Freelander gets make-up and fancies

Pretty, but the price tag might make you blink.

The silver in Land Rover's case comes in the form of the brand's new logo on which the gold trim has been replaced by silver and which the revamped Freelander is the first to wear.

So, if one believes in omens, miracles and folk tales then this touch of silver might help to boost Freelander sales, which have been at low ebb for years.

One of the biggest obstacles the Freelander has to overcome is the formidable opposition it faces in a market crowded with toughies such as X1 and X3 Beemers, Audi Q5, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Jeep Cherokee, Nissan X-Trail, Renault Koleos, Volvo XC60, Kia Sorento, Subaru Forester, Honda CRV, the Volkswagen Tiguan and Toyota RAV4

Nevertheless, in its favour, it is a good-looking and highly capable off-roader, even though it is pricier than some of the opposition.

Those darn perceptions

However, the main problem with Freelander in this country is public perception. Mention Land Rover anywhere where the faw-ba-faw blue beards gather around a braai fire with a "Klippies" and coke in hand, and the eyebrows will start lifting and the derogatory comments will flow if the model under discussion is anything but the die-hard, tough as Africa, Defender.

Say the words Discovery or Freelander and the two-tone khaki shirt brigade will splutter in their brandy with slag-offs such as "mummy taxi," "fancy-pants pavement parker," "buy two so that you can drive one while the other one is in the workshop...."

It's very roomy, but for longer trips and a full load you may want a trailer or roof rack.

The reality is that both the Discovery and the Freelander during their earlier stages did have a reputation for glitches (often electronic) and so-so service levels. However, much of that is now history says Land Rover.

Yet the image sticks and figures show that the Freelander loiters right down at the second-lowest sales level against its main competitors.

Whether the smartened up, nip-and-tucked Freelander is going to improve its popularity rating is debatable.

The slightly upgraded Freelander (it is not an entirely new vehicle) was unveiled to the local Motoring Media during a two-day ride-and-drive in KZN/Natal recently.

The route took us along pleasant stretches of undulating gravel roads through the beautiful Natal Midlands and also long stretches of tar road, but, rather disappointingly, not included in the drive was a proper off-road section to evaluate the Freelander's climbing and crawling abilities.

A little wiggle here and there - but watch the cornering

It's been a while since I drove a Freelander so it was a bit tricky to compare the old with the latest version.

Certainly the ride on smooth black stuff is comfortable, quiet and fairly luxurious and it gallops along with impressive enthusiasm. The cabin has lots of space although with four aboard plus all their luggage for a spell in the bush a trailer or roof rack would probably be essential.

Although the fancy Land Rover felt completely at home on the tar, on the gravel it felt a tad skittish and was inclined to wiggle its bum when pushed a bit hard along bad patches, but then sensible off-roaders won't be flying along at a zillion kilometres an hour, so they would probably hardly ever get to experience this.

During normal, safe, economical and practical driving stints the Freelander was relaxed and easy to drive.

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One quirky thing about the ride is the vehicle's rather strange steering which in corners starts off a bit lazy and unresponsive and then tends to kick in and becomes markedly sharper, even jerky.

On more than one occasion we also noticed that the vehicle struggled to hold its 120km/h speed set via cruise control, particularly on downhill runs.

Land Rover says it has "substantially upgraded" its 2.2 turbo diesel engine, sharpened up the exterior and made the cabin more attractive.

The 2.2 litre turbo diesel is available with either a 110kW TD4 engine or a 140kW SD4 variant. In both derivatives, the engine kicks out 420Nm of torque (20Nm more than the outgoing models) whilst reducing fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

Our test car was the 140kW SD4 with a six-speed automatic which now brags with exterior design changes such as a new front bumper and grille set-up, new alloy wheels and a range of new trendy colours.

Tweaked for better economy

The engine has a new variable geometry turbocharger and has been re-calibrated to deliver better performance but the technical details are much too complicated to go into detail here, so best you ask your nearest Land Rover dealer to talk you through it.

What is worth noting is Land Rover's claim that its tweaks have resulted in "a substantial difference to refinement and economy", reduced engine noise levels, reduced emissions of 185g/km (a 14% improvement) and a cut in fuel consumption down to 7litres/100km.

There are airbags for Africa for the occupants' protection - and lots of room too.

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The manufacturer says it has also improved the vehicle's 0-100km/h dash speed to 9.5 seconds and its top speed to 190km/h.

I like automatics in off-roaders and the Freelander's improved version is smooth and displayed no irritating hunt-and-search vices on our drive.

Land Rover says the most significant change in the oily bits is the "advanced neutral control logic" which reduces drag when the vehicle is stationary in Drive and the engine is at idle.

Tray bang

While not actually selecting neutral in this mode, drive load is substantially reduced to save fuel. The calibration of the transmission has also been revised to reduce torque converter slip. It retains Land Rover's Terrain Response features, CommandShift and adaptive shifting.

Also new is a structural undertray to protect the underside of the vehicle. Renowned for collecting scratches, dents and damage, the new undertray is perhaps one of the reasons why Land Rover didn't include an off-road excursion during the Media event.

The most noticeable cosmetic applications are a new front bumper assembly with new front fog lamp bezels and quite an imposing new-look grille.

The living quarters of the redecorated Freelander can now be furnished with stylish cloth trim or a new fabric and Napoli leather. There are also now colour combination offerings such as ebony, tan and ivory with matching door casings and fascia finish options in silver, element Black and dark chestnut.

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New outside colours have been added to the range and our test vehicle looked good in bling-bling black.

Safety is enhanced by a high riding position, seven airbags (two curtain, two front, two thorax and a driver's knee bag) and the transverse engine mounting which not only frees up interior space but offers impressive crash performance, helping the Freelander to achieve a 5-star Euro NCAP rating.

Nice looks, but...

So, what you have is a spruced-up Freelander (which still carries the baggage of low sales volumes and a so-so reputation) that looks good, drives quietly and comfortably and is reputedly highly capable off-road, but comes with a smoking price tag of R489 995, not many emotional fire-lighters, and a wide and serious list of contenders with whom to do battle.

And if the green and gold Land Rover logo was not enough to push up the Freelander's sales I won't put too much money on the latest dollied-up model's green and silver combo to do the job, in spite of its pretty looks and new bells and whistles.

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