Freelander powers up

The new Land Rover Freelander 2 is bigger and more powerful than its predecessor, but will cost more.

Land Rover's taken the breed further upmarket with the latest Freelander, to be revealed at next week's British Motor Show. It's the company's biggest jump up the ladder yet, with this entry-level car leaping in size, in power - and in price.

Which gives the distributor a bit of a problem. Call the new car Freelander 2 - and have potential customers imagine the smaller, plainer, outgoing vehicle? Or tag it LR2, as will the American market, thus deterring present Freelander owners who want a replacement?

That debate masks the real problem - though it launches worldwide next March, New Zealand won't get the car until May. "Eighty per cent of our sales are diesel," says Wallis Dumper, managing director of Motorcorp Distributors Ltd, "and though the petrol version will launch in March, they haven't confirmed a diesel production date."

That diesel is an all-new 2.2-litre unit sourced from the PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) group lauded for its diesel technology.

At 118kW it offers 43 per cent more power than the outgoing unit, plus enough torque to stop a bull elephant, the 400Nm obtained courtesy of a Honeywell Garrett variable nozzle turbine turbocharger tuned for low-speed response, mid-range torque and top-end power.

Forget the details, just remember that 200Nm of that torque's on tap anywhere from 1000 to 4500rpm, and you can wow your mates with the transient overboost.

Need a quick burst for efficient overtaking? The overboost's magic wand briefly increases turbo pressure to deliver a short-lived performance hike. It's not surprising, then, that this car is 2.7 seconds quicker in the 0-100 sprint than the outgoing version.

All that performance sounds thirsty, but Land Rover says not, claiming a 7.5l/100km consumption figure.

The diesel-fuelled engine will be mated to a six-speed manual or a six-speed CommandShift auto, both developed specifically for a blend of road and off-road work.

The petrol car will get only the auto transmission. This 3.2-litre in-line six is shared with Volvo, and puts out 171kW and 317Nm of torque for a 0-100kph time of 8.8 seconds. It'll drink more fuel than the diesel, but with a claimed 11.2l/100km thirst it's 10 per cent more frugal than its V6 predecessor.

Land Rover says adopting a compact in-line format and mounting it transversely improved cabin space.

So what has it done with that space? Made a mini Range Rover Sport by the look of it, complete with terrain response dial.

The extra room is emphasised by the glass areas and the stadium seating so popular with back-seat passengers of the Discovery - the rear pew slightly higher than the front to improve the view. There's 38 per cent more luggage space too, with 755 litres when all seats are in use.

That bigger body carries styling cues like the clamshell bonnet over from the old car and links to both Discovery and Range Rover Sport siblings. The five-door monocoque structure is torsionally stiff, and rides on a fully independent suspension setup.

The best news comes when you head into the rough. The old, smaller Freelander was very much a soft-roader, turning its nose up at anything too rough and mucky. But this car plans to take a leaf from Discovery's book.

The fulltime intelligent 4x4 system is a development of the one in Discovery, and incorporates gradient release control to assist traction on steep and slippery slopes. There's also a full battery of electronic safety aids like traction control, dynamic stability control and hill descent control, with the latest ABS braking system linked to EBD, brake assist and corner brake control.

Land Rover's hoping the car's on-road dynamics, assisted by the electronic barrage, will give owners as fuss-free an on-road experience as it is off-road, where the terrain response dial takes all the guesswork out of setting the car up for the ground you're covering.

Also familiar from Discovery will be the keyless start heading the long specification list. New Zealand cars will sit firmly in the premium slot, with Wallis Dumper aiming for one specification level and two engine options, all at the same price.

Meanwhile, Freelander's steroid diet begs the question: will a smaller Landie slot in beneath it? Dumper says not.

"Does Land Rover even need a smaller car? Freelander struggled most when it was up against the Japanese price-fighters."

He says a smaller Landie would only work if it stuck to the premium end of the scale.

"Land Rover is the SUV you buy because you can, not because it's cheapest."

That would explain the price then, which will rise by at least $10,000, putting it smack in BMW X3 territory. Twenty four baby Bimmers were sold this year - two fewer than the outgoing Freelander, now a rare breed with only five left in the country.

What will this car mean for the brand? Land Rover already achieved record worldwide sales last year, and this year they're up 15 per cent year to date - or around 17 per cent in New Zealand, thanks mainly to the new Discovery 3 and Range Rover Sport.

With Freelander likely to further lift Land Rover's game, it looks like fertile years ahead for the Brit-based brand.