JLR – parent of Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover – is doing something different. Remember the Land Rover Freelander? Compact premium off-road SUV from the 1990s? Well, it’s coming back. Sort of. JLR is bringing back Freelander, but it will not be under the Land Rover kraal anymore. It will be a brand on its own.
Yes, imagine that. Freelander is about to become a JLR sub-brand, very much like how Range Rover is. So they released these pictures of their first car under that sub-brand, showing a stunning compact SUV concept with what looks like serious off-road capabilities. It’s a “Land Rover” as soon as you set your eyes on it, for sure. But some design bits are of course exaggerated for the purposes of a show car. That includes those “suicide” rear doors, which I doubt will make it to production.
Inside the design is crisp, future-forward and quite clean. I would probably even hasten to add that it’s Chinese-inspired. Big touch screen, some buttons (yay!) below it, a gear lever behind the multi-function steering wheel, two wireless charging ports, some radar devices on the side mirrors etc etc. I can’t really tell, but this concept looks like a 4-seater. Hopefully the production version will feature the normal 5-seat layout.
As far as the powertrain is concerned, it’s anybody’s guess right now. But we do suspect some sustainability involved, including Hybrid and full electric. For markets like Mzansi there should also be diesel options, even in these hard times of ridiculously high pump diesel prices. Freelander will spawn other Freelander derivatives over time and stand on its own as a real JLR sub-brand.