In a scoop for SACarFan, we present the first road test of the new Range Rover Evoque in South Africa. Well, actually that’s only partly correct. What we have done is a road test on about one third of the new Evoque, in the shape of the Land Rover Freelander TD4. You see, under the skin of the fabulous looking Evoque lurks 30 per cent of the mechanicals from the Freelander. It’s built in the same plant at Halewood on the Merseyside in the United Kingdom. So the Evoque shares its basic genes with the Freelander, even if they are heavily modified to give it a very different feel. Especially as it’s their first front-wheel drive car.

While I am on about the Evoque, Land Rover privately admit that the arrival of the new Evoque compact SUV will probably erode some sales of the Freelander TD4 that I tested here. At least those sales will remain with Land Rover, but I reckon customers of the Evoque will mostly see the Freelander as being quite different. Evoque buyers will be those urban style seekers that marketing departments bang on about, yet the Freelander buyer will be looking for flexibility and practicality. However, right now you can buy a Freelander 2 and enjoy the clever technology stuffed into the car, including engine stop/start. And that leads me nicely to the recently refreshed Land Rover Freelander 2. But first, some background.

When Land Rover decided to enter the compact SUV segment in the 1980’s, they had less budget than the average first year university student spends on beer. Substantial, yet not enough. Their restricted product development fund pushed them into the arms of their then partners, Honda, to help them develop the car. But Honda thought better of it and went off and developed their own version, the Honda CR-V. By 1997, BMW famously entered the fray and green-lighted a decent budget to develop the first Freelander.

What we are testing here is the Freelander 2, a vastly improved iteration of the first one. This further facelift has brought with it new bumper mouldings and slight changes to details like the grille, new alloy wheels and colour options. The lights receive new surrounds and finishes, as do the door and boot handles. The new, sleeker nose is particularly handsome and is reminiscent of its big daddy, the inimitable Range Rover.

The drive trains consists of a new 2.2-litre diesel engine, in either 110 kW or 140 kW guise, for the SD4 models. There is also a 3.2-litre straight-six petrol engine in the i6 HSE model. All SD4 and i6 models feature a six-speed automatic transmission as standard. They have most of the creature comforts you’d ever need, including steering wheel mounted cruise control, automatic dual-zone climate control, 17-inch six-spoke alloy wheels and very posh lacquered piano black effect in the interior.

My test car was fitted with the refined 140 kW 2.2-litre oil-burner co-developed with PSA Peugeot/Citroen. It delivers decent urge and I returned a combined fuel consumption of 6.8 L/100km during my test period. That’s even a little better than Land Rover’s claimed 7.0 L/100km. Not too bad for a car weighing 1 805 kg.

Land Rovers are cherished for their off-road abilities and happily, the Freelander is no exception. What was a bit of a surprise was the cars’ on road manners. Body roll was contained, if not absent all together. The steering is precise and properly weighted, but it’s not exactly quick and could do with a bit more weight and feel at higher speeds. And, completely unlike my own old Series 2 V8 LWB Land Rover (I should hope so – Ed.), the ride is supple and the cabin is quite sophisticated.

The cabin serves-up decent practicality and reasonable space. High quality materials are evident, creating a sense of solid build quality with a premium feel. The centre console is covered in buttons, but they’re all big and clearly marked. There’s a wide range of adjustment to help the driver get comfortable too. The electrically operated seats deserve special mention. They were very comfortable and supportive over short town journeys and long motorway trips.

The Freelander 2 is a great road-trip car, with the slick-shifting six-speed auto gearbox making journeys effortless and comfortable. Any safety concerns are satisfied by the five star EuroNCAP rating and the engine stop/start system was so much better than the recently tested BMW X3. You come to a halt, the engine stops. Foot off the brake when it’s time to move again and the Freelander’s 2.2-litre diesel fires into life. There’s no pause, no clatter and definitely no drama. A host of clever engineering tricks and improved soundproofing see to that.

The Freelander is pretty refined up to about 90 km/h, but the engine gets fairly vocal as you crank up the revs. This is exacerbated by the upright body, which does develop a fair bit wind noise at motorway speeds. The Freelander is brilliant at smoothing out the bumps and undulations, so much so, that it feels more like a luxury car rather than a competent off roader. The Freelander’s high-set driving position, curved dash and flat bonnet give you excellent forward vision and make it easy to place the car on the road. Rear vision is great too, because the back of the car has an immense amount of glass. Venture off the beaten track and Land Rover’s Terrain Response System lets you optimise the car’s set-up for different surface conditions via a simple rotary knob.

So should you wait till the Evoque arrives before you write out a cheque to Land Rover? Well, the Evoque has only just gone into production, so there’ll be some time before wee see it locally, but somehow, I think that if you were in the market for a Freelander, you probably won’t be swayed by the Evoque.

What we like…

• Premium image.
• Super driving dynamics on all surfaces.
• Upmarket cabin and refinement.

What we would like…

• More competitive pricing.
• Even better fuel economy.
• Lower rear loading sill.

Richard Webb is the publisher of Blower, South Africa’s longest running car magazine and contributor to SACarFan.