Land Rover Freelander 2

The next-generation Land Rover Freelander has come a long way – a bit like the Discovery. Gone are the tawdry finishes and the feeling that it might break at any second, to be replaced by solidity, quality and a feeling that this is more baby Range Rover than grown-up donkey cart.

• Comfort

  Despite the ‘practical' origins of many Land Rovers, the Freelander is very comfy. It can eliminate lumps and bumps, though it does get a little confused by small, regular irregularities and the steering's a bit light. Other than that, it's a great daily hack.

  

• Performance

  A pair of mills get to power the new 'Lander and it's a straight choice between petrol V6 or turbodiesel four. The V6 is a Volvo-sourced 3.2-litre with 230bhp and 233lb ft giving a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds and a top speed of 124mph. Those numbers are OK, but the fuel consumption of 25.2mpg really isn't. Which is why you'll probably be more interested in the 2.2-litre diesel; 0-62mph in 10.9 and 112mph, and 37.7mpg.

  

• Cool

  Not cool as such, but respectable.

  

• Quality

  New vs. old Freelander is a bit like Jessica Alba vs. Sam Fox. They might have a similar remit, but they're pretty much unrecognisable in the way they go about it. The new Freelander is quieter, more refined and, so far, infinitely more reliable than the old car. And having some Discovery/Range Rover genes floating around the interior certainly help with the feeling of quality.

  

• Handling

  The Freelander draws on Land Rover's experience of making an SUV acceptable for tarmac use and actually goes some way beyond that. It has both a decent ride quality and an ability to drive reasonably hard without falling off at the first hint of a corner. A bit of understeer, but not too much.

  

• Practicality

  The boot is about a billion times bigger than the old model (it's actually up 38percent, but that's loads), and there's plenty of room up front. Not so much legroom in the rear but under six-footers should be fine. Seats down and the Freelander has 1670litres of stowspace to play with - not bad, but the high load floor may put you off.

  

• Running costs

  Only the diesel makes financial sense with its much higher mpg figure over the V6 petrol and it also has reasonably low C02 emissions for an SUV. Residuals are so far good, but insurance is on the pricey side.