New Land Rover Freelander 2 first look review

Land Rover is on a roll in India and all over the world, with increasing sales and a potent line-up to scare everyone else in the market. While having just launched the new Range Rover, Land Rover is preparing to launch the face-lifted Freelander 2 in India. The Freelander is extremely important for India as its one of the best selling models while also being the most affordable way the own something with a Land Rover badge. This new Freelander is now equipped with more features and lavished with many styling enhancements which means that it is now more tempting that before. We tell you what you need to know.

New Freelander 2 design

At first look the exterior of the Freelander 2 may seem more or less similar but look on and many new details surface. The changes includes front and rear lights using the LED technology and a new signature graphic in the front running lights. This gives the Freelander a more premium look. The Freelander 2 also gets new colours in form of Aintree Green, Havana and Mauritius Blue.

Of these new colours, the new Mauritius Blue colour in particular looks great. Elsewhere the grille and fog lamp bezels now sport a bright finish and there are paint detailing changes to the front grille surround, insert bars and fender vent. There are some new shoes for the Freelander 2 with new 17-inch alloy wheels also available with the entry-level variant. Overall the Freelander has its own charm and stands out from its competition and with these styling tweaks it now looks even better with Land Rover keeping its rugged appeal intact.

New Freelander 2 interiors

The interiors see the bigger changes including a brand new centre console. Thus the original Terrain Response dial has been replaced by switches and a shutter reveals additional storage space. An optional ‘Dynamic’ theme is based on the SE models and this comes in three new colours, Ebony, Ivory or Pimento, each with matching stitching and co-ordinated door casings. Also new is the instrument cluster with a 5-inch screen displaying primary vehicle-related information, such as temperature and fuel levels, gear positions and Terrain Response mode.

A welcome introduction to the cabin is an electric parking brake which adjusts brake force according to the slope the vehicle is parked on. Passive Start which replaces the key docking system, meaning that as long as the key is somewhere inside the car, the engine starts at the touch of a button. Another new feature for Freelander 2 is the screen operated, 7-Day Timed Climate allowing you to warm up the engine before you step inside your vehicle.

Plus it does not stop at that as the new Freelander 2 also gets a rear view camera. The view from the back of the vehicle is displayed on the Infotainment screen with dynamic lines representing the boundaries of the vehicle and your predicted path as you reverse.

Just like the bigger and more expensive models in the range, the new Freelander 2 gets the brilliant Meridian audio system with a new 7-inch colour touch-screen and comes either with the the 380W, 11-speaker system or a 825W surround sound 17-speaker system. Your choice. The music players support CD, DVD, Virtual CD, iPod and USB. There’s also a 3.5mm aux jack input for music players and Bluetooth audio streaming to any supporting devices including headphones. As you can see the Freelander has truly increased its luxury quotient here. Space remains the same as before and it is a roomy and practical cabin with lots of space at the rear.

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