Land Rover Freelander 2 Road Test

Land Rover Freelander

The layout of the driver’s area is functional and works well ergonomically. The basic centre console houses the climate controls and single CD/radio controls. This sound system has six speakers and the GS has the same but with auxiliary control on the rake and reach steering wheel. Choosing the XS gains an Alpine stereo system with nine speakers plus a telephone integration system while the SE and HSE come with a full-colour touch-screen for audio, Satellite-Navigation and various other functions, together with an integrated, 6-CD autochanger. The only difference between the last two is that the HSE has Dolby Pro-Logic 2 surround sound. A DVD entertainment system is also available as an option.

Within the spacious cabin, there is plenty of room for five passengers and those that sit at the back have a better view of the world as they sit slightly higher than the front occupants. The electric sunroof, which is standard on the SE and HSE, makes the cabin feel light an airy.

The Freelander 2 is quite a load-lugger, too - there’s 755-litres of space in the boot with the rear seats in place and with them neatly folded away, the capacity increases to 1,670-litres.

Clearly, in the creation of the Freelander 2, it was Land Rover’s intention to make the car less of a workhorse and more of a premium 4x4 and they have certainly achieved this without any loss of capability and quite a large increase in comfort. I’ll end by repeating myself; don’t think Freelander, think mini Range Rover.