Freelander spearheads premium compact segment

Land Rover's Freelander II officially goes on sale on July 1. And with four models priced from $49,990 through to $57,990, the Brit-built all-wheel drive wagon is firmly targeting the premium end of the small SUV marketplace.

Indeed, the all-new five-door, five-seater is the first of a burgeoning new generation of premium compact offroaders. Crashing a party that arguably BMW's X3 has had on its own to date, the Freelander is around a year ahead of a crop of upmarket small offroaders set to arrive Down Under.

Among the models expected in 2008 are a Q3 or Q5 Audi, Volkswagen's Tiguan and the vehicle that will share much of the Freelander II's DNA, the Volvo XC60 (more here).

The Carsales Network first drove the Freelander II at its Santa Barbara (USA) launch back in March (more here). And though pricing for the new four-model Freelander II range was announced at March's Melbourne Motor Show, it's only now that the cars are arriving Down Under that we can confirm full specification details.

The four-model line-up kicks off with the petrol-engined SE Si6 priced from $49,990. Boasting a 171kW/317Nm Volvo-derived 3.2-litre fuel-injected inline six, the SE Si6 sprints to 100km/h in 8.9sec and returns fuel economy in the 11.2lt/100km range.

The Freelander's entry-level model, the SE is not short on safety, nor comfort and convenience features. The standard Australian-spec Freelander II SE gets goodies like heated external mirrors, premium audio, full-sized spare, cruise control, dual-zone climate air, multi-function steering wheel and push button stop-start. Leather upholstery is standard along with auto wipers and lights, 60:40 splitfold rear seat and rear park distance control.

Safety-wise, the range boasts seven airbags (including driver knee and side curtain airbags), ABS brakes (with EBA and EBD), full stability and traction control as well as hill descent and roll stability functions. The latter is a first for a Land Rover.

The Freelander II also scores five-stars in EuroNCAP testing and a maximum four-stars for child protection.

The marque's four-mode Terrain Response automated four-wheel-drive system is also standard equipment. Delivering road, grass and gravel, mud and ruts and sand modes, Terrain Response automatically fine tunes traction control, stability control, engine and transmission characteristics to maximize the vehicle's performance in a range of off and onroad environments.

Land Rover is at pains to point out that despite the lack of a low-range transfer case, its Terrain Response and other design features contribute to make the Freelander II more than capable offroad.

The SE can also be had with the new PSA-Ford developed 2.2-litre DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder common rail turbodiesel engine at a premium of $2000. The so-equipped SE TD4 produces just 118kW but a considerable 400Nm of torque for 8.5lt/100km and a 0-100km/h sprint in the 11.2sec region.

Both petrol and turbodiesel powerplants are mated to an adaptive six-speed automatic transmission. No manual Freelander II variant will be offered Down Under.

The range-topping Freelander IIs include the HSE Si6 and HSE TD4 priced at $55,990 and $57,990 respectively. The HSEs add 18-inch alloys (the SE's get 17s) uprated audio systems, front park distance control, bi-xenon headlamps and a memory pack for the seats, mirror and so on, as well as a choice of interior trims.

HSE buyers can also opt for a Technology Pack that incorporates touchscreen DVD navigation and other goodies at the princely sum of $6890. Other options include premium paint (no less than 11 colours are offered in total) at $1500 and a front/rear panorama sunroof at $3300.

Land Rover Australia is not willing to state its sales aims for the new vehicle; however, General Manager Roger Jory said the maker already had "1900 solid leads" on the vehicle -- largely thanks to its pre-launch online campaigns.

Land Rover Australia is also confident that Freelander II sales will help it redress its 16.4 per cent sales shortfall (May YTD). Jory said he believed that with Freelander II, Land Rover would equal or better its 2006 sales stats despite 2007's slow start.

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