The SUV and soft-roader markets continue to burgeon and provide rich pickings for manufacturers in the niche. Land Rover has long enjoyed success in the upper stratum of the market in the guise of the
Range Rover and has in more recent times extended their range downward with the Freelander. The Freelander has been a huge sales hit and has been a market leader in terms of its all-round abilities on and off-road. At home fording rivers as it is on the school run it has sat at the top of its pile for a few years, but now other manufacturers have been begun to make in-roads into Freelander sales territory, most recently BMW's X3. A recent facelift is aimed at bolstering the Freelander's position and fending off the continued onslaught. Here we test the 3-door 2.5-litre V6 Sport model.
The Freelander is fitted with the cosmetic addenda as befits the Sport moniker. The Freelander's basic form lends itself well to the modifications needed to provide the car with sufficient urban machismo; 18-inch alloys are a welcome aesthetic addition as are the roof rails that help to offset the visual bulk of the wheels; the car looks a little odd without them. The Range Rover style headlights integrate the model with the rest of the Land Rover range and, along with the new front bumper treatment, give the Freelander real presence.
The interior is well specified and appointed with a quality hi-fi, air-con, and electric windows (including a powered tailgate window). Land Rover claims to have spent the majority of its time working on the updated car's interior and you have to say it has paid dividends. The new dials, with incorporated displays for gear selection, gearbox mode and trip computer work well and are clear. The improved materials and construction are instantly evident with only the dash mounted micro switches for some of the minor controls feeling out of place in what is marketed as a premium almost £25k car.
The 2.5-litre Rover KV6 engine, which drives all four wheels through the sports auto 'box, gives the Sport a fair amount of urge but has to be worked hard and sounds meaty both inside and out. The 'box itself is smooth as a full auto but a fair amount of jerkiness is evident in the manual change mode. We found it best to let the 'box do its own thing. The five ratios are well placed and the box allows changes right up to the red line, as the V6's paucity of torque forces one to do, but the effect of such activities on the fuel consumption is dire. We struggled to top 20 mpg during the car's stay with us.
The steering is heavy, even for an SUV, and fairly bereft of feel - something we'd attribute to Land Rover's efforts to damp out the interference introduced by the 4WD drive train. However, at low speed at full lock the car still jerks and graunches – not pleasant. As with many vehicles today 'sport' equals stiff as far as suspension is concerned and the ride quality suffers as a consequence. Whilst it may be better than the
Shogun Sport it is still on the harsh side. This poor ride quality is partially offset by the good grip levels and body control when pressing on, something not encouraged by the brakes that faded quickly. Drums on the back of a vehicle of this bulk with supposed sporting intensions aren't enough; the discs on the front aren't man enough for the job either.
Our test car was fitted with the removable hardtop that, when removed, opens up the whole rear of the car and in conjunction with the targa panels in the front, allows a virtual open top motoring experience; not without a few setbacks though. The test car's roof leaked, leaving a small puddle in the rear seat and the boot - not ideal if you leave something in the car overnight or one of your young kids jumps into the back ready to go to school and sits in the pool. We'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say that the previous user hadn't correctly fitted the hardtop.
More of a problem is the actual practicality of owning a car fitted with this option. Once the top is off (itself a process that requires removal of the roof rails with a 'torx' drive, which was not included with the car), there is no way of taking the top with you. You are therefore at the mercy of our glorious UK weather and more than ever the BBC weather team's accuracy will be key to your happiness. The only choice is to purchase the optional soft-top or shower protection screen - these cost several hundred pounds. In-situ the hardtop provides good insulation against the elements and noise and makes the cabin a snug place to be, if a little dark with the tinted rear windows.
What with the compromises of the hardtop, the thirsty V6 and the auto 'box, one can't help but feel that this particular specification of Freelander is aimed at the US market. A quick scan of the Land Rover US website seems to confirm this, as the Freelander's sunshine fun factor is marketed to the full. Sadly the prices are rather more appealing for the US citizen as well, roughly dollars for pounds. Whilst Land Rover aren't alone in this pricing policy it is a fairly bitter pill to swallow when you consider the car has been re-engineered for use abroad.
While I can see the appeal of the Freelander in this guise I'm afraid if this were my money common sense would have to prevail and I'd pick a turbodiesel model with a manual 'box. I wouldn't necessarily ditch the hard top, but I would make sure I got a shower protection soft top thrown in as part of the purchase. The Freelander continues to be the best on the market in terms of the compromise between on and off road capabilities on a sensible budget, as a lifestyle vehicle it also makes real sense.
