Land Rover Freelander 2 HSE Review & Road Test Part 2

Part 2 of the Freelander 2 Raod Test and review

If you look at the Freelander 2 and compare its style to its modern rivals – such as the Audi Q5 – it looks a bit staid and frumpy. But change your perspective just a little and it becomes a convincing interpretation of an urban Land Rover. It’s bigger then its predecessor – taller and wider with an extra 4″ in the wheelbase – and it feels a much more grown-up vehicle than it was.

It’s easy to think of the Freelander 2 as a mini Range Rover, but if anything it’s more like a baby Discovery. Its silhouette is similar to the Disco and it has no real sporting pretensions, although it does handle far better than you might reasonably expect.

And it now seems very well bolted together, as I discovered when I drew the short straw to give it a clean for the camera after a volcanic-dust-filled  rain shower turned it a very dirty grey before our snappers had done their bit. There’s nothing quite like giving a car a clean to find out how it’s put together. Maybe we should make it compulsory on every review (which would make me about as popular as Lord Mandy)?.

So it’s a decent looking urban 4×4, perfect for the school run, off to the shops, down to the gym and the odd weekend picnic. And yes, it will do all that with aplomb and disdain, but the Freelander 2 will do so much more.

Just like every Land Rover it is unbeatable off-road and even comes with almost the full Terrain Response kit its big brothers get, minus the Air Suspension and diff locks. Which might seem like overkill, but it’s what makes the Freelander 2 so appealing, even if you do want it as a second car or Mum-Mobile.

One turn of the Terrain Response knob and you’re perfectly set up for snow or sand or mud. And if you saw the number of soft-roading SUVs sliding around in the snow this winter you’ll realise just how appealing the real deal is.

Especially when that real-deal 4×4 seems to compromise nothing on road for its off-road ability. It conspires to soak up the lumps and bumps and crevices that pass for roads in the Home Counties with ease, just occasionally caught out by a series of ridges.

What is really rather surprising is that if you take real care to set up a corner – and get on the throttle well before the apex – this Freelander 2 can really hustle. It won’t frighten the cattle – and nor does it pretend to be a sporty SUV – but it’s far better than a sit up and beg SUV has a right to be, and just as sorted as a lot of saloon cars in this sector are. Big surprise, even though the set up was conceived by Mike Cross, who has more than a little experience in this area.

Mind you, although the Freelander 2 performs well around town with its ample torque allowing it to squirt to traffic speeds very well, it doesn’t have the oomph to really hustle round back roads – it just runs out of steam. That said, it will cruise happily at 85mph with little wind, engine or tyre noise.

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By Cars UK