 205-298g/km
PERFORMANCE: [V6] Max Speed 113mph / 0-60mph 10.0s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [V6] (urban) 16.5mpg / (extra urban) 29.1mpg / (combined) 22.7mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: [V6] Length/Width/Heightmm 4447/2074/1828 [est]
The Land Rover Freelander is a car that has always forged a reputation as a compact 4x4 standing a class apart from its competitors. For many Freelander buyers, the prospect of opting for a Nissan, a Honda or a Toyota is quite beyond the pale. This explains why in the past, despite the fact that these rivals had in certain respects overtaken the Freelander, the little Land Rover often still got the order. Trading on that sort of goodwill only lasts so long however, and constant enhancements to the car have continually improved it.
The latest version of Britains best selling 4x4 has at last matched reputation to reality.
For the 2004 model year, there was a completely revised interior (by far the old cars weakest link) and a major external restyle including a fresh face and tail. The range also benefited from the addition of the Freelander Sport version, a model which the Solihull company claims is their sharpest handling and sportiest offering to date. More recently, further tweaks to the line-up have been deemed necessary. Two new 'Definitive Edition' Land Rover Freelander models, 'Adventurer' and 'Freestyle', have been added to the line-up and a higher level of specification on both 3 and 5 door models introduced across the range. The 'Adventurer' derivatives (priced from £17,300) boast standard features that include air-conditioning, front sports seats, 16" alloy wheels, alarm and front fog lights. The 'Freestyle' models have in addition, 17" alloy wheels, park distance control, heated front seats, a six CD auto changer, mud flaps, powerfold mirrors and glass roof panels (3 door only), and are available from £19,300. Above these variants sit the Sport derivatives (priced from £21,600) which now come with privacy glass, roof rails, 18" alloy wheels, heated front seats and leather/Alcantara seat facings.
"The latest Freelander is good enough to trade on excellence rather than badge snobbery"
Few Freelander customers have ever had any cause for complaint regarding the cars exterior styling and the most recent makeover has brought it into line with current Land Rover group design thinking. The usual targets for restyling - namely front bumper, headlights and grille - are all replaced with a Range Rover look, the lights in particular claiming to boost intensity by some 70%. The bumpers are also body coloured front and rear. The tail lamps have been raised to a higher position, thus improving their visibility and reducing the likelihood of being obscured in road grime or off-trail dust.
The Freelander Sport takes these visual enhancements and then beefs them up still further with the fitment of monster 18-inch alloy wheels, made to look even more aggressive due to the slight lowering of the firmer suspension set up. As such, its not designed for serious off-road usage but other Freelanders are surprisingly capable in that regard. Hill Descent Control (HDC) is fitted to all Freelanders and is a clever piece of kit. On a sticky, steep descent, when you engage HDC, the system selects first gear and uses the anti-lock brakes to automatically maintain a descent speed of 5.
6mph. Should the track get slippery or become more undulating, this will reduce to 4.4mph. The ABS system is complemented by EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and Electronic Traction Control (ETC) is standard to limit wheelslip in conditions such as mud and snow.
The engine choices remain exactly as before and theres a choice of three-door or five-door bodystyles. Meanwhile, this cars status as the most capable compact 4x4 you can buy hasnt altered very much: if you plan to go seriously off road - even very occasionally its simply not worth even bothering with anything else in this sector. At one time, you paid heavily for that privilege but under new Ford ownership, Land Rover has woken up to a changing market and realigned its prices. As the European market leader in the compact 4x4 sector, it was appropriate that the Freelander should be the first car of its kind to offer V6 petrol power, in this case the 2.5-litre 177PS unit already found in the Rover 75.
Youd expect this to transform the car and it does, offering nearly 50% more power and torque than the continuing 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol unit. The BMW-sourced Td4 turbo diesel unit is just as impressive in its own way. This 2.
0-litre 16-valve direct injection uses common rail technology to develop 112PS. Low down pulling power (ideal for heavy off road work and urban use) is particularly impressive. In recent times, the Freelander has been guilty of trading more on badge snobbery than product excellence but the latest car rectifies that issue. It was only a matter of time before the build quality of the Range Rover would trickle down to Land Rovers baby.
Now that it has, the opposition will have to go back to their drawing boards.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Land Rover Freelander range
PRICES: £15,995-£26,595 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 10-13
CO2 EMISSIONS: 205-298g/km
PERFORMANCE: [V6] Max Speed 113mph / 0-60mph 10.0s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [V6] (urban) 16.5mpg / (extra urban) 29.1mpg / (combined) 22.7mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: [V6] Length/Width/Heightmm 4447/2074/1828 [est]
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