A Day with the Freelander 2! Hey Guys,
Land Rover is presently testing the Freelander2 big time in Mumbai.The car is here from the past 3-4 months on Carnet, and being driven extensively along the length and breadth of Mumbai.On weekdays, the car is driven through city traffic and certain routes to cover roughly 100 Kms/day. Whereas on weekends, it is supposed to be driven for at least 500 Kms!! The oil samples, fuel samples, etc are closely monitored by LR technicians from the UK.
Ok enough said, I finally got a chance last Sunday (12/10/2008) to take the beast for a long drive.Did not get much time to plan, so simply decided to drive upto Shirdi and back,with Wifey,Sis and BIL for company.
Now the Initial impressions:
Looks:Smart, Tall and handsome.Decades ahead of the earlier freelander.Looks distinctive, and people keep flashing lights at you or move out of the way!
Interior:Again very well made, driver oriented console.The front 2 seats are very luxurios and comfortable,with armrests.Steering reach and feel is very good (getting used to blinkers and wipers on the opposite side needs some time).
The rear though is dissappointing.The back and lumbar support is good, but the leg space is terrible.Me being almost 6 feet, found it uncomfortable.
The boot space is amazing, some of it should have been used for the leg space in the middle row, but.. The boot floor can comfortably hold a 21 inch Rolls Royce Rim with tyre.Not many cars can do that!
The air-conditioning was also not upto the mark.Considering exterior temp in excess of 36 degrees, no dark tints and sunroof in the front and rear without internal shade, made the rear seats begging for more cooling.(Point has been raised to LR).The front though is comfy!
Now the Driving part:
It was my first long drive in an AT 4WD, and I was simply blown away.The engine is a 2200 cc 4 cylinder TC Diesel unit dveloping around 180 PS.Step on the gas and she moves, try a kick down and she sprints! 100 kmph to 140 kmph is very easy, though I did not push her too much.Could easily have gone upto 200!The braking part is something to be cherished.It gives so much confidence in the corners,Ghats etc that we were having a ball!
And then the suspension, people must be wondering what blazed past them when they were carefully avoiding the potholes and rough patches.She simply glides through whatever rough patch the road had to give us,without any body vibrations, noises and jolts!Something that will suit th Indian roads perfectly.
Also tried a little off-roading by the road side, was just a walk in the park for her.Wished i had her in the monsoons!
The car was tested right in the peak monsoon in worst possible roads and has done more than 11,000 MILES so far, and there is no body noise.And the mileage that we got in our 560 km journey was approx 13kmpl!
Had heard earlier that the Freelander 2 would be launched between the range of the BMW 3 series and 5 series, will have to wait and watch.Its totally worth the money I would say!
This is the first time i have written so much here.. now enjoy the pics! |