Test drive Land Rover Freelander 1998 - 2000 SUV

An invitation to a trip

Land Rover Freelander can be called a victim of the Russian economy. The next year, the car debuted in the fall of 1997 was preparing to land on our territory after the Toyota Rav4 and Honda CR-V, rapidly gaining popularity, but then the August crisis broke out. Freelander official sales were postponed, as it seemed then, for an indefinite time. In short, in order to enter the Russian market, the smallest Land Rover took exactly two years.

Of course, Freelander has not appeared in Russia today. Gray importers brought it almost immediately after the start of sales in Europe. But now another thing is - the car is certified and sold through an official dealer network.

We can say that the soil on which Freelander blossomed, the Japanese loomed-it is the world that they owe the world by the appearance of parquet (beach, boulevard) SUVs, like Rav4, HR-V, CR-V and Forester. These machines are for those who, most often urban, do not need a passable radicalism of real SUVs, but who has ceased to arrange impassable conservatism of ordinary cars. This is especially true in our Fatherland, where roads often are often in cities - you yourself know which (how can you not recall General Lebed’s aphorism: if anyone doubts that Russia has its own path, let him travel along our roads). Maybe Russia is a country, so to speak, 4x4?

It is hard to believe that Land Rover succumbed to fashion and only therefore built the next parquet scarcum. Moreover, at the time when I was under the influence of BMW AG. It cannot be that the market success of Freelander (last year - the 4x4 car, which was far -wrapped in Europe, far overtaken rivals) was explained only by the prestige and reputation of the brand. Let's try to figure it out ...

For two and a half years, which have passed since birth, the car outwardly did not old - this timelessness is characteristic of all Land Rover brand cars. Freelander looks very stylish, it is inherent in a large share of visual functionality - it is immediately clear that the car will not be afraid to leave a good road if necessary. In any case, his driver will not be afraid to scratch the body (especially in front and behind), and the bottom is at a decent height. The engine and transmission are covered by aluminum protection that is going on the bumper - it will come in handy with sharp braking on the off -road so as not to peck any stone. The reserve fixed on the back door also works on the desired image.

To finally determine the class affiliation of Frelander, we will come into technical details. The body carrier, according to its design, Freelander is rather a road car than an SUV. The suspension of all the wheels is independent, such as Macpherson, which is also quite natural for a passenger car. The difference is increased road clearance and suspension passages (they reach 180 mm).

The transversely installed engine is combined into a block with a gearbox corresponding to this layout of the type, from it the torque is fed to the front wheels. And from it, the shaft goes to the rear axle gearbox at right angles - the car is all -wheel drive ...

There is no center differential in the transmission, its role is played by a viscous coupling. When Freelander moves along a normal road, without slipping, the angular speeds of rotation of its wheels are the same, and the shafts converging in the viscous coupling have a constant difference in rotation frequencies. At the same time, theoretically the coupling is disconnected, and the torque does not transmit to the rear axle - the car moves on the front drive. But it is worth the front wheels at least a little bit, there will be a difference in the frequencies of rotation of the wheels - and the shafts. Immediately, the viscosity of silicone fluid in the coupling will increase sharply (she has such properties), it will begin to transfer torque to the rear wheels, and the car will smoothly turn into an all -wheel drive.

In practice, Freelander has a rear differential’s gear ratio slightly higher than the front (3.214: 1 versus 3.188: 1), therefore, even on the ideal coating, some part of the torque is still supplied to the rear bridge ...

And where is the blocking of differentials, will adherents of this full -wheel drive ask? Its role is played by the Electronic Traction Control traction system, which slows down the skid wheels, thereby transmitting torque to those wheels that have a better clutch. There is also a system of descent from the HDC mountain (Hill Descent Control), which helps to maintain exchange stability on steep descents. It works when driving in first and rear gear at speeds up to 9 km/h. I met the same on the BMW X5 (motor #4, 2000), in fact, it was borrowed from Land Rover ...

Features of Freelander mechanics do not allow it to be called a full -fledged SUV - there is no general reducing transmission in the transmission, forcibly disconnected front or rear axles and blocked differentials. How such a car will behave on the road and outside it, we will still see.

Since Freelander is higher than an ordinary car, I prepared to climb up, which - taking into account my two -meter height, is more convenient than diving to a low driver's place. Early rejoiced. The chair turned out to be too high, you sit under the ceiling - I had to tilt the back even more than usual so as not to beat his head on the roof. The control of the pillow in height would not hurt ...

Otherwise, it is quite convenient, the steering column is adjusted along the angle of inclination, which allows the steering wheel to give the right position. The visibility of the driver's place is good, the gearbox lever (with the yellow HDC button) is located successfully, the same can be said about pedals.

