Land Rover Freelander 2 SE

Freelander 2 SE Review

The Land Rover Freelander is a compact SUV made by Land Rover. The car was first launched in the 1997 in the international market and since them it has lured a many SUV buyers. The car got a facelift in 2006 at the British International Motor Show. This SUV is designed when designed the main points that were kept in mind were that the car must have looks similar to the Discovery 3 and the Range Rover Sport. The hood and the roof where the exterior features that this model carries from its elder sibling. The company has given chrome finish at number of places to make this car look more attractive and leave an impression at the onlooker. The car at present is available in the market in two variants which are Land Rover Freelander 2 SE and the Land Rover Freelander 2 HSE both with the diesel engine. It is expected that the company will soon launch the third variant of this model which is the 2013 Freelander and would be placed above both these variants. The car is powered by a 2.2L TD4 turbo diesel engine that produces 147.9bhp of power and 420Nm of torque. It is fitted with an updated six speed automatic transmission with commandshift as standard. This SUV has a fuel economy of 12.39kmpl which is pretty good if compared to the other SUV's available in the market at this price. The Land Rover Freelander 2 is not just sporty and appealing to the eye but is also a very safe car to drive in. It has scored the best in class during the Euro NCAP crash tests. The car is so well engineered that it safeguards the occupants in the maximum possible way during head-on impact. There is a first in class airbag to protect the driver’s thighs as well which proves that such a situation would be less fatal. The Land Rover Freelander 2 in total gets 7 airbags standard on all variants. Freelander 2 is a very successfully scaled downed version of the full size range rover from the front with its distinctive design. The deep cut crystal like headlamps upfront give maximum road visibility at night and look magnificent in the day as well. And not to forget, the grill gets the typical Land Rover badging which defines what the quality of the car is. The Freelander 2 has a 4WD system that is more biased towards off-road driving than on-road abilities.

Exterior

The exterior of the car totally amazing and just from the looks one can speak of the performance that this car can deliver. As expected from the Land Rover, the company do always do what they are best at, that is they built the best 4WD car. The main attractions would be heated exterior mirrors with electric adjustments, power fold and puddle lamp, both the front and the rear bumpers are in body color which enhances the sportiness of the car. In the front there are Xenon projector headlamps in the curvy- rectangular shape, these headlamps has an adaptive Xenon feature which adjusts the intensity depending on the lightning conditions. There is a sunroof on the Land Rover Freelander 2 which is full size. On the sunroof there is an electric sliding front glass and a fixed glass panoramic roof. The headlamps are automatic and there are also rain sensing wipers that come as standard. The Freelander 2 is 4500mm in overall length. It has a wheelbase of 2660mm. The height of the car is 1740mm. The Freelander TD4-SE and the SD4-HSE both weigh 2505 kg.

Interior

The interior of the car are of very high quality and give a soothing effect to the eye. The car provides space in abundance thanks to generous head, shoulder and legroom. It has command driving position which gives greater visibility ahead and of the surrounding environment as well as adding to the driver's control and feeling of security. The rear end has a 60/40 design that allows you to fold the rear seats and provides a generous load space. The car also has a leather steering wheel to make the front look more attractive. The other standard ones in this car are Map pockets, auxiliary 12V power sockets in the front, rear and load space, front and rear carpet mats, load space cover, rear center armrest with storage, smokers pack and interior rear view mirror with manual dipping.

Engine Performance

The car is powered by a 2.2 Liter TD4 turbo diesel engine which has CRDI fuel supply system . The engine has a compression ratio of 16.5:1 and a bore x stroke of 85 x 96mm. The engine is capable of generating a power of 147.9bhp at the rate of 400rpm and a torque of 420Nm at the rate of 1750rpm. The engine comes mated with a 6 speed automatic transmission with commandshift. The transmission also has a sport mode that makes your drive more livelier. The engine can readily accelerate the car from 0-100kmph in just 11.2 seconds and can touch a maximum speed of 181kmph which is also amazing.

Braking and Handling

For effective braking the car has in it ventilated disc brakes in the front and drum brakes at the rear. It also has ABS( Anti Lock Braking system) with EBD that avoids the skidding of the car in case of instant braking. For handling the car has in it power steering with tilted steering column providing a small turning radius. It also has features like Hill Descent Control(HDC) that engages with the release of the foot brake and improves control on steep or slippery descents. Working in conjunction with HDC, Land Rover's Gradient Release Control (GRC) ensures smooth hill starts, through progressive release of the brakes, whether ascending or descending.

Safety Features

For the safety of the passengers the car has in it both the advanced and the standard safety features. The advanced ones are the ABS with EBD to avoid skidding of the car, front, rear and side airbags, remote central locking with drive away locking, Perimetric alarm, EBA or the Emergency Brake Assist and Two ISOFIX child seat anchorage points. The standard ones are the front and rear seat belts, day and night rear view mirror, seat belt warning, impact beams, engine immobilizer, crash sensor and the others.

Comfort Features

As this is a high price luxury SUV so it has all the comfort features that an interested buyer would think of. The car has a multi function steering wheel that allows the drive to access various features of the car directly. With the front and rear power windows we can open or close the window with a single touch of the button. The SUV also has Seat Lumbar Support and Cruise control.

Pros: looks, environment friendly engine, performance

Cons: Comfort features.