The Land Rover Freelander has been given a premium push as part of a whole host of revisions for 2013.
Most of the changes to the revised Freelander, seen in public for the first time at today's Moscow motor show, centre on making the cabin more luxurious.
The subtle exterior tweaks from before include new front and rear lights that feature the latest in Xenon LED technology. There’s also a new graphic for the front running lights, and a new finish to the front grille and fog lamp bezels among other minor details changes.
But the real revisions how come inside, where Land Rover has given the Freelander a Range Rover Evoque-style push upmarket.
The chief addition is an all-new centre console. This houses a new 7in touchscreen that controls many of the interior’s functions, including the optional sat-nav and the audio controls for a new audio system from Jaguar Land Rover’s recently appointed audio partner, Meridian.
Another change is the series of switches to replace the dial of the Terrain Response system behind the gear lever, a move that also frees up additional storage space. Additional room is made available with the adoption of a new electric parking brake.
Elsewhere, there is a new 5in colour screen that sits between the instrument dials in the instrument binnacle. The docking station for the key has been replaced by a keyless go system, which allows the engine to be started so long as the key is present in the car.
Equipment additions include a rear view camera and a ‘Say What You See’ voice activation system that allows the user to control certain audio, sat-nav, climate control and phone functions using their voice.
Two new trim levels are added to the Freelander line-up to join the existing S, GS, XS and HSE models. Jo Slater, Land Rover’s colour and materials manager, said the new Dynamic trim is inspired by the success of the trim of the same name available on the Evoque, and includes painted 19in 10-spoke alloy wheels, a bodykit and gloss black trim for exterior detailing.
“We wanted to bring some sporty character back to the Freelander,” Slater told Autocar, “the first model had sporty cues and the success of Dynamic in the Evoque inspired us to make those options available to Freelander buyers.”
A new HSE LUX model is the new range-topper and the most premium version of the Freelander yet seen. This gets a luxurious interior including Windsor leather seats, ‘premium’ carpet mats, a ‘Grand Black Lacquer’ finish to the interior, special 19in diamond-turned alloys and the top-of-the-range 825W 17-speaker Meridian audio system.
The Freelander’s engine range carries over unchanged from before, meaning 2.2-litre turbodiesel is offered with 148bhp or 187bhp. The lower-powered version is offered with front-wheel drive.
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Outdated. Unreliable. Ugly. I
Outdated. Unreliable. Ugly. I could go on. Oh well, at least it is now 'upmarket' - i.e. more money for same inadequacies. I bet it will get rave reviews however.
Can JLR do anything right? Or
Can JLR do anything right?
Or does that require a German badge?
The Freelander is already a good looking and accomplished wee Chelsea tractor, and the extra polish LR have given it cannot do any harm!
Makes more sense in Moscow than our cramped streets too!
Also continued push up market means more space for a sub-brand... Such as Rover... There is, strangely perhaps, a strong following for the brand. As long as its a fresh start more akin to the P6 & SD1, with none of the retro stuff, I reckon it would work.
£24k entry point for a compact SUV, they're 'aving a larf.
I thought the existing Freelander was over-priced, by comparison to similar sized SUVs but they might just as well call this one a Range-Rover because that's the customer profile that can afford it at these prices.