Well this is my latest touch with brilliance. Just today I was accused of writing a ‘paid for’ driving impression of Land Rover’s Freelander 2 in an email from a disgruntled reader, obviously because I said such good things about it. So, before I even get started with this one I want anyone and everyone who reads this to know that these are my opinions and not what someone else wants me to say. This car is that good. I mean brilliant.
I was lucky enough to drive this car a few months ago in Morocco, and I knew that when it finally arrived in SA that it would be one of my favourites for the year. First off, the Range Sport in its previous V8 petrol and Supercharged petrol incarnations is already a sweet ride. Most local complaints were that it was never available in a diesel. So, if you did want one, you would have to foot a heavy petrol bill every month.
Elsewhere in the world the Sport has been offered with Land Rover’s TDV6 lump, but never here. But that doesn’t matter anymore because now we have the TDV8.
The most significant thing about this car, and the thing that got all the other journos on the launch going, is the sound it makes. I knew it would when I drove it overseas. Yes, this is a good sounding diesel. Awesome actually. I know that there are a lot of ‘petrol’ heads out there that may find this hard to believe, but it honestly growls. Diesel engine sounds are one of their biggest downfalls, but Land Rover has mastered it here.
In fact, the tuned exhaust is the only difference between the TDV8 fitted to the big body Range Rover and the one fitted to the Sport. They wouldn’t have to change much anyway. The new TDV8 unit is a work of art. 200kW and 640Nm are enough to make the nearly three-ton machine get up and boogie.
And boogie it does. So confident are the local Land Rover representatives, that they actually let us drive it around Aldo Scribante race circuit in Port Elizabeth. Okay, they wouldn’t let us take the stability control off, but I can understand that with the driving abilities of some local journos. Clowns.
But the really brilliant part of the Sport is that it is so capable off-road too. You’ll see the word ‘versatile’ used all over the place to describe all kinds of cars, but you’ll never see a car as versatile as this. The Sport TDV8 gets all the same off-road goodies and gizmos that its relatives like Disco 3 and Range Rover get. Hill Descent Control, Terrain Response, diff locks everywhere, adjustable ride heights. There’s even this nifty screen that comes up in the central display that shows you everything that’s going on with the diffs and suspension at all times. Even steering angle! You really have to see it to believe it.
So drive this car through the boonies, to the track, to the doggie parlour, to the kids’ soccer match, and do it all in style. The Sport is one of the sexiest SUVs around in my opinion. Oh, by the way, there’s this fuel consumption thing I’ve got to mention. Land Rover claims this car will get around 11 litres per hundred Ks on a combined cycle. Hah! There were some old fogies averaging 8.8 on the routes we were given in the Eastern Cape. How do you like them apples? My driving partner and I drove these same routes Indy 500 style just to see how bad we could get the consumption to go, and I have to say it was actually difficult to get it above 15. That’s really, really good for a car of this nature.
I’ve only got two complaints I can think of about this cab. One is that the DSC or traction control or whatever you want to call it, can never be completely switched off. But I suppose that’s understandable. Who in their right mind would want to four-wheel drift a car like this, besides me? The other problem I have is that I don’t have one…
Source: http://motoring.iafrica.com/newmodels/840168.htm