2/29/20 64/100 Land Rover Freelander

The biggest hype from the Land Rover brand in the 1990’s was the introduction of a smaller and more affordable Land Rover to the line called the Freelander and it utilized some of the newest features in car-based crossover SUV’s while still retaining that off-road legacy that Land Rover is famous for.  The Freelander was introduced in 1997 in 3-door and 5-door versions, the former as an open top design similar to the Isuzu Amigo.  The U.S. finally got the Freelander in 2001 with the 5-door making up for most of the sales.  This casting was introduced in 1999 and over the years it has had a metal base and the working suspension scrapped, yet one thing it never had was a clean look as it was always loaded with park ranger tampos.  This blue with matching blue trim on the base and wheelwells looks nice and has a smooth front bumper with square headlights that are part of the window trim, ribbed lower body cladding, clear and removable panel roofs for the front seats, and the diagonal bar that splits the open section from the closed section.  Even more interesting is out back where the rear has round taillights, a trailer hitch for towing, and a unique spare tire with the third brake light snaking out from the spare tire.  Inside the interior has seating for four with some thick and slightly bolstered seats, right-hand drive layout with 4-spoke steering wheel, simple control layout, and the shifter for the 5-speed manual transmission.  The base underneath shows off the unique unibody design with front-wheel driven engine and transmission and a transfer case to shift power to the rear wheels with a full-time four-wheel drive system, and the working suspension does a great job with the handling even if the vehicle seems a bit tipsy and it has lots of power to move this truck.  Oh, and for off-roading it can hold its own though this is far from being a Jeep rock crawler.  Today the Evoque takes over duties as the entry-level Land Rover in 3-door guise, but it lacks the level of details and functionality that the Freelander offers.

Specifications:

· Engine: 1.8L DOHC I-4, 150 hp. Est.

· Transmission: 5-speed manual

· 0-60 mph: 11.0 sec. est.

· Real vehicle price: #25,000 est. 1999

Rating:  4.9 out of 5 stars