Land Rover Freelander Review

Land Rover Freelander

In the past I have not given heated windscreens much thought bar the fact that you can see the heating elements and that is a bit annoying. Not too dissimilar to the TV logos are the top of the screen, you soon forgotten they are there but as soon as you notice them they interfere with your picture. But as overnight temperatures hit minus three the benefits are soon apparent as it took a little over two minutes to completely clear a frozen front screen of ice.

The horn is difficult to use as you have to search for the two bars on the steering wheel also on the steering wheel there are the controls for the cruise control and audio functions.

We were particularly fond of the optional Adaptive Bi-Xenon Front Lights, at £995 they are not cheap, but they work well swivelling with the direction of travel aiding you to see further into and around bends.  And of course being Bi-Xenon’s they gave a brighter light with a further reach than conventional halogen bulbs, which is particularly beneficial if you live in the country. We also liked that from the remote control that you switch the headlights on to help guide you back to the car at night. There are puddle lights in the front doors and lights under the door mirrors to help guide you.

We were limited off road to crossing our neighbour’s farm tracks which is probably more than most people want to subject their Freelander to. Off road we were able to use the Freelander’s excellent Terrain Response system. Land Rover quote that it is  “Like having an off-road expert to assist.”, well you can still do daft things to get yourself stuck  - it  does not prevent that but it can certainly help you tackle some sticky situations. The Freelander 2 has four Terrain Response settings which the driver can choose via a rotary control:

1. General Driving  - provides a broad span of ability suitable for most on-road driving and easier off-road conditions - which you would normally select for every day driving.
2. Grass/Gravel/Snow - for slippery conditions, on-road or off-road.
3. Mud and Ruts - forest tracks, green laning and field.
4. Sand - for beach and desert conditions.

Each of the settings makes best use of the Freelander 2’s armoury of electronic and mechanical controls to suit the chosen terrain.  And it works very well, especially if you have limited off road experience  - for example, when using the Mud and Ruts setting on the worst of farm tracks -  it helped us maintain steady progress limiting the amount of slip and throttle responses.

Amongst the Freelander’s armoury you will find: - Dynamic Stability Control (DSC): which is designed to help stop torque to a wheel after loss of traction, but in some off-road situations torque feed is still desirable, even when traction is being lost. Terrain Response automatically adjusts the DSC so that appropriate torque is maintained.

Electronic Traction Control and Anti-lock Brakes: these slip and braking control systems are all adjusted and tuned by Terrain Response to offer optimum grip, braking power and safety on the chosen terrain.

Hill Descent Control (HDC): the latest generation of the award-winning Land Rover technology that automatically restricts speed downhill, using the anti-lock brakes, and improves driver control on slippery descents. HDC is automatically engaged on appropriate Terrain Response programme's. Downhill speed rates vary according to which surface is selected.

Land Rover Freelander