Features
Winner: SUV
The Land Rover Freelander 2 is more sophisticated and comfortable than ever, and it still rules the off-road roost
Watch video
Poor Land Rover. Whereas just about every other manufacturer has reinterpreted 'off-roader' to mean 'just about manages speed bumps but gives a nice view over the traffic', LR has always made off-roaders that actually go off-road.
But when we first saw the Freelander 2, it looked like Land Rover had finally relented to customer demand for more luxury, more smoothness and better on-road performance. The days of the utilitarian Freelander and its boorish road manners looked to be numbered.
The second generation of Land Rover's baby looked softer, somehow friendlier. Sure, it had a fair lump of Discovery styling - the clamshell bonnet, the stepped roof, the light clusters - but with its raked windscreen and curved surfaces, it also looked more car-like.
Same with the interior. Soft-touch dash, fold-flat seats - it all seemed a bit, well, car-ish.
As if to confirm our fears, it even drove properly on the road. Not quite like a sports car, obviously. But it steered and handled well, and absorbed even the biggest potholes and divots without blinking. It didn't wallow or sink - in fact, it took to the roads more like a luxury car. It was more comfortable for passengers too, with buckets more room and a proper modern cockpit.
'We took the Freelander charging through fords, up to its waist in muddy water. No complaints. Not even a sniffle'
Of course, we're not complaining about any of this. But we feared that Land Rover had compromised the Freelander's off-road ability - in essence, its very soul.
Not so. The Freelander still does the off-road thing, and does it better than just about anything bar a military tank. Perhaps the Gore-Tex headlight membranes should have given us a hint.
We tried to catch the new Freelander out. We really did. We took it charging through fords, up to its waist in muddy water. No complaints. Not even a sniffle. Land Rover has modified all that sophisticated Ford technology to run sideways, upside-down or underwater. Whatever we threw at the Freelander, it dealt with and asked for more.
The Freelander 2 proves, emphatically, that crossover doesn't mean compromise.
Don't forget: the only place to get full details of all the winners is in the Awards issue of Top Gear magazine, on sale December 13.
Read Land Rover Freelander Car Review
Land Rover Freelander road tests
Land Rover Freelander 2 - October 26, 2006
Land Rover Freelander 1.8 HSE 5dr - September 29, 2004
Land Rover Freelander facelift - September 26, 2003
Land Rover M Sport Freelander - September 1, 2003
Land Rover Freelander 2.5 V6 ES - June 1, 2002
Bookmark with:
What are these?