The Freelander 2 2011 - Video below
Land Rover has sent us video showing the changes to the 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2.
It’s only a week or two (well, almost three) since Land Rover spilled the beans on the changes for the 2011 Freelander 2. But that’s long enough for them to have got the camcorder out and shot a bit of footage. So as they sent it to us – and it lets you see the subtle cosmetic changes for the 2011 MY – we thought we’d publish it.
Mind you, the changes are not exactly dramatic – at least the ones you can see. The nose gets a tweak or three so it looks a bit more like it’s Land Rover siblings, with the front bumper, grill, foglights and headlights getting replaced with new versions. Out back the tailgate gets tweaked and there’s new tail lights. Add in new alloys and you’ve about done on the exterior cosmetics.
It’s actually on the oily bits that the big changes come. As we predicted back in May when we had spy photos of the 2011 Freelander 2 Facelift, the big news is the addition of the Freelander 2 ‘S’, which will be badged SD4 and come with a rather more useful 187bhp, a jump of 30 horses on the standard Freelander 2 (although the newly tweaked regular Freelander 2 makes do with 10bhp less).
The other big oily news is that Land Rover has now gone in to the SoftRoader business with the launch next year of a two wheel drive Freelander, actually pipping the much vaunted Evoque FWD to the post.
Die hard LR nutters – those with beards and pipes – will be appalled, but in the real world Land Rover are here to make money, not pamper to antiquated notions of what their products should deliver. A pragmatic and sensible move for the Freelander to offer a 2WD option and enter the market at a lower price point – and give a serious fright even to cars like the Hyundai ix35. Why have an imitation when you can have the real thing?
The VT doesn’t show much of the oily stuff, but you get the chance to have a shufty at the cosmetic changes Land Rover has wrought for the 2011 MY. Oh, and for our readers across the pond none of this stuff – apart from the cosmetic stuff – applies to you – as far as we know. Although you may be getting the 2WD option next year. And if you are on the wrong side of the Pond, just insert LR2 mentally wherever you see Freelander 2.
But you knew that already.
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