PortlandRL

People seemed to like my little "reviewlet" on the Porsche Cayenne V6 and a couple asked if I could post more. Here is one of many I've written and it covers the 2008 Land Rover LR2. I sent this review off to Car and Driver hoping for a job. Apparently it wasn't good enough because I never heard back from them. Regardless, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.


When it was introduced to Europe in 1998, the Land Rover Freelander instantly became the best selling compact SUV on the other side of the pond. It had the Land Rover badge, a scrappy personality, a comfortable interior, and a size bracket that was distinctively smaller than most other offerings of the time. Cut straight to 2002 to when the Freelander was sent stateside. American buyers yawned, snapping up only 15,000 of them in that first year, its best selling year here, mind you. Despite its European popularity, the Freelander was a rough dog with serious refinement and even more dreadful reliability issues. Being the last vehicle ever designed completely by Rover for Land Rover, the Freelander came with a headache of quality control problems. Engines and transmissions frequently went dead, water leaks were a common plague, and electrical gremlins were everywhere. Not to mention the Freelander was not exactly a smooth operator. Its engine was very mechanical and groaned like a sheep in heat, even under light throttle applications. The transmission was very jerky and inconsistent in its shifting patterns. What Europeans saw in the Freelander is something most Americans (yours truly included) will likely never understand. It was laid to rest after the 2005 model year.

But now, this is 2007 and ten model years later, the LR2 (known back in Europe as the Freelander 2) has at long last arrived and not a moment too soon. And having driven both generations, I can say without hesitation that this is what the Freelander should have been to begin with.

Gone is the antiquated Jatco transmission, replaced with a durable and slick Aisin-Warner unit. The groaning and underpowered 2.5 liter Rover V6? Consider it ancient history. Here is the 3.2-liter inline-six cylinder from the new Volvo S80. It pumps out 230 buttery smooth ponies and gives the LR2 some serious oomph. Under Ford’s watchful eye, Land Rover has managed to transform the Freelander from an awkward, pimple-ridden teenager into a suave, lady-killer of a man.

Starting on the outside, the front end carries distinctive yet maturated cues from the original Freelander. The side and the rear light cluster shares its core DNA with the Range Rover Sport and the rear end shape is close to that of the LR3. But in its entirety, the LR2 looks like the result of a Range Rover that humped a Ford Escape/Toyota Highlander mix. But it works. Like the Discovery-turned-LR3, the LR2 has shed itself of the rear-mounted spare tire and its funky tree branch 3rd brake light. Gone, too is the retracting rear window and the swing-out tailgate. The entire tailgate is now a one-piece that swings up, the first Land Rover ever to sport this design.

Move on to the inside and you’ll find a much improved interior. Whereas the Freelander felt cobbled together, the LR2 is a smooth execution of a vastly improved design. The dash feels soft and is creak-free. The leather seats are far superior in their quality and the interior generally feels much airier. Entry and exit is improved, also with the ducking required in the Freelander eliminated by removing the curves in the upper body shape. The Land Rover family (sans the full-size Range Rover) have met in a very similar interior design. The gauge cluster, steering wheel, and basic center console design of the LR2 can be found in its bigger brothers, the LR3 and Range Rover Sport. Giant door pulls feel sturdy and window switches are finally where they belong and are not grafted from the Ford Escape, a glaring add-on in the final two year’s of the Freelander’s tenure stateside. Several components are borrowed from Ford’s Swedish stablemate, Volvo but those pieces are so trivial, most owners won’t even notice. This new navigation system is fantastic, as well. It’s intuitive and user-friendly, even for those who are daunted by the mere thought of technology. Front seat passengers are given expansive foot and head room but the central stack intrudes somewhat on lanky drivers’ space. Rear seat passengers will no longer feel relegated to the gallows when they’re asked to hop in back. There’s actually room for two to relax in comfort and with their own audio input jacks, no less. Three might be a bit of a squeeze, though. Cargo space is generous with the load space floor being reversible; carpet for your Gucci bag on one side and hard plastic for muddy cargo on the other. The rear seat folds 60/40 and does so completely flat.
Being a Land Rover, off-road capability was a key part of designing this new vehicle. Ahead of the shifter is Land Rover’s Terrain Response, a knob that controls various parts of the vehicle’s drive and traction systems to maximize efficiency on certain terrain. The LR2 lacks it’s big brothers’ Rock Crawl mode and low range 4WD gearing but still has General, Snow/Grass/Gravel, Mud/Ruts, and Sand. Just because it was denied the nitty-gritty four-wheel drive features of the rest of the Land Rover line doesn’t mean the LR2 can’t samba off-road. It will tackle most anything you can throw at it, impressive considering its 8.3 inches of ground clearance and lack of an air suspension.

