Freelander was always kind of the Cinderella in Land Rover, writes Brian Byrne.
The first generation got an iffy name for reliability that wasn't necessarily deserved, and anyhow it became a best seller for the brand. The second one got over the reliability rep, but for some reason was never considered a competitor in the same arena as Discovery and the upmarket Range Rovers. Despite being a very decent performer both on and off road. Just how decent was shown by the success of its later and dressier sister, the Range Rover Evoque. Fine clothes against (relative) rags, no recognition of the same personality underneath the dusty working clothes.
But the fairy godmother has done her wand-waving, and Freelander is reborn. Renamed too. Discovery Sport is fresh, well-dressed, and ready to take its deserved place in the premium kingdom of JLR.
Supply issues delayed its arrival to Irish showrooms, and the official launch this week is a little tardier than the importers OHM would have liked. But there's a strong interest in the Discovery Sport, and with a fairly reliable hope of getting 350 units this year, they'll probably have no difficulty in delivering them all to customers. Along with the 2015 sales of the always strong-selling Evoque, the importers are planning to take 20 percent of the premium medium SUV segment. Land Rover Ireland boss Eddie Kavanagh says there's a really big expression of interest from a non-Land Rover owner cohort.
The new car has, uniquely in its category, an option of seven seats, which will make its own extra space in the sales figures. It also comes with an upgrade of luxury, more room generally — those in the rear can have almost as much space as do back seat occupants in a full-size Range Rover.
And, well, it's cheaper. At least to start. The entry level is now at €37,100, or more than €2,000 less than the starting price of the previous version. Though you can at the moment order it in upspec to the tune of €57,350.
The standard specifications are strong. Terrain Response with four settings for offroad use. A wading depth of 600mm which is better than that of the iconic Defender. Superior on-road handling performance thanks to a torque vectoring by braking system as used in the Jaguar F-Type sports car, and a new multi-link rear suspension. An SUV first with its pedestrian airbag. And, since many Land Rover owners need to tow, there are a number of solutions here which facilitate this. Oh, and a full-size spare wheel. Under the boot floor in the 5-seat, under the vehicle in the 7-seat.
We had a good road run at the launch, and also dirtied the car badly on a fairly decent off-road course with plenty of mud. We know from experience with the brand that it is capable of much more than we put it through, and we'll try and challenge it even more when we get it out seriously in a few weeks' time.
We never believed in Cinderella as far as Freelander was concerned. But now crowned Discovery Sport, it will never have to clean out the JLR palace fireplaces.
Pictured at the launch of the Discovery Sport are Eddie Kavanagh, General Manager of Land Rover Ireland; and Gerard O'Farrell, MD Jaguar Land Rover Ireland.