Torpedo, and the salon in general, is distinguished by a strict and functional design. For some reason, I remembered: a colonial style. So you see - you burst into the salon in dusty clothing (and without mandatory cork helmet), cut things in specially designated places, and forward - into sunset (or sunrise) ... The texture of the torpedo material and its components allows you to not carefully monitor the state Hands: If something was getting dirty - it doesn’t matter, you can almost clean the cleanliness from the hose and then wipe with dry rough matter.
This does not mean that Freelander is a car for the blinds, but everything can be during the trip. On the sides of the combination of instruments in the Landrover style, there are buttons to control automotive electrical engineering, on the central console the built -in branded radio divides the space with the remote control and an ashtray. The rear seat turned out to be even higher than the front, and sitting there, especially behind a tall driver, as they say, not sugar, but for trips at short distances - tolerant. It is better to go together after all.

Now - in the trunk. At the entrance of visitors meets an original additional stop signal, which can easily become a victim of vandals. When you take the handle to open the fifth door, the electric drive slightly lowers the door of the door, when slapping, it returns to its place, compacting the opening. An excellent solution: with a sowing battery, you can’t open the back door ... Completely the glass can be lowered, lifted from the driver's seat and from the remote control of the alarm and door locks. The trunk is small, especially in width - the place of the rear suspension Macpherson eat the place. The picture is slightly brightened up to fold the back of the rear seat (separately).

It was not so easy to look under the hood. Where is the opening handle? Time passed, I climbed all the surroundings of the driver's seat - in vain. Finally, I remembered the nationality of the car ... brilliant! The lever was on the lower side panel of the right front rack of the roof - in the very place where it should be ... for cars with the right wheel. What is it - English charm, or maybe Land Rover experts decided to save? Charm charm, but stretch every time through the entire salon? I wonder how in England the former left -handed cars? It's good that at least the wipers are from the right side ...

The hood is finally open. Where is the motor? Some kind of children's film surfaced in the memory where there was a car with a hay of hay instead of the engine, but it drove it anyway, and it was called a ghost. In fact, the motor is in place, it is just small (volume of 1.8 liters) and hid in the depths of the compartment. The capacity of the Rover engine of the series K (by the way, is put on the MGF Roadster) - 120 hp. at 5500 vol./min., Torque - 165 Nm at 2750 rpm. Something is weak for a car with a equipped mass of two tons ...

The motor is easy to start, and now we are already leaving the parking lot. An attempt to accelerate led to his violent sound reaction, while the car proved himself inconsistently to this - noticeably calmer. Further attempts to achieve a more intelligible reaction to a sharp pressing of the gas pedal did not have tangible success. I had to move in reduced gears and accordingly high speeds to keep up with the traffic flow. Later they explained to me in the car dealership - this is how it should be done, they say that the engine is not afraid of large revolutions and everything will be fine. I would not say. Even on small rises, the motor noticeably lost its fuse, as if following the Olympic principle, the main thing is not the victory, but participation. For a more or less calm driving, such an engine is enough, but you don’t have to count on more ...

A very joyful moment is the work of the suspension. Many will envy such smoothness. You can safely move, not paying attention to the irregularities and defects of the coating. The suspension extinguishes strong blows well, the possibility of her breakdown seems unrealistic. The car very gently flows everything that falls under the wheels, but there is no fervor, and Frelander quickly calms down. The roll in corners is also small. A payment for this can be called somewhat belated reactions to the actions of the steering wheel, especially with intense movement or attempts to quickly rebuild.

In corners on dry asphalt, Frelander behaves like a typical front -wheel drive car. There are no special complaints about the brakes, they cope well with their duties - largely due to the fact that they are designed for increased loads (recall the ETC, ABS and HDC systems).

We move out of the road and find ourselves on Snezhnoye virgin lands (do not be surprised - Maisky’s number, but the test took place in March). At first, I moved carefully, but then dared and began to steal circles, making a rut to check the ability of Frelander to move in it and get out of it. There is such ability. The car confidently walked in the first or second gears, the engine power is enough - it has never stalled, not to mention the fact that she was not stuck. The only thing that I did not really like was an unexpectedly large radius of turning, but it has nothing to do with cross -country ability ...

What is the result? Land Rover Freelander turned out to be a very extraordinary and interesting car - both visually and in running qualities. He behaves perfectly on the road and at the same time gives a city resident the opportunity to go on a trip to nature without fear. Is the motor weak? Yes, it is weak for off -road. But, firstly, in the range there are 2 l turbodiesel with a higher torque, and, secondly, 2.5 liters of the V6 gasoline engine from Rover 75 have already appeared-this was announced in Geneva in March.

The price of a car in Russia now does not exceed $ 30,000, which makes it a serious competitor to Honda and Toyota products with letter abbreviations instead of names.

P. S. Until recently, the prospects of Frelander looked completely cloudless. For example, one could expect lengthening the base in a 5-door version, which would add a spaciousness in the cabin and improve the appearance of the rear doors (now they do not look very-because of the need to go around the rear wheeled arches). It was possible ... and now - who knows what the new owner of Land Rover will do with the car - Ford.

Sergey Ivanov
 

Source: Motor magazine [No. 5/2000]