New Vehicle Launch

During urban driving, our vehicles burn the highest amount of fuel and emit most of the harmful gases, due to continuous acceleration after stopping but also when standing still with the engine at idle. If you ever drove on very low fuel, you will know the stressful situation of sitting stuck in traffic with the fuel gauge empty line and the low-fuel warning light mocking you. So you turn off the engine to save every precious drop.

Switching off the engine when standing still is exactly what some cars have been doing for years, especially in Europe, where Stop/Start is popular. The little smart fortwo mhd was released locally in May to diminish its already tiny fuel sips and carbon footprint. This is great (in a small way) but is it not the SUV that is mostly blamed for high fuel use and emissions?

New Technology: Stop/Start

Land Rover comes to the green-cross rescue by introducing the world's first intelligent Stop/Start system on an SUV. Meet Freelander 2 TD4_e. As in underscore and the letter "e". TD4 refers to the proven TurboDiesel 4-cylinder engine and the "e" is from Land Rover e_Terrain technologies, of which an advanced Stop/Start system is the key component.

Explained simply, Stop/Start technology switches off the engine when the Freelander TD4_e stops. This can reduce fuel consumption by 8% in the standard EU4 cycle and CO2 emissions by a big 20% in heavy urban traffic, compared to the previous model without this system. The automatic engine-stop will typically occur at red traffic lights, in stop-start traffic, or whenever the car stops for a few seconds. The system is intelligent because it considers vehicle systems, so will not cut the engine if the battery is low or the climate control needs to work hard. As soon as the accelerator is pressed, the engine starts up again.

There is an Eco switch on the dashboard for this Stop/Start function, with "on" the default setting. The instrument cluster shows Eco Stop/Start status in the info display and on the speedometer. The rev counter houses an arrow pointing up (with a plus-sign inside), nudging the driver towards ideal, economical gearshift points.

Model and Spec

Only one model is available with this new eco-technology, known as the Freelander 2 S TD4_e. The S in there means only the base model currently benefits from this, so not the SE or HSE spec.

Engine and Gearbox

The engine is still the same 2.2 turbodiesel and the same 6-speed manual gearing. Only the diesel manual gets the eco system, so no automatics or petrols. This means it is only the drivetrain that was already the mosy economical that gets the Stop/Start treatment and not the more thirsty auto or petrol – hopefully in time these will too.

Price and Marketing Position

Rivals

One would expect to pay a premium for these benefits, yes? No. Land Rover kindly offers all of this technology, promising to make a difference in your pocket and our ozone, at no extra cost. Not a cent more. R377 500 was the price of the previous model, and it is stays that for the TD4_e.

Favourite Line from Media Release

"Freelander 2 TD4_e becomes Land Rover's most fuel-efficient, lowest-emissions vehicle ever"

Finding

Well done, Land Rover, for putting the "e" in SUV.

: David S :
Full member of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists