Land Rover Freelander2 i6 : FREE TO THE POWER OF SIX

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Andy Enright on Land Rovers powerful petrol-powered Freelander2

In case you were wondering what i6 is all about in the designation applied to the petrol version of Land Rovers Freelander, its engineers shorthand for inline six. In other words, the layout of this cars six-cylinder engine. Its the top model of the Freelander 2 line up and, as such, has to stack up against the very best compact 4x4s in the market. Thats no easy assignment but the i6 models bring with them some serious artillery.

That engine is a Volvo-sourced unit of 3.2-litres capacity and generates an impressive 230bhp. This gives the Freelander i6 some serious overtaking capability, although youll need to keep the revs on the boil to get the best from this powerplant as that peak power output is only realised at a heady 6,300rpm. A low-end lugger this most certainly isnt and if you plan on a fair amount of towing or off-road activity, Id counsel you to pick the TD4 turbodiesel model instead.

Still reading? Well I assume that in that case, your Freelander will largely be used on tarmac with just the occasional off-piste excursion. I think its also fair to assume that your buying decision came down to either a well-equipped Freelander or less well appointed Discovery. After all, the price difference between the range-topping Freelander i6 HSE at £35,395 and the entry level V8 Discovery is just a tad over £4,000 not a whole lot in the overall scheme of things. The only other contender that really comes close is BMWs X3 2.

5si in M Sport trim, although despite the slightly intertwined history between the two marques, BMW and Land Rover customers tend to come from very different walks of life. The Freelander 2 i6 is only available in the HSE trim level. The interior of this model is luxurious, with perforated Napoli leather seat facings and steering wheel, a dark laurel wood effect interior, footwell lamps, additional frontseat armrests and heated front seats. Equipment includes an electric drivers eight-way and passenger six-way adjustment, a memory function with three settings for the drivers seat and exterior mirrors and automatic climate control with air filtration.

You get more Freelander for your money now

If youre wondering what your Freelander 2 i6 looks like from the outside, it has 18-inch, 12-spoke alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, body coloured side sills and front and rear bumpers, a rear spoiler and tungsten door handles. The exterior also features automatic headlamps, a heated front screen and heated windscreen washer jets. The audio system is an Alpine with Dolby Pro Logic 11 7.1 surround sound, a six-disc in-dash CD player and steering wheel-mounted controls.

Also mounted on the dash is a full colour touch screen Satellite Navigation system with a traffic message channel to keep you abreast of whats going on up ahead. The rear seats have a headphone module and you can also take advantage of a Bluetooth peersonal telephone iontergration system. Safety equipment includes front and rear parking sensors. The Freelander i6 is something of a mixed bag on road.

While its supremely smooth at low to medium throttle openings, its not as quick as youd expect for a car that packs a 230bhp wallop. Part of the issue is that the automatic gearbox takes a slight edge off all-out go while the 1770kg kerb weight gives the engine quite a bit to chew on too. Its only when you really choose to nail the Freelander that the horsepower makes itself felt and its possible to really take control by knocking the lever to the left and flicking through the gears sequentially. Peak torque arrives at 3,200rpm and when left to its own devices, the gearbox makes a reasonable fist of hitting this plateau before snicking the next ratio.

Against the clock, the i6 will get to 60mph in 8.4 seconds and keep accelerating until that not insubstantial frontal area fails to punch a hole through the atmosphere, by which time 124mph should be showing on the clocks. Other stats that youll probably want to be furnished with include a combined fuel economy figure of 25.2mpg and CO2 emissions of 265g/km.

On our test route, a bit of spirited driving saw the average drop to significantly below 20mpg, so youll need to be rather saintly to equal Land Rovers economy figures. One of the most exciting parts about this model is Land Rovers decision to fit their excellent Terrain Response system, standard on all but the entry-level model. This allows the driver to select what sort of off-road conditions the car is experiencing via a rotary knob on the dashboard and the cars electronics work out how best to dole out power and maximise traction, turning the Freelander 2 into a far more capable off-road tool. Theres still no low range transfer case, which may scrub the Freelander 2 from the shortlists of those who want something really rough and ready, but the Freelander 2 comes up with a number of other ways to get you out of a tight spot.

A full-time intelligent 4x4 system is based around a sophisticated Haldex centre differential which helps keep economy manageable on road, while a sophisticated Gradient Release Control system is a logical extension of the old Hill Descent Control system for descending steep and slippery slopes. Although the shape is familiar, you get more Freelander for your money now. Its 50mm longer, 109mm wider and 32mm taller but the wheels have been moved further towards each corner, freeing up another 105mm in the cars wheelbase, making rear seat accommodation a whole lot better. Weight has crept up a whopping 250kg to around 1770kg in the process but a parallel improvement in safety, refinement and quality is a transaction most customers will be willing to accept.

With no three-door model offered this time around, the one five-door shape will have to shoulder all of the sales responsibility, for the time being at least. As impressive as the Freelander i6 is in isolation, its hard to make a case for this car against the turbodiesel variant. The tangible advantages are just too slim to put up with the thirst and rather demanding nature of the petrol engine. Land Rover tacitly recognise this and has projected sales figures that show a big bias in favour of the diesel.

Still, if the black pump is beyond the pale, youll find plenty to like here.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Land Rover Freelander 2 i6 range
PRICES: £35,395 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 14
CO2 EMISSIONS: 265g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 124mph / 0-60mph 8.4s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 17.9mpg / (extra urban) 33.0mpg / (combined) 25.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Seven airbags, anti lock brakes, ESP
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4500/2005/1740