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Vehicle Tests > Land Rover Freelander 2
Land Rover Freelander 2
Issue: August 2007
Words by Richard Yarrow Photos by Nick Dimbleby
It wasn't many years ago that a diesel car with an automatic gearbox was a rarity. Now manufacturers know it's a must, particularly in the premium sector.
And that goes for SUVs just as much as for high-end
sedans and wagons. Six months after the launch of the all-new Freelander 2, Land Rover has rolled out the model that's expected to account for close to 50 percent of European sales, the 2.2-litre diesel auto.
With more buyers opting for the convenience of an auto forurban stop-start driving the car is a hugely important part of the range. There was an equivalent in the original Freelander, which accounted for a third of vehicle sales, but it didn't set the world on fire.
With 42 percent more power and 53 percent extra torque - there's 118kW and 400Nm respectively - combined with better fuel economy, the new Freelander 2 diesel is in a different ball park to its predecessor.
The car will hit 100kph in 10.5 seconds, a fraction quicker than the manual. The steering is nicely weighted, and in terms of ride and handling there's little to criticise. Add in standard features such as the special 'Trailer' ESP mode for towing, plus cornering upshift prevention to block annoying gear changes through bends, and it makes for an impressive package.
As for the gearbox, it's a six-speed auto with manual override. Land Rover calls this function CommandShift, and it means drivers have the option of fl icking the lever to the left and choosing when to change up and down. With a nine per cent broader spread of gear ratios, the theory was to create better performance right through the rev range and at every road speed.
And that's just what has happened. This is an extremely capable performer. Moving up or down the box is very smooth in either mode, and going from fourth through fifth and sixth as you accelerate to motorway speeds, the changes are barely noticeable. The CommandShift system is lifted straight out of the 3.2-litre petrol Freelander 2, and has the same reassuring feel to it. A simple click forwards or back on the lever is all you need to get the job done.
But this is a Land Rover, so it's got to be top-notch offroad as well. Faced with a demanding loose gravel incline of perhaps 200m length and 30 degrees from the horizontal, the test car revved hard and bounced all over the place, but always moved forward. It was a tougher challenge than 99 percent of customer models will ever see, yet it coped admirably. It's also a stunt the Mk1 Freelander would have struggled with, and one several of the current crop of Japanese SUVs would have baulked at.
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The Freelander's unique-in-class Terrain Response system means owners can adjust the set-up to cope with different surfaces simply by twisting a dashboard knob. The car was equally at home on the beaches below Snæfellsjökull, Iceland's famous dormant volcano. It easily forded the countless streams that emerge from higher ground and showed off its wellengineered suspension damping over the ridges in the shoreline.
My one minor criticism is that with Sand mode selected the auto transmission held fi rst gear far too long, to the point where the higher revs became irritating. It was easily corrected by switching to 'manual' and selecting second gear, though amusingly, when auto was reselected, it stayed in second as though sulkily admitting that actually the driver knew best.
There are a couple of downsides to the diesel auto. The fuel economy is 8.5 litres/100km; you get 7.5 litres/100km from the manual equivalent. And then there's the price. In the UK the auto box is the equivalent of $3,200 more expensive than the manual. But the thing for Australian buyers is that the Freelander will be auto only with prices starting from $49,990 for the i6 petrol all the way up to the fl agship HSE model we drove on this test at an eye watering $57,990. That's a lot for a Freelander, and $8,000 more than the price of the MkI rangetopper,
but then it's a lot more car. This is a premium product, and Land Rover has got it right from an engineering perspective. Coupled with the status and brand image of the famous green and gold badge, the Freelander 2 diesel auto should fl y out of the showrooms. It was launched in Australia late in June and we'll have our
first local drive next month in Overlander 4WD.
Words by Richard Yarrow Photos by Nick Dimbleby
It wasn't many years ago that a diesel car with an automatic gearbox was a rarity. Now manufacturers know it's a must, particularly in the premium sector.
And that goes for SUVs just as much as for high-end
sedans and wagons. Six months after the launch of the all-new Freelander 2, Land Rover has rolled out the model that's expected to account for close to 50 percent of European sales, the 2.2-litre diesel auto.
With more buyers opting for the convenience of an auto forurban stop-start driving the car is a hugely important part of the range. There was an equivalent in the original Freelander, which accounted for a third of vehicle sales, but it didn't set the world on fire.
With 42 percent more power and 53 percent extra torque - there's 118kW and 400Nm respectively - combined with better fuel economy, the new Freelander 2 diesel is in a different ball park to its predecessor.
The car will hit 100kph in 10.5 seconds, a fraction quicker than the manual. The steering is nicely weighted, and in terms of ride and handling there's little to criticise. Add in standard features such as the special 'Trailer' ESP mode for towing, plus cornering upshift prevention to block annoying gear changes through bends, and it makes for an impressive package.
As for the gearbox, it's a six-speed auto with manual override. Land Rover calls this function CommandShift, and it means drivers have the option of fl icking the lever to the left and choosing when to change up and down. With a nine per cent broader spread of gear ratios, the theory was to create better performance right through the rev range and at every road speed.
And that's just what has happened. This is an extremely capable performer. Moving up or down the box is very smooth in either mode, and going from fourth through fifth and sixth as you accelerate to motorway speeds, the changes are barely noticeable. The CommandShift system is lifted straight out of the 3.2-litre petrol Freelander 2, and has the same reassuring feel to it. A simple click forwards or back on the lever is all you need to get the job done.
But this is a Land Rover, so it's got to be top-notch offroad as well. Faced with a demanding loose gravel incline of perhaps 200m length and 30 degrees from the horizontal, the test car revved hard and bounced all over the place, but always moved forward. It was a tougher challenge than 99 percent of customer models will ever see, yet it coped admirably. It's also a stunt the Mk1 Freelander would have struggled with, and one several of the current crop of Japanese SUVs would have baulked at.
read on below advertisement
The Freelander's unique-in-class Terrain Response system means owners can adjust the set-up to cope with different surfaces simply by twisting a dashboard knob. The car was equally at home on the beaches below Snæfellsjökull, Iceland's famous dormant volcano. It easily forded the countless streams that emerge from higher ground and showed off its wellengineered suspension damping over the ridges in the shoreline.
My one minor criticism is that with Sand mode selected the auto transmission held fi rst gear far too long, to the point where the higher revs became irritating. It was easily corrected by switching to 'manual' and selecting second gear, though amusingly, when auto was reselected, it stayed in second as though sulkily admitting that actually the driver knew best.
There are a couple of downsides to the diesel auto. The fuel economy is 8.5 litres/100km; you get 7.5 litres/100km from the manual equivalent. And then there's the price. In the UK the auto box is the equivalent of $3,200 more expensive than the manual. But the thing for Australian buyers is that the Freelander will be auto only with prices starting from $49,990 for the i6 petrol all the way up to the fl agship HSE model we drove on this test at an eye watering $57,990. That's a lot for a Freelander, and $8,000 more than the price of the MkI rangetopper,
but then it's a lot more car. This is a premium product, and Land Rover has got it right from an engineering perspective. Coupled with the status and brand image of the famous green and gold badge, the Freelander 2 diesel auto should fl y out of the showrooms. It was launched in Australia late in June and we'll have our
first local drive next month in Overlander 4WD.