Insert the key fob into the slot in the dashboard, step on the brake, and push the engine start/stop button and let the engine come to life. Slide the shifter into drive and let the LR2 take you for a ride. The throttle tip-in takes a bit of getting used to but once you get to know each other, it’s a fine relationship. The LR2 steps off the line with some zip and has quite a bit of pep. You’ll see sixty in about eight and a half seconds; that’s nearly two seconds shaved off the Freelander’s time. The Freelander was not exactly a rough-riding vehicle so the LR2 simply picks up where it left off. Road noise has been further isolated as has wind noise, a very welcome improvement. While the suspension is not exactly stiff, it has a tendency to wallow in an exaggerated fashion during emergency maneuvers or while cornering at high speeds although it never feels on the verge of out of control. Skid control is standard fare. The steering in the Freelander was a joy to use…a simple point-and-shoot appliance if there ever was one although it felt a bit heavy in slow-speed maneuvers. The LR2 steps backward a bit in this department with a rather linear steering feel but it doesn’t feel as connected to the road in your grip. It’s short, too with only 2.8 turns lock-to-lock.

Drawbacks? There are few. Some people may not like the keyless fob method of starting. Unlike most cars with push-button start, this fob must be inserted into its slot in the dashboard before the car can be started. The motor that draws the key in can be finicky and temperamental and certainly takes some getting used to. Also, why no rubber pad on the dead pedal? Especially with the beige carpet, you’re looking at a stained dead pedal the first time it rains. Finally, what’s with the sunroof? The size is nice but the sunshade is a total joke. Did Land Rover get a discount on used basketball jerseys because that’s what this screen-like material looks like its made of. Although the sun rarely comes out in England, I’m sure that when it does they’d like a bit more shade than this can provide. I’ve seen it in direct sunlight. It doesn’t work. Bring sunglasses and now that I think about it…sunblock.

Being manufactured in Halewood, England alongside the Jaguar X-Type, the LR2 is the first Land Rover to not be put together in Solihull. And that might not be a bad thing owing to the fact that the typical teething problems associated with new models seem to be minimal. Land Rover priced the LR2 at $34,000 to start with a fully-loaded model racking up a $40,000 asking price. Aimed to compete with the Acura RDX and BMW X3, the LR2 slots right in their sights and is worth a drive and your consideration. If Land Rover is serious about curing their persistent quality issues, then selling every LR2 they make shouldn’t be a problem at all. And so far, it looks good…very good.

Pros: Fantastic powertrain, all-day comfortable seats, small on the outside yet big on the inside and still easy to parallel park, A-grade fit-and-finish, quiet and smooth on-road, capable off-road.

Cons: Long-term durability still uncertain, maddening key system, useless sunroof sunshade, steering on Novocain.

The Verdict: If the quality gremlins have been evicted for good, Land Rover has a true winner on their hands, and not a second too late.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

nice...I was wondering how this car (SUV) would rate!

BTW, great readin at 430 AM

GreenMonster

I changed the thread title... You'll get more replies if you post more descriptive thread titles

"For those who are interested" isn't going to generate much interest

mltk53

AS3.0CL

Girl i know just ogt one of these in silver, pretty much maxed out except nav. it's nice truck with a sporty but aggressive look. the interior isn't that bad but to me it doesn't compare to other car makes such as the RDX. good amount of room on the inside and the ride isn't that bad at all. overall i like it, just not totally for me. and i do not like the layout of the center console. definitely a good truck and land rover did something right with it. i still like the sport more.

nokiaman

If C&D did not respond you, well they have lost a very handy pen in their team. Impressive write-up and keep'em coming

PortlandRL

Thank you sir.

stright-(paint)balling

i'll take a X3 to it any given sunday.
I talked with a BMW sales rep and they said on all cars offered currently with 3 liter engines( like the X3) there is (in about 2 years) a twin turbo option like on the 335.
once that comes forget it 300 hp from a Twin turbo i-6