2002 Land Rover Freelander - On an Alternate Mission
A Land Rover with an independent suspension? All-wheel drive instead of 4WD? Where's the aluminium body panels? What's going on here? OK, I'll admit it. When it comes to 4-wheel drive icons, I'm a bit of an elitist. I've experienced classic Land Rovers eat up and spit out the most hostile terrain. Heck, even the luxurious new Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover models are virtually unstoppable when the going gets tough. In comparison, the independently sprung, all-steel, AWD Freelander seems like a lightweight. Land Rover stands for off-road dominance, not slalom course finesse, right?
It's true that the little Land Rover seems to be headed on an alternate mission when compared to its larger, tougher siblings? The Freelander's accurate rack-and-pinion steering, agile suspension and rigid chassis result in better than average road manners combined with fairly decent off-road capabilities. But hold on! The Freelander is supposed to be a compromise SUV, offering better handling for less 4x4 ability, right? After checking some independent* road test results, 300-foot skidpad lateral acceleration tests show that the Discovery bests the Freelander at 0.74 g's to 0.71 respectively. What gives?
Truly, such tests are objective in nature and don't relate a vehicles actual driving experience. To me, the Freelander turns in crisper than the average truck-based sport utility, yet is not quite as agile as the best car-based SUVs. Out on the open road it displays a comfortable ride, with exemplary high-speed stability. Braking is much better than average too, due to four-channel ABS. Unfortunately, its athletic nature disappears when coaxing it through a tight parking garage. Its steering becomes cumbersome and throttle labours as though the parking brake is on.
A Land Rover with an independent suspension? All-wheel drive instead of 4WD? Where's the aluminium body panels? What's going on here? OK, I'll admit it. When it comes to 4-wheel drive icons, I'm a bit of an elitist. I've experienced classic Land Rovers eat up and spit out the most hostile terrain. Heck, even the luxurious new Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover models are virtually unstoppable when the going gets tough. In comparison, the independently sprung, all-steel, AWD Freelander seems like a lightweight. Land Rover stands for off-road dominance, not slalom course finesse, right?
It's true that the little Land Rover seems to be headed on an alternate mission when compared to its larger, tougher siblings? The Freelander's accurate rack-and-pinion steering, agile suspension and rigid chassis result in better than average road manners combined with fairly decent off-road capabilities. But hold on! The Freelander is supposed to be a compromise SUV, offering better handling for less 4x4 ability, right? After checking some independent* road test results, 300-foot skidpad lateral acceleration tests show that the Discovery bests the Freelander at 0.74 g's to 0.71 respectively. What gives? Truly, such tests are objective in nature and don't relate a vehicles actual driving experience. To me, the Freelander turns in crisper than the average truck-based sport utility, yet is not quite as agile as the best car-based SUVs. Out on the open road it displays a comfortable ride, with exemplary high-speed stability. Braking is much better than average too, due to four-channel ABS. Unfortunately, its athletic nature disappears when coaxing it through a tight parking garage. Its steering becomes cumbersome and throttle labours as though the parking brake is on.