Getting it right

I tested the old Freelander when it first came out, taking it up the M6 into the Shropshire hills and returning with backache. That apart, I thought it a good car in four-door form, as did plenty of others — it became Europe’s best-selling smallish 4×4. But I and they were wrong: a component that would have cost a few pence to improve in manufacture meant that the majority of petrol versions had coolant problems requiring new engines at some stage (one dealer I know replaced 60), while build quality of petrols and diesels alike meant that the trim disintegrated around you. For Land Rover lovers such as me, they were an embarrassment.

Most popular

Jacob Heilbrunn

The AfD will be a thorn in Merz’s side

Will I be as wrong about the new version, Freelander 2, tested last week? Signs are that I — and Land Rover — might have got it right this time.