Land rover Freelander 2 - Improving On The Good

 After the successful first generation Freelander 1 the Rover Group produced between 1998 and 2006, it now unveiled its successor in the Landrover Freelander 2 unveiled at the 2006 British International Motor Show. It was released in Europe in 2007 and was sold in the American markets as the Land Rover LR2.  Before getting officially announced at the motor show, the second generation Freelander was presented at the Kensington Roof Gardens in a lavish occasion featuring tennis sports celebrity Maria Sharapova before a team of journalists and media professionals.



A Better Freelander

Production of the Freelander 2 was moved from the Solihull plant in Birmingham to Halewood in England near Liverpool.  It now shared production of the Jaguar X-Type automobile.  It used a chassis based on the global midsized EUCD platform (European C/D class) that accommodated a larger transversely-mounted Volvo SI6 3.2 liter inline 6-cylinder petrol engine that also powered the new Volvo S80.

It came with 6-speed manual and automatic transmission.  The UK version didn't get this engine but instead got a 2.2 liter DW12 common rail turbo-charged diesel engine jointly developed with the French PSA (Peugeot Societe Anonyme) to power its new Peugeot Citroen cars.

With improved ground clearance and off-road handling capabilities, the second generation Freelander matched the Land Rover tradition for off-road superiority found in its Discovery and Defender line and proved superior to its European SUV rivals. In addition, the Freelander 2 sported improved interior quality, road safety features as well as modified Terrain Response off-road system used in the new Discovery III and upscale Range Rover.  The Rover Group and the Swedish Haldex Traction AB jointly developed its four-wheel drive system using the third generation Haldex coupling which was also fitted in the complete 2005 to 2008 Volvo models

The Landrover Freelander 2 was introduced in the US markets as the LR2 HSE in 2007 sporting the 6-cylinder 3.2 liter inline petrol engine capable of 230 hp on a 6-speed automatic transmission gear train.   It came with the luxurious interior appointments the US markets had become accustomed seeing in an SUV but was bettered with a Cold Climate System that heated the front windscreen and front seats at two heating levels as well as a heated windscreen water jet, a 14-speaker 440-watt surround system from Alpine, touch navigation screens, and bi-xenon headlights to mention some.
The Latest Freelander 2 TD4_e

The Rover Group launched the Freelander 2 TD4_e in 2009 which marked the first SUV in the UK to use an eco-friendly stop-start technology to economize fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.  The  in the designation stands for e-Terrain Technologies presumably referring to 'earth' and was Land Rover's answer to the emerging trends in environmentally friendly road vehicles.

With the e-technology, the engine stops when in idle gear and  instantly resumes when engaging the clutch pedal. A heavy-duty starter motor acts as a generator to recover energy from its regenerative braking using capacitors to store energy and restart the engine without engaging the starter battery.  The e-Terrain is expected to be used in subsequent hybrid Freelander models.