Land Rover Freelander 2 Automatic review

If you want a premium class mid sized SUV the latest Land Rover Freelander 2 cannot be bettered for overall on and off road performance, quality and badge appeal.

The fact that the latest Freelander 2.2-litre diesel model also has the option of an automatic transmission makes it an even better for an increasing number of customers in this sector.

The award winning Freelander 2 will remain Land Rover’s best selling model. This is because its more heavyweight stablemates, the Defender, Discovery, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, will all incur even higher levels of taxation in the form of the £400 annual Vehicle Excise Duty from 1 April and they will be in the £25 a day London Congestion Charge bracket from October this year.

Freelander prices range from £20,964 for the cheapest 2.2 TD4 model up to £34,095 for the 3.2 i6 HSE petrol variant. In addition there is the usual comprehensive list of must-have option packs and accessories that push the final on the road prices much higher. Ninety-five per cent of Freelander sales in the UK are diesel models and 30 per cent are top of the range HSE models.

Whilst the V6, 3.2 i6 petrol Freelander is only available with top of the range HSE specification, the 2.2 TD4 models, which use a four-cylinder turbodiesel engine from the Ford/PSA Peugeot Citroen partnership, is available with S, GS, XS, SE and HSE specification levels.

All models have as standard a six-speed manual transmission, full-time intelligent four-wheel drive, electronic traction control, hill descent control, stability control, cornering brake control and body-roll stability control.

Other standard items of specification include seating for five passengers with a rear seat split 60/40 to maximise people and load carrying options, electric windows, air conditioning, electrically operated and heated door mirrors, halogen headlights plus plenty of safety features such as seven airbags. The latest Freelander has the top five-star NCAP rating for adult passenger safety.

My test model the 2.2 TD4 costs as standard £30,960 but the optional CommandShift six-speed automatic transmission added £1,370 to the price. However all HSE have as added standard equipment, automatic climate control with air filtration and humidity control, electric panoramic glass sunroof, luggage area cover, heated front seats, leather seat facings, electrically adjustable front seats and wood effect interior trim finishes.

Other desirable extra cost options would be; adaptive Bi-Xenon headlamps (£995), a full size spare wheel, (£120), metallic paint, (£490) and unfortunately you also have to pay £75 for carpet mats.

This gave my test car an on the road price of £34,010, which is very expensive given that the Freelander is a medium sized 4x4, but on the plus side the residual values are strong and the brand’s image is currently high.

Whilst many of the modern mid-sized 4x4s or SUVs, Outlander, 4007 and C-Crosser, can match and in most cases beat the Freelander’s on-road poise and refinement, the Freelander’s appeal is two-fold.

Firstly it is a valued premium brand with a huge desirability factor. Secondly in its class it cannot be beaten for off-road performance. Add in the new option of an automatic transmission and the vehicle’s appeal is broadened significantly.

The new automatic transmission option is no real detriment to performance either. It performs really well with the 2.2-litre, 160PS, 400Nm four-cylinder engine. Over 200Nm of torque is available from just 1,000rpm, basically engine tickover speed, and this increases to 400Nm rapidly and lasts through until 4,500pm.

With a manual transmission this engine officially returns 37.7mpg on average but with the six-speed auto gearbox this reduces to 33.2mpg.

However my test car returned 38.3mpg and this was with no soft driving, just day to day average motoring on country roads through to town traffic to motorways. So I think Land Rover has under-called the fuel economy on this occasion.

Even with the automatic gearbox the Freelander 2.2 TD4 just creeps under the 226g/km higher CO2 tax limit with an output of 224g/km giving it a Vehicle Excise Duty rating of Band F at £205 a year.

It also mean’s Ken Livingstone’s tax gatherers will only receive £8 a day for London driving in a Freelander 2.2 TD4.

MILESTONES

Land Rover Freelander 2 .2 TD4 HSE

Price as tested: £34,010

Engine/transmission: 2.2-litre, four-cylinder, turbodiesel, 160PS, 400Nm of torque, six-speed automatic with sequential shift and Sport modes, permanent intelligent all-wheel drive with traction and hill descent controls

Performance: 112mph, 0-62mph 10.5 seconds, 33.2mpg (38.3mpg actual), CO2 224g/km, VED Band F £205

Dimensions: 4,500mm long, 2,180mm wide, 1,830mm high, 500mm wading depth

Load capacity: 755-1,670 litres

Maximum braked towing capacity: 2,000kg

Insurance group: 13

For: Automatic gearbox option, refined engine, good fuel efficiency, real off-road ability, comfortable ride on-road, strong brand image, under 226g/km emissions.

Against: Expensive, not as roomy as some competitors in its class, muddled positioning of dashboard controls

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