The first Freelander was popular, if a little flawed. Can the new version improve things? Paddy Comynreports
By now most of us will be back sitting at our desks after the Christmas festivities.
You will have already noticed one of several things. Apart from the obvious ones, such as the tighter fitting clothes, dull pain in the liver and the sort of debt that not even Bono could get rid of - you will also have noticed that the weather now turns an even angrier shade of awful.
This Christmas really saw the start of some truly horrible weather. Fog kept planes on the ground and relatives away (okay perhaps for some that was the highlight), there was the odd bout of frost where I live and some truly miserable driving conditions which are sure to get worse in the infancy of 2007.
Luckily, this Christmas, the luck of the draw meant that I was going to be tackling all this in the new Land Rover Freelander. This being the second-generation Freelander it is now called the Freelander 2, but unlike most sequels, this is far superior to the original.
The original Freelander had its day. Launched in 1997, it was one of the first of the compact SUVs and was a top-seller in Europe for five years.
However it suffered from reliability issues throughout the course of its life, least of all head gasket failures on the 1.8-litre petrol version, especially the early ones.
The model was improved for 2004 and later ones were much better, helped by a change of production from their UK Solihull plant to Halewood.
But with a dramatic increase in the desirability of the Japanese and Korean rivals - such as Toyota's Rav4 and Hyundai's Tucson and Santa Fe, the new Freelander would have to be very good indeed.
Luckily, in the years since 1997, Land Rover has become a very successful brand. Their Range Rover models and their third-generation Discovery have become desirable not only as SUVs but as luxury cars too.
There are few property developers, premiership footballers, rappers or movie stars who would be seen dead in anything other than a Range Rover, so their credibility as a brand has multiplied since the first Freelander appeared.
So it is not surprising to see that the new Freelander 2 has become something of a mini Range Rover.
This is no facelift: everything is new from the ground up, and as a result the improvements over the old model are substantial.
Firstly there is the exterior design, which is much chunkier and more aggressive than before. There are definite design clues from the Discovery and Range Rover Sport, with those front lights and that not-too-subtle grille making its presence felt.
My test car was not a subtle colour either - bright orange in fact, which was nice, but you could never really tell if people were staring at the car or were just having their retinas burnt as I drove past.
Inside, there has been a big improvement. Despite measuring just 50mm longer than before, the new model Freelander appears to have been packaged a whole lot cleverer and there feels like there is much greater space for driver and passengers.
The interior design is functional and not at all fussy, but feels upmarket. The previous Freelander felt a little down at heel compared to the other models above it but now there really is a sense of being in something a touch special.
Granted, our test car was the HSE model fitted with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos including a very simple and effective optional satellite navigation system.
There are two engines available for the Freelander 2 initially. The petrol model, which will largely be ignored in Ireland, is the 233bhp 3.2-litre i6 engine, which we have tried and is fine if that is your cup of tea.
However 99.9 per cent will more than likely go with the car we were trying, which was the all-new 2.2-litre TD4 model. With 160bhp, this is a substantial jump in power compared to the 112bhp offered by the outgoing Freelander's 2.0-litre diesel.
But if you think that is impressive, the jump in the torque figure, from 260Nm in the old diesel Freelander to a whopping 400Nm in the new diesel Freelander 2 is even more remarkable.
The performance from this engine is pretty impressive. 0-100km/h takes 11.7 seconds, which is nearly three seconds quicker than before. Top speed is 181km/h. The power delivery is smooth and instant from this new powertrain and it cruises on the motorway brilliantly.
For now, the diesel is only available with a manual gearbox, but an automatic will follow and this would seem like the one to hang on for. There is nothing wrong with the manual, in fact it is very good, but with our stupid traffic and the nature of most of our driving, getting a self-shifter seems like a much better option.
Most of the time, I get to spend a week with a car and that is often just a week of arduous commuting followed by some vague activity at the weekend.
However with the extended Christmas break I was really able to spend proper time with the Freelander and I must say that I was really impressed. It is one of those SUVs that is so easy to live with. Boot space is bigger than before (775-litres vs. 546-litres) and this made all the Christmas shopping a breeze.
And the improved interior space made transporting relatives to and from turkey dinners pretty painless too.
As with most people, I didn't attempt to go off-road, although we had been treated to this on a previous Land Rover event. Should you want to venture off-road, or just get out of a tricky, sticky situation then the full time "intelligent" 4x4 system will put power to the rear wheels when necessary.
The Freelander 2 also now features Terrain Response, standard on all but the entry model, which is a technology that has made its way down from the Discovery and Range Rover and which allows the driver to select the type of terrain that they intend to cross via a dial on the centre console and the Freelander's 4wd wizardry does the rest.
The on-road manners, which really will be the only ones that matter for most people, are first class. Land Rover claim that the Freelander is twice as stiff as its competitors and this can be felt by its handling prowess and sure-footedness through corners.
This leads us on of course, to drawing some conclusions. Prices for the new Freelander 2 start at €41,990 and that is not cheap. The HSE model we were driving is €55,100. Now if someone said to me that I could have any compact SUV on the market I would just get the Freelander, because after spending two weeks in it I can conclude that it is quite easily the best in the class.
However putting myself in the shoes of a buyer with a budget, some of the competition will also look tempting. For less than the price of an entry-level Freelander 2 (€41,495) I could have the four-wheel drive Hyundai Santa Fe, which might not have the road manners of the Freelander, but looks and feels bigger and comes with seven seats.
This makes it potentially more useful on the school run. The reliability and incredible residual values of the Toyota Rav4 would be hard to ignore too and €43,600 will get you the top-of-the-range 2.2-litre diesel Sol version of that, although you will be giving away 24bhp and 90Nm to the more potent diesel Freelander.
What the Freelander has over the competition is that it is now regarded as much more desirable than anything any rival in the price range can offer and this alone will ensure that it flies out of the showroom.
This SUV will suit a broad range of buyers from the young to the empty nesters wanting to drive something that feels rugged and substantial.
Let's just hope that it has the reliability to back up its undoubted new ability.
ENGINE: A 2,179cc 4-cylinder diesel engine offering 160bhp and 400Nm of torque
SPECIFICATION: There are driver and passenger front airbags, front side airbags, full-length curtain airbags and a driver's knee airbag.
HSE model gets 18" alloys, climate control, leather seats and wheel, Memory seats, Hi-ICE 6-disc CD changer with 9-speakers, Satellite navigation is optional, Xenon-lights are standard, Panoramic sunroof as fitted to test car is optional. Metallic Paint is optional.
L/100km (MPG)
Urban: 9.2 (30.6)
Extra-urban: 6.2 (45.5)
Combined: 7.5 (37.7)
CO2 emissions: 194 g/km
Annual road tax: €722
Price: €55,100 (€41,990 - €55,100)