Land Rover Freelander 2 HSE SD4 2011 Review

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $65,854
Options fitted (not included in above price): Metallic paint $1700, sunroof $3300, Piano black wood trim $400, HSE Premium Luxury Pack $6860*
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.0
CO2 emissions (g/km): 185
Also consider: Audi Q5, BMW X3

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 2.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.5/5.0

About our ratings

It was always the right size and right style of car, but it took Land Rover a long time to make the Freelander truly appealing.

There was never any concern that the Freelander would mar Land Rover's offroad reputation, but nor did it enhance the company's on-road image, honed by the likes of Range Rover and the first Discovery models. That first generation Freelander, with its 2.0-litre turbodiesel, had the noise insulating qualities of a 44-gallon drum and the first petrol V6 droned like an asthmatic bee.

It's pleasing to note then, that the Freelander 2 is so very much improved (not just in driveline refinement, either) and could be considered a genuine alternative to Audi's Q5 and the BMW X3. Indeed, that's beginning to be apparent to buyers, who have bought 362 units of the Land Rover this year, versus 234 of the BMW X3. Perhaps the Freelander remains appropriately compact for the occasional trip to the supermarket, without giving away anything in packaging for trips up the country.

But... it's not possible to tell you, the reader, whether the Freelander 2 is any more capable offroad than the old Freelander. The car handed to the Carsales Network by Land Rover was too 'nice' to take offroad – a specced-up HSE variant with the SD4 (140kW) 2.2-litre turbodiesel.

Outside the car was finished in Bali Blue metallic and the interior was trimmed in ivory leather. Riding on optional 19-inch alloys in a contrasting finish, the Freelander 2 looked more suited to urban cruising than land roving, so the decision was made for us -- this was one SUV not going offroad for the sake of a seven-day test. It's not like the Freelander would be incapable, but the CFO wouldn't appreciate a bill from Land Rover for the cost of repairing gouged rims, dented underbody panels and scratched paintwork.

What can be said is that the smallest model in the range has taken on some semblance of style from big brother Discovery or Range Rover Sport these days. There's the same sort of styling detail to parallel the looks of the larger Rovers -- such as the facelifted grille and the vents in the front quarter panels. If one or two of the Freelander's obvious competitors could be accused of looking a little bland, that's not a problem for the Brit.

The four-cylinder turbodiesel powering this HSE variant was noisy from a cold start, but was quiet at cruising speeds. There was some wind noise on the freeway, but tyre noise was more prevalent at lower speeds and on coarse-chip bitumen.

Peak torque of 420Nm made its presence felt through the smooth-shifting Aisin Warner six-speed automatic -- once the Freelander was on the move. Alas progress was significantly hampered from a standing start by the engine's slow spool up.

Subjected to a combination of open-road touring and quite a bit of work around town, fuel consumption hovered around 8.2L/100km fuel use for the week. You can't knock that sort of return when the official combined-cycle consumption -- at a much more sedate pace -- is 7.0L/100km.

Steering was enjoyable, providing acceptably good response and feedback that encouraged the Freelander to be driven harder. The Land Rover also struck a very good compromise between ride and handling. Roadholding is impressive at higher speeds and the car is very stable in a straight line -- plus all of this comes about without much body roll.

Assuming you don’t option up 19-inch wheels, setting up the Freelander for offroad work is simply a matter of rotating the knob to the desired mode -- of four available -- whether that be grass, ice, snow, mud, ruts or whatever.

Bundled at extra cost as part of the HSE premium option pack, the bi-xenon adaptive cornering headlights were useful but didn't swivel as much as in some German cars, suggesting Land Rover has calibrated the system for higher touring speeds.

Fairly roomy inside, the Freelander doesn't seem to offer quite the same legroom in the rear seats as the Audi Q5. It's also a fairly cosy car up front, with Land Rover designers having arranged the controls and instruments in close proximity around the 'commanding' driver's seat.

By pulling a tag, the squab of each of the rear seats would lift up and forward against the backrest of the front seat. Then it was simply a matter of pulling a handgrip in the backrest of the rear seats to fold them down and flat. This allowed the rear to fold flush with the high boot floor for a significantly enhanced load capacity. Under the boot floor was a spare wheel and tyre combination in the same spec as the four road wheels and tyres.

While the centre fascia looked busy, it was easy enough to find the way around with familiarity.

We were in two minds about the Captain's chairs; the fold-down armrest on the left of the driver's seat obstructing easy reach for the handbrake lever or fastening the seatbelt -- but they're great for people who like somewhere to place the elbows. The seats themselves were excellent for the mix of comfort and support.

Despite the added bling of this particular Freelander 2, comfort and presentation inside the cabin were an equal match for the vehicle's fairly imposing external presence. In addition, the smallest Land Rover delivered an impeccable combination of on-road dynamics, comfort and safety.

It's about time for the littlest Landy to be added to the shopping list of more compact/luxury SUV buyers.

* HSE Premium Luxury Pack includes privacy glass, adaptive xenon headlights with automatic headlamp levelling, body side mouldings, 5 x 19 inch 10-spoke alloy diamond turned with contrast paint, automatic climate control, auto-dimming interior rear view mirror, heated front driver and passenger seats, Alpine-branded Dolby Prologic II 7.1 surround sound audio, with radio and six-disc in-dash CD changer, 12 x 40W amplifier, auxiliary input, subwoofer and 13 speakers, cold climate pack, covered storage compartment in centre console, Windsor leather seats with eight-way power adjustment for driver/six-way for front passenger, premium carpet mats.

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