Thread: Freelander 2 - First Drive Petrol & Diesel.

Morning all,
Yes the Freelander 2 has arrived.
I have just spent a few days in Northen NSW/Queensland for the release
of the new vehicle.
It is a VERY surprising new vehicle, both build quaility wise &
outright performance v fuel economy.

We started out at Kingscliff Peppers resort & did the normal full day
playing with the vehicle & getting used to how things work & what comes
standard & whats an extra etc. (Lawrance the fuel flap does lock!)
Pricing starts at $49,990 & you get a fair amount of standard equipment
compared to anything in the same class.
To start this is the first vehicle in its class to be awarded the 5 star
(highest) ENCAP & ANCAP safety crash ratings. It is also awarded the
highest child seat rating which is a 4 star(doesnt go to 5 for some
strange reason), So for safety it is a very good vehicle, Excellent
really.
Leather seating, 6 disc in dash cd player, MP3 auxuilary jack in centre
console, power fold mirrors (when vehicle locks mirrors fold
automatically), steering wheel controls for stereo, cruise control,
full size spare wheel, fog lights, 6 speed auto with command shift(3
mode-auto, sport & tiptronic), fold down armrests, full electrics incl
seats & windows,Dynamic stability conytrol DSC, terrain response 4
modes only-normal road, grass gravel snow, mud ruts & sand, 7 airbags(2
frontal 2 side 2 head curtain-full length- & 1 knee, HDC, ABS, RSC,
EBD, ETC, CBC, Gradient Release Control GRC(will explain later) & other
acronyms to confuse us more..hehe!
Even though the acronyms we have on our D2's some come from the D3 &
are all used in the vehicle purposely.
This is all standard on the base model.....
Everything in the vehicle fits & works well, i actually had trouble
trying to find any faults..it was hard & my only complaint is that the
centre console rear section there is only a twin cup holder
arrangement, it would of been nice to have something to store valuables
in apart from the glovebox. That was it..nothing else.

3.2ltr I6, inline 6Cylinder, Transversely mounted. 171kW, 317Nm.
SE $49,990, HSE $55,990
2.2ltr TD4, inline 4Cylinder, Transversely mounted. 118kW, 400Nm.
SE $51,990, HSE $57,990
Both prices do not include on roads etc as they differ from state to
state.
Both engines have more power than the motors they replace, they also
both have better CO2 emissions. Good for the planet.

The drive we took this time was from Kingscliff to Siromet Winery just
south of Brisbane. The drive from Kingscliff was through some nice
winding roads past sugarcane & lots of farms etc, was very pleasant.
The roads were sealed but the vehicle handled superbly. There was
driver swap & then the drive continued to the winery where there was an
offroad course set up for us to take the vehicle through. I was eager
to do this to see what the vehicle is really capable of.
The course consisted of a dash drive on dirt quickly & then a
articulation section which was beter suited to the D3..but the FL2
hadled it with ease, next was a few rugged & strategically placed
potholes & some wash aways that were deep. The FL2 did it all with ease
again, the newer generation TC & HDC is amazing. Next was a rocky trail
which was not to hard. Then the fun..A few climbs & descents, the first
was a climb about 100m at about 30degrees & both vehicle just easily
walked up from idle, next was a chance to use HDC properly on a descent
at about 40degrees. Worked a treat. Then a rathr steep climb that wasnt
to long, probably 20m at about 45degrees maybe a atd steeper, the
petrol needed a little momentum, just a little & the diesel well i just
love diesels, from a standstill it went up with a little power being
fed to the ecu, traction control is great..This then went into a 2
stage drop where we got to trial the new Gradient Release Control, this
works like this..Front of vehicle just drops below the track & vehicle
points downward & thye yaw sensor picks this, push the brake pedal
firmly to the floor & then release, the vehicle will be held & brake
pressure released slowly & vehicle travels slowly down the hill & at
the same time HDC working its magic. The 2nd generation of HDC works
like the big brothers D3 & RRS instantly.
The rest of the trip was a little mud etc & then a test of the DSC &
ABS systems. All in all a great small vehicle with the Land Rover
badge. Its a safe vehicle that handles well & drives brilliantly.
Fuel consumption is rated at (On the vehicle) 11.4 for combined driving
style for the petrol & 8.4 for the diesel.
We had the diesel for most the day including the fun & hard stuff at
7.7 & the petrol we had constantly under 10.
If u are after a smaller safe vehicle for the wife of yourself drop
into a dealer & have a drive, You will be surprised.

p.s Scouse good to meet you finally

Originally Posted by camel_landy

TD4 Auto....

Assuming thats the new toy, you lucky bastard