Land Rover FREELANDER SPORT
The Freelander Has Always Been A Good Looking Car But The Latest Sport Edition Makes The Opposition Look Distinctly Clumsy. Andy Enright Reports
Exactly how deep is your superficiality? Its a question I struggle with from time to time when confronted with a car that just looks so good it demands a place in the garage. There arent many cars that fulfil this brief. Ducati report that many wealthy owners bought the 916 motorbike to mount in Perspex display cases but
Land Rover owners are, by and large, a practical bunch. The latest Freelander Sport model is a car that works so well from every angle it craves attention - genuine get up in the middle of the night, don slippers and dressing gown and wandering out to the garage with a cuppa in hand sort of attention.
That said, there will be a core of Land Rover diehards who will disapprove of the Freelander Sport. Ignore them. These are the sort of people who consider the Land Rover Defender the pinnacle of 4x4 development and who probably eat grit for dinner, wear underpants made of glasspaper and chew the heads off wading birds in moments of quiet reflection. Land Rover as a company is evolving and leaving these masochists in its wake.
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The launch of the Freelander Sport at the 2003 Frankfurt Show was illuminating insofar as the Managing Director of
Land Rover claimed, "It is the Range
Rover, even more than the original Land Rover, that is now the inspiration for this companys future the Range Rover is our halo vehicle, which will guide and inspire upcoming new models. Its effect on its little brother, the latest Freelander, is also now obvious. New twin-pocket lamp headlights, a new face, a new tail, and a new interior. Much more premium, much more stylish, much more Range Rover.
" So there we have it. No longer do you need to be Ray Mears to buy into the Land Rover ethos and the Freelander Sport reflects this with an urban gloss that belies its tough underpinnings. Backtrack five years and the idea of putting 18-inch alloy wheels on a Land Rover product would have you labelled as a fraud, a poseur or merely a person who didnt understand the core values of a proud company. Things are different now and the big wheels that the Freelander Sport rolls on are evidence of this.
Factor in a suspension system thats been lowered and stiffened to offer superior on-road handling and a firmer ride and youre left with a car thats admirably pragmatic. Land Rover know that only a small percentage of Freelander customers ever go off road, so why not aim a specific model at them?
"No longer do you need to be Ray Mears to buy into the Land Rover ethos"
The revised springs are some thirty per cent firmer at the front and rear, the ride height is dropped by a full 30mm and the dampers are beefier to boot. With 50-profile tyres, the Freelander looks agreeably low slung and mean. The Freelander is already blessed with the prerequisites for a sweet handling car, namely a low centre of gravity, neat overhangs and fully independent suspension all round. The Sport model merely drives home the advantage still further.
On smooth dirt, grass or gravel surfaces the Freelander is still very capable, although the reduced ground clearance limits its off-road potential. Hill Descent Control (HDC) is fitted 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 revised interior gives the latest cabin a quality feel, an observation you could never have made of the original Freelander, a car which inside never really lived up to the premium billing.
With plasticky switchgear and an awkward, dated design to the fascia, it was outclassed by the latest offerings from South Korea. Today, there are classier-looking instruments and better quality switchgear, with plusher materials used throughout, so it feels a quantum leap forward. The seats offer better body and under-thigh comfort and the Sport features leather/Alcantara
seat facings along with heated front seats, privacy glass and roof rails. Few customers had any cause for complaint regarding the original Freelanders exterior styling, but it has been given a makeover that brings it into line with current Land Rover group design thinking.
The usual targets for restyling - namely front bumper, headlights and grille - are all replaced, as already suggested, 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 2.
5-litre 177PS unit will be popular with those looking for ultimate on-road performance but the
BMW-sourced Td4 turbo diesel unit will doubtless prove more popular. 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.
The Freelander Sport is a car that seems refreshingly free of the pretence that many compact 4x4s labour under. Its a car that pulls no punches, offering drivers a pair of keen engines, an elevated driving position and decent traction off the line coupled with a chassis that offers sharp handling and something in return for the keen driver. It also looks a million dollars. Even at just over £21,000, many might even see this car and the image it projects as a bit of a bargain.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Land Rover Freelander Sport range
PRICES: £21,025-£24,595 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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