What's outside today 11 - Land Rover Freelander 2

This is the new Freelander. What's interesting is that this latest version looks very similar to the original, but is in fact much larger.

When I took it out for a short spin earlier on, I was surprised to discover that it sometimes feels more like the big Land Rovers such the Discovery and RR than a Toyota RAV-4 or Honda CR-V. That's because of the commanding high driving position (good) but also the difficulty of judging the position of the front nearside corner due to the car's surprising bulk (not so good).


My immediate thought was that this probably leaves room in the Land Rover range for a smaller soft-roader to slot in below the Freelander - occasionally there are rumours of plans for such a car in the motoring press.


I know Land Rover are facing an uncertain future at the moment but you have to admire the company's ability to come up with one hit model after another. I think the last new Landy that met with a less than rapturous response from journalists and the motoring public was the short-lived 2.0 litre four cylinder petrol version of the first Discovery. I never drove one but if I remember correctly it used the 'O' series engine and it was very slooooow. The Freelander 2 (our test car is the 2.2 litre diesel) is anything but.

What's outside today 8 - Range Rover Sport HSE TDV8

This is the Range Rover Sport fitted with the newish 3.6 litre V8 diesel engine.


This engine is by far the best choice for the bigger Land Rover models, so it's a slight mystery that it hasn't made it into the Discovery yet (the Range Rover Sport is much more similar under the skin to the Disco than it is to the standard Range Rover, so I'm assuming it would fit), especially given that the 4.4 litre petrol V8 seems to have been dropped as an option for the Disco, at least for the UK market.


The Range Rover Sport caused a bit of disappointment when it was launched because it didn't look as dramatic as the two-door Range Stormer concept car, but I still think it looks pretty good. I read somewhere that Land Rover might produce a de-blinged version, which would probably be even nicer.

Not keen on big SUVs in general but I usually make an exception for Land Rovers on the grounds of ability, authenticity, looks and Britishness.