Of rivals such as the Nissan X-Trail, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester and Jeep Cherokee, only the Jeep arguably has the image to compete with the legend that lies behind the Land Rover name.
But the Freelander, launched in South Africa back in 1998, is getting on in years. All its rivals are newer designs, and the X-Trail and Cherokee have been making strong inroads into the baby Landy’s market niche. The situation hasn’t been helped by talk of poor quality and niggling problems, many of which have been highlighted by readers’ letters to CAR.
So the marque’s compact 4×4 was certainly in need of an upgrade. Question is, has the latest facelift achieved enough?
The changes are largely cosmetic, with fresh styling inside and out underpinned by familiar mechanicals. The front end gets the latest Land Rover look, as already seen on the new Range Rover and facelifted Discovery. But the new lights – regarded as “overstyled” by some members of the test team – are more than just a styling gimmick. Land Rover says they offer 70 per cent greater intensity, and the light is “whiter” and better spread. There’s also a new mesh grille, and the restyled bumpers are now body coloured, in line with those of rivals. The front fenders are thermoplastic, which regains its shape after minor impacts. And inside there’s an all-new facia and instrumentation, as well as a Harman/ Kardon sound system.
Our first contact with the new range is a model we haven’t tested before, the automatic version of the Td4 HSE five-door wagon, powered by BMW’s four-cylinder common-rail turbodiesel. Despite the Ford buy-out and subsequent inclusion of the brand in its Premier Automotive Group, Land Rover’s new owners have managed to hold on to the state-of-the-art BMW power-unit. Although there were some turbo blow-ups locally (mainly, we should point out, in BMW cars), BMW has reportedly solved the problems, and the fix should hopefully apply to Freelanders as well. Tuned for off-road work, the unit has peak outputs of 82 kW at 4 000 r/min and 260 kW at 1 750, both somewhat down on the stats of the Freelander’s closest rival, the Jeep Cherokee Sport 2,8 CRD automatic.
Unlike most competitors, the Freelander’s drivetrain features a normal open differential between the two front wheels, with another between the two rear wheels.
The front and rear differentials are linked by a shaft that incorporates a viscous coupling that locks up when one of the sets of wheels rotates faster than the other. The autobox is a five-speed Jatco, which takes power to the four wheels via Land Rover’s familiar intermediate reduction drive (IRD). Its ratios provide a wide spread, with the high fifth gear obviously designed to improve economy on-road.
The autobox and ECU interface with the vehicle’s traction control electronics, as well as Land Rover’s familiar hill descent control, which uses the ABS system to apply the brakes, compensating to some extent for the lack of a low-range crawler gear for use in steep downhill going off-road.
As with most modern soft-roaders, the Freelander has unibody construction. Suspension is by a MacPherson strut at each corner, providing plenty of wheel travel, and the steering rack is mounted high on the front bulkhead, out of the way of stray rocks and bushes.
The nicest thing about the redesigned interior is the leather seats, though the front chairs were criticised by taller members of the test team for being too high. The facia, though, is a disaster. We liked the old Freelander dash, praising its light-coloured finish, which gave the interior a bright and cheerful feel. The new unit is black, with textures varying from panel to panel, giving it a kind of mish-mash appearance. And the cupholders, positioned under the windscreen on the upper surface of the facia where your drinks will absorb the full heat of the sun, are unlikely to be used very often.
There are many other practical touches, however. For example, the front doorbins are cavernous, and feature practical bottle straps. Switchgear is improved over the old model, and the lifts for the electric windows are now on the door armrests.
Equipment – as you would expect at the R324 000 list price – is comprehensive. Driver and passenger airbags are standard, the steering column is rake-adjustable, and there’s a remote central locking/ alarm/immobiliser system (with the handy remote-controlled drop-window in the tailgate), air-conditioning, electric exterior mirrors with foldaway facility, and park distance control. Our test vehicle also came with an electric sunroof. The Harmon/Kardon sound system consists of an integrated radio and six-CD autochanger and nine speakers, and features remote volume controls on the steering boss.
With its folding split-back rear bench, the Freelander has station wagon-style loadability – standard load capacity was measured at 328 dm3, expanding to 1 192 dm3 with the seats folded. The sideways-opening tailgate provides bumper-height access to a flat, wide primary load area, making packing easy. In usual Land Rover style, the alloy spare is mounted on the rear door.
Turn the key, and the Beemer turbodiesel fires up with a slightly clattery idle. Clutch take-up is smooth, but even in low-speed driving one is aware that there isn’t too much power in reserve. Steering is precise, making the Freelander easy to place in traffic, and it’s not at all heavy in parking manoeuvres.
Off the beaten track, the little Landy really comes into its own, the good arrival, departure and breakover angles making it at least as good as the best of the opposition in fairly rough going. The low-rev torque peak compensates to some extent for the lack of a crawler gear, and hill descent control is very effective for descending steep slopes.
But the average Freelander will spend most of its life on-road, and the new model, like the old, has the road manners to cope. Ride is almost cosseting, body control is good, and roadholding, though a trifle understeery, is fine. Acceleration is leisurely, but once up to cruising speed the heavy Freelander is capable of effortless progress in its high fifth gear. Fuel consumption is excellent for a 4×4, the Td4 recording a CAR fuel index of 8,84 litres/100 km, which translates to a range of 667 km on the 59-litre tank.
Out on the test strip, we managed a lethargic best of 16,77 seconds for the zero to 100 km/h dash, and a long 37,53 seconds for the kilometre sprint. The gearbox changed smoothly in Drive, but we found we could hurry things up a bit by using the shifter to change manually. Top speed, achieved in fourth gear, was 166 km/h. Despite using an up-to-date ABS system to modulate its disc/drum brake combination, the Freelander’s stopping performance was not as consistent as we would have liked, the test car averaging a reasonable 3,41 seconds in our 10-stop 100-to-zero emergency braking programme, but recording a best time of 3,28 seconds and a worst of 3,62.
