Category: Small 4x4s 
Price Range: £21,295 to £34,652
Off-road ability, roomy interior, economical powertrain, good looks.
Expensive, interior feeling dated, not the sportiest on-road drive.
This Freelander offers useful fuel savings if driven correctly; it's an SUV that still makes sense.
The Land Rover Freelander 2 is a lot larger than the first-generation model - it was developed with a specific view to US sales - and it feels less agile on the road than more sports-oriented rivals, the new Audi Q5, in particular. Despite its car-derived underpinnings, shared with models including the Ford Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy - all among the sharpest drives in their respective sectors - it's a high-roofed, blocky-bodied, high-riding and heavy vehicle.
The Freelander's raison d'etre is its tried-and-tested off-road ability: though built around a car-like unibody structure, and without old-school features such as selectable high/low ratio gears or locking wheel hubs, it has a sophisticated Haldex multi-plate clutch which sends power to the rear axle on start-up and when needed, plus aids such as Hill Descent Control, Terrain Response (which adapts the front/rear torque split and stability control according to the surface conditions), hill-start assist to prevent roll-backs and a new gradient release control for a smooth getaway down a steep slope. All this stuff works: the Freelander will go where the other so-called 'soft-roaders' won't.
All these systems have been carefully integrated with the stop-start, to help guard against stalling in awkward situations or on tricky terrain. In city traffic - arguably the Freelander's most common habitat - the engine cuts out automatically when the vehicle comes to a halt, the gear lever shifted to neutral, and the clutch pedal raised. It then quickly and quietly restarts when the clutch is pressed again, in advance of the selection of first gear or reverse, unless it has not yet reached operating temperature or engine power is needed to run the air conditioning and ventilation. The entertainment, information and communications systems - audio, sat nav, Bluetooth phone - can carry on regardless.
The driver does have to make a conscious effort to lift the left foot right off the clutch pedal (the stop-start in the Mini, for example, allows the driver to rest the foot lightly on a disengaged clutch) and to select neutral if they do not usually do this anyway, but given the fuel savings and the price of diesel, this should be an easy habit to pick up and should soon become second nature. As should following the gear-changing advice on the dashboard; green arrows suggest a good time to shift up or shift down for optimum fuel consumption. The stop-start can be de-activated, though we can't see why you'd want to do this.
In free-flowing traffic and out on the open road the TD4_e engine is as before. With 158bhp and 295lb-ft of torque, it is both strong and flexible, and relatively quiet at motorway speeds, thanks to six well-set gear ratios and a comfortable overdrive-style top gear.
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