The compact SUV segment is quite densely populated at the moment, with practically every brand under the sun attempting to attack the well-established brands for a slice of this expanding market.
Marques that never came up with anything other than slightly rugged 4X4 versions of their super minis are now churning out their own 4X4s to take on the market leaders not only on the road, but off it too.
Keeping the competition in mind, Ford knew it could not go wrong with the baby (and highest volume seller) of Land Rover if it intended turning the marque around into some healthy profits again. Land Rover had to compete on its current strong point - luxury - and also on its traditional strong point, going off-road. The original Freelander stole no hearts in any of those respects, and had some reliability issues to boot.
It was out with the old and in with the new. The first statement Ford made was the choice of factory to build the car: it decided that it would be assembled by the same hands working on Jaguars in Ford's Halewood plant near Liverpool.
Quality and refinement are immediately obvious when you climb in the Freelander. This could have easily been one of Germany's premium executive saloons rather than a supposedly rugged off-roader. The interior is spacious and airy, and the leather seats available on the test vehicle were welcoming. In the four-hour non-stop drive, never did I feel uncomfortable.
The steering wheel is adjustable for height and depth, and the driver's seat is height-adjustable too, ensuring ideal driving positions. Two adults fit in comfortably at the back, with a decent armrest with storage and cup holders, and pockets in the back of the front seats to store large magazines or books. With the armrest up, three adults could fit in well, but I doubt they'd be very comfortable on a long journey.
The boot is spacious and with the mat we had in our test car also offers a non slip bottom and has a high rim which should stop loose objects from falling out.
On the road the Freelander performs admirably well. One of my co-testers was complaining that the car had a slight roll in its ride, but it is more than made up for by the excellent handling of our (sometimes) terrible roads. It ate up potholes and bumps without so much of a hint of their presence, and glided over some of the most arduous terrain in our country lanes very well.
The Ford- (or should I say PSA-) sourced 2.2-litre common rail turbo diesel engine is good for 160 BHP, which is pretty decent given the size of the car, but becomes impressive once you look at the torque figure. It produces no less than 400 NM of torque (40.8Kgm), and offers them from as low as 2,000 rpm, which results in a driving experience which might be slightly slow off the mark (0-100Km/h in 11.2 seconds), but gear acceleration is brilliant.
The auto box I tried the car with had very smooth changes, smooth enough for passengers not to realise the car is actually changing gear at all, yet put it in sport mode and the car becomes much more aggressive, changing at later stages and sending a nice growl into the cabin when pushed hard.
The biggest problem in this car's on-road performance is driving within legal limits. Speed is gained so effortlessly that while trying it out, the agent's warning of "you pay the speeding fine" became a realistic scenario.
Notwithstanding Land Rover boasting about the improved performance off-road, I was expecting to be disappointed because this is, technically, a "soft roader". I was immediately proven wrong. Despite my best efforts to make life difficult, the Freelander gladly dispatched all I hurled at it. Granted, I tried nothing extreme, but I did take the car to places which would give most other cars in its class problems.
The Freelander will not win any AWDC competitions in its standard form, but at least it gives buyers the confidence that should they want to have the occasional foray off the road, they will be well equipped to do so.
Land Rover have gone out and thought really hard about creating a vehicle which will satisfy drivers who are buying into the compact SUV market for the premium aspect of driving an SUV but which will also satisfy all but the most arduous Land Rover fans. This is a car which can be used on the road all week long but which will not disappoint once it is taken 'green-laning' - and more - at the weekend.
Marques that never came up with anything other than slightly rugged 4X4 versions of their super minis are now churning out their own 4X4s to take on the market leaders not only on the road, but off it too.
Keeping the competition in mind, Ford knew it could not go wrong with the baby (and highest volume seller) of Land Rover if it intended turning the marque around into some healthy profits again. Land Rover had to compete on its current strong point - luxury - and also on its traditional strong point, going off-road. The original Freelander stole no hearts in any of those respects, and had some reliability issues to boot.
It was out with the old and in with the new. The first statement Ford made was the choice of factory to build the car: it decided that it would be assembled by the same hands working on Jaguars in Ford's Halewood plant near Liverpool.
Quality and refinement are immediately obvious when you climb in the Freelander. This could have easily been one of Germany's premium executive saloons rather than a supposedly rugged off-roader. The interior is spacious and airy, and the leather seats available on the test vehicle were welcoming. In the four-hour non-stop drive, never did I feel uncomfortable.
The steering wheel is adjustable for height and depth, and the driver's seat is height-adjustable too, ensuring ideal driving positions. Two adults fit in comfortably at the back, with a decent armrest with storage and cup holders, and pockets in the back of the front seats to store large magazines or books. With the armrest up, three adults could fit in well, but I doubt they'd be very comfortable on a long journey.
The boot is spacious and with the mat we had in our test car also offers a non slip bottom and has a high rim which should stop loose objects from falling out.
On the road the Freelander performs admirably well. One of my co-testers was complaining that the car had a slight roll in its ride, but it is more than made up for by the excellent handling of our (sometimes) terrible roads. It ate up potholes and bumps without so much of a hint of their presence, and glided over some of the most arduous terrain in our country lanes very well.
The Ford- (or should I say PSA-) sourced 2.2-litre common rail turbo diesel engine is good for 160 BHP, which is pretty decent given the size of the car, but becomes impressive once you look at the torque figure. It produces no less than 400 NM of torque (40.8Kgm), and offers them from as low as 2,000 rpm, which results in a driving experience which might be slightly slow off the mark (0-100Km/h in 11.2 seconds), but gear acceleration is brilliant.
The auto box I tried the car with had very smooth changes, smooth enough for passengers not to realise the car is actually changing gear at all, yet put it in sport mode and the car becomes much more aggressive, changing at later stages and sending a nice growl into the cabin when pushed hard.
The biggest problem in this car's on-road performance is driving within legal limits. Speed is gained so effortlessly that while trying it out, the agent's warning of "you pay the speeding fine" became a realistic scenario.
Notwithstanding Land Rover boasting about the improved performance off-road, I was expecting to be disappointed because this is, technically, a "soft roader". I was immediately proven wrong. Despite my best efforts to make life difficult, the Freelander gladly dispatched all I hurled at it. Granted, I tried nothing extreme, but I did take the car to places which would give most other cars in its class problems.
The Freelander will not win any AWDC competitions in its standard form, but at least it gives buyers the confidence that should they want to have the occasional foray off the road, they will be well equipped to do so.
Land Rover have gone out and thought really hard about creating a vehicle which will satisfy drivers who are buying into the compact SUV market for the premium aspect of driving an SUV but which will also satisfy all but the most arduous Land Rover fans. This is a car which can be used on the road all week long but which will not disappoint once it is taken 'green-laning' - and more - at the weekend.