Freelander 2 - 1st impressions

***Dave*** · 31-03-2008, 16:29

Picked up our new Landrover Freelander 2 on Friday. Managed to get a deal on a TD4 S model, knocking £1500 off the list price & then including Metallic Paint & full leather interior for free

Paid a bit extra for next size alloy wheels

Before the green party try to linch me, the Landrover Tax only costs £215 as CO2 is lower than most saloon cars, plus Landrover pay towards a CO2 offset scheme for each car , that makes the car neutral for first 45,000 miles !!!!

Anyway done about 400 miles in it so far & haveto say it's a joy to drive. I can honestly say coming from an Audi A6 the Freelander is every bit as comfortable on the road. At 85 mph on the motorway it was also as quiet !!! This is staggering for a 4x4, as I've tried most of them now & nothing comes close in this price range.

The 2.2D engine (same as Ford & Jag) has plenty of torque & is a joy to use with the 6 speed gearbox, which is very slick. At the moment I am averaging 32mpg, but expect this to rise to around 37 once the engine is run in (this was what I achieved from Demo car over 20 mile road test, which had 5000 miles on clock.

Visibility is obviously excellent vs a normal car. Being up so much higher makes it easier to see change of direction in road, plus anything happening in traffic up ahead.

Before I forget ... guess what colour I went for ....... dark metallic Grey with black leather interior...... Mono for life you know

Matt F · 31-03-2008, 16:57

You can’t fool us into believing that’s a green car, matey!

At 194g/km it’s slightly less green than the not-particularly-green Golf GTi. As for it having lower emissions than most saloons, well, the new 272bhp BMW530i petrol has a CO2 of 182g/km – okay so I’ve chosen a particularly amazing example there but most 2.0 diesel saloons will be lower than 194g/km. In fact the Jag X-type with the same engine as your new Freelander has emissions of 159g/km.

I’m afraid it’s not even the greenest soft-roader: Honda’s 2.2 CRV is 173g/km, Toyota’s RAV4 2.2 diesel is also 173g/km and Nissan’s X-Trail is 190g/km.

In fairness it’s a good thing that Land Rover are apparently off-setting the emissions but I’m afraid this doesn’t turn you into Jonathan Porritt

Oh, and by the way, the tax should have been £210 this year rising to £260 in 2009 and then £270 in 2010.

**Markulous** · 31-03-2008, 17:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

Picked up our new Landrover Freelander 2 on Friday.

Is that Tata Land Rover? Not had enough of Indian callcentres you need an Indian car?

silkstone · 31-03-2008, 17:18

I'm keeping out of this, but I do hope you have better luck than the two people I know who bought the previous generation Freelander and got to know the dealer's service manager really well.

**stepheno** · 31-03-2008, 17:28

You're right....the torque on the 2.2 is excellent. Enjoy......assuming you keep it long enough

***Dave*** · 31-03-2008, 19:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by silkstone

I'm keeping out of this, but I do hope you have better luck than the two people I know who bought the previous generation Freelander and got to know the dealer's service manager really well.

Oh yes, I also kept away from that generation too & bought the RAV back in 2003. Only read good reports on this version though & after experiencing the quality from the test drive, it didn't take much persuasion to buy

Mark, I have the flashest rickshaw in town

***Dave*** · 31-03-2008, 19:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt F

You can’t fool us into believing that’s a green car, matey!

At 194g/km it’s slightly less green than the not-particularly-green Golf GTi. As for it having lower emissions than most saloons, well, the new 272bhp BMW530i petrol has a CO2 of 182g/km – okay so I’ve chosen a particularly amazing example there but most 2.0 diesel saloons will be lower than 194g/km. In fact the Jag X-type with the same engine as your new Freelander has emissions of 159g/km.

Maybe not vs new cars, but put it against most 3 year old cars on the road

... especially anybody with an Auto

Offsets are offsets as well .... 45K miles carbon free miles here ... can anyone else driving now, say they are doing this

. Me, I'm saving the planet !!!!

**Sonsey** · 31-03-2008, 19:29

Where's the pics then?

***Dave*** · 31-03-2008, 19:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonsey

Where's the pics then?

Need to get it up a cliff somewhere for more dramatic shot

**Markulous** · 31-03-2008, 19:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

Need to get it up a cliff somewhere for more dramatic shot

Give me a shout and I'd like to come and watch you push it off the top (yup, I'm even prepared to bring my camera!)

**Sonsey** · 31-03-2008, 20:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

Need to get it up a cliff somewhere for more dramatic shot

That would probably be the only time it ever gets off-road

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

...And the previous one if memory serves!

P-E · 31-03-2008, 20:40

I might be a bit late to the thread but if you've not sold it already congrats on the new car (again)