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• The Freelander: A Proper Land Rover

I'm a passive member of quite a few Land Rover groups on Facebook. One of the larger ones has featured quite a few cutting and pointless posts recently about the Land Rover Freelander. Here's one example (I'm paraphrasing as this post has been deleted)

Quote

From an anonymous Facebook user

Land Rover Discovery's and Defenders are being stolen left right and centre. Nobody ever comes online to say their Freelander was stolen. Why? Because nobody likes them, they are rubbish.

OK. This thoughtless comment really got me irked. Now don't get me wrong, I love my Defender. I love it so much, I bought a second. I've owned a Discovery, it was good fun. What really get's me riled up is the snobbery prevalent amongst Defender and Discovery owners, who think that owning a Freelander makes you a lesser person. What a closed-minded view of the world.

You see, the Freelander is awesome. Yes, a Defender, Discovery or Range Rover Classic is a little more capable off-road, but chances are, you don't purchase a Freelander to take it to the off-road sites. However, a Freelander is still a Land Rover and worthy of every single millimetre of the green oval badge it carries.

If you disagree with me, fine. But a Freelander is a comfortable car to use every day. I had one as a courtesy car one day, and loved it! The 1.8 petrol that was fitted to early models is fun, it puts a smile on your face. Driving around town, it takes much less effort to navigate small, narrow streets. It'll tow a caravan or horse-box easily. I'd go as far as to say, it would fulfil the requirements of 75% of all Defender owners nowadays.

The Freelander lacks the reputation of a Discovery or Defender, but as a result, you'll find lower prices. There's fewer people wanting to show-off to their mates. The Freelander is still very able - it'll take you over fields & green lanes all day for fun. Fit some decent tyres and you'll be off through a desert or blizzard. Land Rover pioneered Hill Descent Control with the Freelander, now fitted universally to almost every modern 4x4. The viscous coupling offered adaptive 4x4 grip with 2wd economy on-road. There's some serious development and equipment under those 'Hippos'.

We all have our own opinions. Unfortunately, sometimes, other people's are wrong. If you still don't think a Freelander is a proper Landy, check out these videos.

Two words: M-Sport

What do you think to the Freelander?

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