Off Road 4×4 Driving

Catchily titled the LR2 in the US, the question for the Freelander is - what is it for?

If you want a small 4×4 then to be honest, this is too big and too luxurious for true off road driving - spend a lot less on something that you can throw around a bit more. If you want a big car then for goodness sake buy a car, not a tractor.

As a smallish tow car it isn’t bad, and as a luxury car that can actually get across a wet field (very well indeed incidentally) then it’ll be better than a BMW, but to be honest - how often do most of these leave the tarmac?

The pseudo (or “intelligent”) 4×4 system will cope with wheelslip, the terrain response will help even the most clueless to get themselves moving where otherwise they might just throw mud around, and the articulation will help with those high kerbs. Lets face it though - there’s a limited market for the practical capabilities of this car.

If you live and work in an environment where snow is a regular problem (unlike the UK where that 1 day a year that the gritters can’t get through really should be taken as a holiday), then the slippy diffs, traction control and ABS really will be useful.

So, wet grass, snow, ice. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to keep a quad bike and a nice family saloon? We’ll let you decide!

So what do we suggest? Well next time guys - make it smaller. Make it simpler. Make it cheaper. Make it lighter.

(If you want to review the Freelander yourself feel free to post in the comments section. A couple of links are allowed, and comments will be moderated as independently as possible.)