Went over to Eastnor LR Experience Centre (near Malvern) this morning to experience the new FL2 on and off road - firstly have to say its a fantastic venue with great facilities - top marks to LR - I was very impressed to say the least.

Drove a TD4 HSE Manual and really like it - here's just a quick summary of my thoughts;
- Ride was smooth and gearbox/engine combo spot on IMO
- Premium Audio pack was superb (better than the HK system in my RRS imo )
- Seats were very comfortable (same as RRS) although as expected it feels a little more cramped - I found my left leg pushed up against the centre console
- As a road vehicle however it felt just a bit too car like than expected - discussed this with the instructor and we agreed this is probably because I'm coming from a RRS to the FL2 - most people moving up from a car say the opposite.
- Offroad it was superb - it really brought a smile to my face - felt like a big kid. The only real probs I can see with the FL2 offroad is its clearance and lack of low ratio, however tbh that isn't such a big issue (or wasn't today anyway). Otherwise the FL2 performed superbly.

Here are some pics;

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short vid clip

Interesting vid

One thing, what was all that steam coming from the front ? Had you just been wading or did it overheat

yep, we'd just been through a few water bits

Thats good then

The obstacle you filed would have been no problem for the D3 with its air suspension. And no disrespect meant by that at all.

BUT... it does show that Freelander 2 is a tough little cookie and in the right hands should be great off road (clearance and gear ratios accepted).

to be honest, that was just to show us the way the power is distibuted away from wheels with no grip - we tackled much more difficult bits - that was just the only time we were out of the car

Looks like fun! anyone know of / recommend similar type of venue in the north west?

avtur wrote:

Looks like fun! anyone know of / recommend similar type of venue in the north west?

Kaine wrote:

to be honest, that was just to show us the way the power is distibuted away from wheels with no grip - we tackled much more difficult bits - that was just the only time we were out of the car

thats OK then

looks like the standard tyres  Fiona

Scottie wrote:

looks like the standard tyres

standard Wranglers / Scorpions are very good unless your on very slippery ground. Not too much lateral grip though.

simon wrote:

standard Wranglers / Scorpions are very good unless your on very slippery ground. Not too much lateral grip though.

Kaine wrote:

plus the rutts weren't very deep

That will help

Its the main failing (if there are any) of Freelander. Ground clearance.

Had my complementary half day experience today at the Chilterns LRE centre near Milton Keynes. Fantastic luck that the ground was still very heavily covered in snow!

The car exceeded my expectations and managed to get through some very hairy situations that I wouldn't have believed beforehand. Thought the gradient start was good (could have done with that on my driving test!), and the hill descent system very useful.

We used a mixture of the grass/snow/ice and muddy ruts settings on the terrain response and also tried out some sections of track with no terrain response on to show how it helps! And it did.

The only thing I can see which may be an issue is the lower ground clearance than on the Disco, but lets face it, not many people will ever need this.

All in all, a great morning out - an extremely friendly and knowledgable instructor and a fantastic car. I would strongly recommend a trip to your nearest LRE centre for everyone.

Roll on the middle of April when my TD4 SE arrives !