Land Rover Freelander

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Land Rover Freelander

Manufacturer	Land Rover
Parent company	Ford Motor Company
Production	1996–
Assembly	Solihull, England (1996-2006) Halewood, England (2007-present)
Class	Compact luxury crossover SUV
Similar	BMW X3

First generation

Production	1996-2006
Body style	2-door SUV 4-door SUV
Engine	2.5 L V6 (174 hp)
Transmission	5-speed automatic
Wheelbase	101.0 in.
Length	174.1 in.
Width	71.2 in.
Height	72.0 in.

Second generation

Production	2007–
Body style	4-door SUV
Engine	3.2L 230hp I6
Transmission	6-speed automatic
Wheelbase	104.7 in
Length	177.2 in
Width	75.2 in
Height	68.5 in

The Land Rover Freelander, recently re-named the Land Rover LR2 in North America, is a compact, four-wheel drive, crossover SUV from British Land Rover, a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company.

[edit] Freelander 1: The first generation

The first and last production first-generation Freelanders

The Freelander, wholly designed by the Rover Group after early talks of a co-operation with BMW resulted in disinterest from the German side. Despite this, BMW secretly proceeded with their BMW X3, inspired by the Freelander prototype. It came off the production line in late 1997. It rapidly became the best selling compact 4x4 in Europe, out selling the BMW X3, as well as many other small "off-roaders".

There are a variety of models, based around 5-door Station Wagon and 3-door Softback, Hardback and Commercial versions.

Engine choices include:

1.8-litre Rover K-Series petrol (1997-2006), badged as '1.8i'
2.0-litre Rover L-series diesel (1997-2001), badged as 'Di'
2.0-litre BMW TD4 diesel (2001-2006), badged as 'TD4'
2.5-litre Rover KV6 petrol (2001-2006), badged as 'V6'

Manual gearboxes dominated the early models but automatic Tiptronic-style gearboxes became increasingly popular, and were standard on the V6.

The marketing puts much emphasis on the offroad heritage of the Land Rover marque. While the first-generation Freelander is quite capable off-road, earning its credentials in the Camel Trophy and Land Rover G4 Challenge it represents a compromise. It does not have a low range gear selection nor a locking differential, as found on larger Land Rover models.

It was, however, the first Land Rover to feature hill descent control. This system, plus the capable off road Traction Control system uses the ABS to control individual brakes and keep driving under control in offroad situations.

The 1.8i Series models, although having a generally good build quality, has suffered greatly from premature blowing of the head gasket, in many cases prior to 30,000 miles. Land Rover has insisted that this is not a design fault and did not attempt a recall. There is documentary evidence here at the protest site www.freelanderheadgasket.co.uk. [1]

[edit] Freelander 2: Second generation

The new Freelander 2 debuted at the 2006 British International Motor Show. While the new model retains the Freelander nameplate in Europe, it will be marketed as LR2 in North America (mirroring the marketing of the new third-generation Land Rover Discovery as LR3). Preceding the official debut, a private presentation at the Kensington Roof Gardens was held for journalists, featuring celebrity tennis player Maria Sharapova. [2] The new "2008" LR2 will be sold in the United States for a base price of US$34,700.

The second generation Freelander is based on the Ford EUCD platform, which itself is based on the Ford C1 platform. The EUCD platform is also used by the new Ford Galaxy, Ford S-MAX and Volvo S80, and will be used by more upcoming vehicles from Ford and Volvo. The engine range is all-new for Freelander, featuring transversely-mounted 3.2 I6 engine of the Volvo SI6 series, which first debuted in the new Volvo S80, as well as the 2.2 DW12 common rail turbo diesel engine, co-developed by Ford and PSA.

Unlike previous Land Rovers, this car will be manufactured alongside the Jaguar X-Type at Halewood, near Liverpool. The new Freelander features improved ground clearance and promises greater off-road capabilities, closer to other Land Rover models and significantly above those of rivals such as BMW and Audi [3]. It has a much improved quality interior with more features as standard.