Whilst my FL2 was in for service the dealer gave me a MY13 FL2 XS with just 600 miles on the clock so thought i would share my opinion with the updates.

Firstly the exterior. i love the rear lights they really look the dogs do da's and was equally impressed with the LED DRL front lights (no LED signature though) but unsure about one bulb doing both main beam and dipped. Front grille with the black surround also makes a visual improvement.

Moving inside I thought the new keyfob felt a little odd - shiney smooth plastic with a metal edge instead of a rugged rubber feel - I can see this getting scratched easily. The LED central display between the dials is excellent and displays a wealth of information and is much clearly to see than the antiquated diaplay on my FL2, why have LR swapped the rev counter and speedo round? The steering wheel looks smarter but I must admit I struggled with the vast array of buttons on it and found it difficult to do what I actually wanted although I suppose in time it would get easier. I dont like the lights being controlled on the stalk - what was the point and what can you do with the miniscule 'slot' where the lighting control used to be? The space between the front seats is also much better with a vast space for clutter but the retractible cover for the rearmost cupholder / cubby felt a bit flimsy. Central dash area much better and updated touch screen seemed crisper and much clearer than mine, menus were fairly easy to navigate. Had a play with the voice snyc but feel that this is a novelty that would soon wear off.

All in all I think the updates have done alot to further improve the FL2 for the remainder of its life cycle, would I have one? Yes!

Strangely, I had a 70 mile only xs yesterday whilst my 2010 was being serviced.
I also had mixed feelings about the updates.
LED display was good, but still the H&S nonsense when you switch to Sat Nav, what is that all about? Yep, I agree the steering wheel is cluttered and I couldn't get used to the volume being on the left. Time would help I guess. Also the steering wheel seemed thinner in the hand and not at all comfortable.
Updated seats would have been nice but overall not enough of an upgrade to tempt me into a new one.

Interesting comments guys, I'm 2 months and 3000 miles into my 13MY car.

Single HID/Xenon headlamps are fine - I had a thread going about this and loss of the 55W halgen main beam/flasher but the lenses have been refocused and they are really good (same as Evoque apparently).

I agree about the little cubby slot by the instrument dimmer; it's OK for car park tokens and a few coins but little else and with no knobs I think they could have made more of the space

I'm OK with all the light controls on the stalk - just like wife's Scenic. Fog lamp switches used to be a bit of a fiddle in the old design.

Steering wheel volume moving is OK and all controls there are very much in the new LR feel of things (just like its siblings) as is the round clock. I agree that the wheel feels a bit thin but lovely to have leather!

What I was not ready for is the speedo swapping to the LHS and with hardly any minor markings - never mind, the digital is clear and bold although diassappointingly fast when checked against my GPS

I summarise my new XS as "reassuringly similar and refreshingly different"! Gone... 2013 XS TD4 Manual Firenze Red
Gone... 2008 (09MY) XS Td4 Manual Stornaway Grey
Prior... 2003 G4 Discovery 2, 1998 Disco 1 and 1997 Disco 1 Company car before that
Also gone in Nov'13, after 7.5 yrs, to new owners with time for more TLC - 1980 Series III 88
Current 2015 Discovery Sport HSE 2.0

The steering wheel is from the Range Rover Sport as is the dash clock & given the RRS is being replaced in the Summer I guess they have surplus stocks or are using it because it is cheaper than designing a new wheel.
The lights are on the stalk I would think because the FL2 dash set up is based on the Evoque & they have the lights on the stalk. (Past) Freelander 2 HSE 2010 MY In Rimini Red.
(Past) RR Evoque Dynamic Lux Si4 In Firenze Red.
(Past) RR Evouque Pure Tech in Barollo Black with bespoke Firenze Red colour coding.
(Present) Freelander Metropolis 2015 MY In Santorini Black with Ivory Premium Leather.

Steering wheel is also shared with Discovery 4 as is dash clock and it isn't being replaced for some time yet.

sorry might be wrong, only had my 2013 for a few days, but I use the small slot between dimmer to put key fob in sideways when its not in my pocket

salesman was surprised when he saw me put it there, not sure if it was what was designed for but works for me

rchrdleigh wrote:

Steering wheel is also shared with Discovery 4 as is dash clock and it isn't being replaced for some time yet.

I have had mine for only a couple of days but immediatly I noticed the thinner steering wheel which feels weird. MY13- TD4 XS Mauritius Blue, Privacy glass, Cold climate pack, Tailgate spoiler, Armrest pack, LED signature, Body side mouldings, Full size spare and finally Mudflaps

GONE - MY11 TD4 HSE LAGO GREY Privacy Glass

GONE- 08 GS Stornoway Grey Privacy Glass
GONE- 07 GS Stornoway Grey Privacy Glass
GONE- 04 Silver

Any pictures Trawlerman? I would love to see how the Mauritius blue looks on the FL2.

Cheers.

The Valeter wrote:

rchrdleigh wrote:

Steering wheel is also shared with Discovery 4 as is dash clock and it isn't being replaced for some time yet.

Next year.

rchrdleigh wrote:

Steering wheel is also shared with Discovery 4 as is dash clock and it isn't being replaced for some time yet.

Quote:

Any pictures Trawlerman? I would love to see how the Mauritius blue looks on the FL2.

Cheers. Smile

No worries.

Got a couple of photos on link below.

http://www.freel2.com/forum/post174854.html#174854 MY13- TD4 XS Mauritius Blue, Privacy glass, Cold climate pack, Tailgate spoiler, Armrest pack, LED signature, Body side mouldings, Full size spare and finally Mudflaps

GONE - MY11 TD4 HSE LAGO GREY Privacy Glass

GONE- 08 GS Stornoway Grey Privacy Glass
GONE- 07 GS Stornoway Grey Privacy Glass
GONE- 04 Silver

I have had another MY13 for the past 5 days whilst my FL2 is in for warranty work. this time a HSE. Wasnt impressed with the somewhat spongy steering wheel until i discovered the heated steering wheel switch - heaven in this cold weather! This one had the signature LED's which I absolute love - they transform the front of the FL2 no end. My initial concerns of the voice sync are now out of the window - being able to dial contacts and set the satnav without having to touch anything other than the sync button on the steering wheel is brilliant.

Having lived with this one for 5 days has definately made up my mind for what i change my current FL2 to next March - yep another FL2!!! (anyone know what the MY14 updates might be?????)