Used Land Rover Freelander 2 review

Liked by Europeans if largely ignored by Australians, the original Land Rover Freelander (1998-2007) was a compact, vaguely capable crossover SUV, a mould-breaker for its maker as its first vehicle of monocoque construction. Built in five- or funky three-door Hardback and Softback guises, it was a forerunner of the small, upmarket SUV set, well before Euro rivals had a similar crack, and would eventually, spiritually, be reborn as the Range Rover Evoque.

But its successor, the Freelander 2, was a hard-left departure you almost wonder how the namesake carried over. All-new, five-door only and largely aping the styling – and some of the vibe – of its pricier and more lavish Defender and (Range Rover) Discovery stablemates, the ‘2’ was less a hard, youthful departure and pitched more as a ‘real’ and mature Land Rover wagon, scaled down a bit on size and price.

Under its skin, the Freelander 2 sits on a modified version of Ford’s EUCD mid-sized platform shared with everything from Mondeo to a slew of Volvo models, a transverse-engine design capable of front- or all-wheel drive. Built in China, India and Jordan, the Freelander 2s sold Down Under were sourced from Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood, UK, assembly plant.

Launched in June 2007, the Freelander two offered a choice of two engines: a Volvo-sourced 3.2-litre naturally aspirated six good for 171kW and 317Nm or a 2.2-litre turbodiesel four, outputting 118kW and 400Nm, from PSA (Peugeot Citroen). Initially, all Aussie variants we fitted with a six-speed torque-convertor automatics.

While the original Freelander was panned for being an off-road pretender, the ‘2’ fitted four-wheel drive technically related to that used in Discovery 3. Its four-mode Terrain Response system, developed with Haldex, was augmented with hill descent control, gradient release and roll stabilisation trickery. No low-range, but the Freelander 2 has proven itself to be pretty handy nevertheless off the beaten path.

In terms of variant choice, the range initially kicked off at just under $50k for the petrol (called Si6) SE trim with the oiler engine (called Td4) wanting for a $2500 premium. The step up to the full-fruit HSE was six grand extra for either powertrain choice. In late 2009, the strangely named, stripped back Td4_e arrived, on an MY10 plate, to add an oiler-only six-speed-manual choice for the off-roading lovers for a thrifty $46k.

A new wide-grille facelift arrived in late 2010 for MY21 and with it the range got quite a few updates. A third variant, called XS, arrived right around here as a new cut-priced entry version (albeit the same price as original SE).

It also brought an expanded choice of two diesel engines, a revised Td4 tune good for 110kW and 420Nm as well as a more-powerful SD4 trim offering an extra 30kW (140kW total) if with the same peak torque.

The SD4 oiler heartbeat would be used as a premium sweetened for variants such as the flagship (circa-$69k) HSE Luxury and the XS Sport Edition ($60k). The Sport Edition, with its more Tarmac-centric sport body kit and 19-inch wheels, could also be had in 3.2 petrol form, albeit without the output and performance hike enjoyed by the diesel version.

In late 2012 (for MY13), the ‘Si4’ engine arrived, a Rover-sourced 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injected petrol four outputting 177kW and 340Nm, sent the 3.2-litre Volvo engine packing from the range.
Despite some critical acclaim and plenty of devotee owners, the FreeLander 2 became increasingly overshadowed in its lifecycle by a groundswell of premium German mid-sized SUVs that buyers, who weren’t interested in multi-terrain capabilities, were flocking more towards.

Closer to home, the Range Rover Evoque was, from 2011, wooing the trendsetters. And, with Freelander 2 departed in 2015, a new Land Rover Discovery Sport slotted in neatly as the logical, luxury five-door wagon replacement.