Land Rover Test Drive Event, Royal Selangor Club, Bkt Kiara

I will admit this, I never quite fancied big cars – SUVs, 4WDs, MPVs and the like. You won’t be finding any Harriers, Estimas, Alphards and their kind in any of my list of all things cool. Neither will you find me drooling over BMW’s X-whatevers, even the highly acclaimed X6 - come on, what kind of a name is an X6 xDrive50i? The Nissan Murano is an exception. That car looks like it came out of Captain Kirk’s garage.

So, you would be guessing right now that Land Rover isn’t among my list of favourite brands, and you would be spot on in your assessment. However, it is a brand that I respect. Why? Because they are built and designed religiously around a philosophy to which they hold dear. It’s just like Volvo’s philosophy is on uncompromising safety, BMWs always offer sheer driving pleasure, and Alfas always come with engines that rev with lustful zings. Landies, whether you need it or not, are uncompromisingly capable off-roaders.

Go beyond.

Unlike the old Land Rover Series I, modern Land Rovers are all very civilised upmarket transports, but still armed to the teeth for off-road missions. Most owners are unlikely to come across a situation where Hill Descent Control is needed, but any Land Rover without all these tricks are doomed to be dismissed by enthusiasts of the brand as fraud. Why do you think front-wheel driven Bimmers wear a ‘MINI’ badge?

This weekend, LR‘s distributor in Malaysia, AutoConnexion has organised an event at the Royal Selangor Club for the public to test drive the lineup of Landies available for Malaysians. In the past, I would have given this event a miss without batting an eyelid, but I decided it’s time to widen my horizons. I wanted to see and feel for myself the elements that make this brand tick.

The choice of the Royal Selangor Club to host this event is an excellent one, as it reflects on Land Rover’s now upmarket status. Unfortunately, however, there really weren’t many places that visitors could park their cars, and most end up parking by the roadside. With the Club also hosting the International Youth Cricket 2008 tournament, I could only imagine how far away some visitors had to walk from their cars to the Club entrance.

Parking was a problem.

Parked in front of the guard house is an old LR Series I, greeting you and signifying the location of the event. As you walk in, you will notice a tent to your right, with a row of Landies parked in front of it, waiting for you to test drive them, of course. You walk into the tent to register your intentions, and while waiting for your turn, you can inspect upclose the Freelander 2, the Discovery 3 and the Range Rover Sport. I opted for each of the three aforementioned models. There was also the Range Rover TDV6 2.7, but I had to skip that one for another appointment.

The original Land Rover

The entire fleet for your driving pleasure.

Call this number for enquiries. (Disclaimer: This is not the girl’s number)

I went on the Disco 3 first. An interesting approach opted by AC was that each car is specifically assigned to one salesperson, rather than the usual mix-and-matching. Onto the car, the Disco 3 goes for RM382k, and that money brings you all the usual luxury goodies that include an 8-speaker harmon/kardon audio setup, park distance control, and rain sensors among many others.

Under the bonnet is a 2,720 cc V6 turbodiesel that whacks out 189bhp @ 4,000rpm and 440Nm @ 1,900rpm. All that juice goes to the four wheels via a six-speed auto (with manual override, like any good luxury car these days). The drivetrain is also equipped with Hill Descent Control, a system which allows the car to go down even the most slippery slopes in full control. The turbodiesel unit is sufficiently responsive and punchy, and while you won’t need to shave of any of the speeds you built up in it going over bumps, you definitely want to when going around corners. It’s still a tall car!

Land Rover Discovery 3 TDV6 2.7L HSE

Disco-3’s interior

Fully armed for off road action

After the Disco 3, I took the Freelander 2 to the road. At RM271k, the FL2 is a whopping RM100k cheaper than the Disco 3, but is it RM100k less of a car than a Disco 3? Well, it does not feel that way. As a matter of fact, I’d say the Freelander 2 is a car I can more easily live with on a day-to-day basis, being more nimble and easier to drive. I cornered the FL2 with far greater poise and confidence than I did on the Disco 3. Oh, on both these cars, I was told not to brake for humps, with the intention of demonstrating their superior ride quality. Well, they succeeded on that count.

The FL2 is powered by a 2,179cc inline 4 turbodiesel. This unit churns out an impressive 160bhp @ 4,000rpm and 400Nm @ 2,000rpm. Despite the lower figures, this unit revs far more willingly than the Disco-3’s V6 unit. It’s perhaps not as fast, but the perception certainly does not suggest so. It’s not short on gizmoes either, it’s list of features and accessories are easily as long as that of the Disco 3 and no less impressive.

Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 HSE 2.2L

Freelander-2’s interior

Eh? Where’s the sat nav?

Finally, I hopped on to the Range Rover Sport – the absolute top dog of the range. The privelege of owning one will set you back by RM566k, with the money getting you a 4,394cc petrol V8 that produces 295bhp @ 5,500rpm and 425Nm @ 4,000rpm. Of course, that alone is not enough. How do you differentiate this from the RM200k cheaper Disco 3? Well, for one, when you climb on board, you notice that the cabin fit and materials are of a notch higher than the other 2 variants on display.

That satisfies the price, but does it satisfy the ‘Sport’ badge as well? This is a tall car. A renowned TV presenter once remarked that ‘anything that is tall, is not sporty’, citing personal experience. I will admit, I am of this school of thought, but then again these days it’s so fashionable to attach a ‘Sport’ badge to every other model, can we blame Land Rover for indulging themselves? Of course, that massive V8 upfront is a sufficiently powerful statement of intent.

Going over the same test route as I did with the Disco 3 and FL2 (which I must say was sufficiently long and well-plotted), I immediately noticed a much firmer suspension setup. As a result, the salesperson did not encourage me to crash through bumps like their other two did. Perhaps I am used to driving lower sedan cars, but this ‘Sport’ setup certainly didn’t convince me to corner this baby too hard, though I got a good measure of its punch up a straight line.

Range Rover Sport

4.4 V8 power under the hood.

Interior noticeably more upmarket

Good positioning of PW switches (applies to all models)

Touch screen… nice.

Of the three cars I tested, my favourite also happens to be the cheapest one. No doubt it lacks the horses, torque and toys compared to its more expensive siblings, the Freelander 2 is definitely the best driver’s car in my opinion. However, it would also be unfair to berate the other two for lacking ‘sportiness’ in their character. That’s tantamount to criticising Arsenal for not being able to play basketball. The criticism would be valid, but it would be missing the point.

When you drive a Land Rover, it’s not about how hard it grips around a corner – that’s a task for a BMW. The point of a Land Rover is to ferry you and your passengers in safety & comfort knowing full well that you are in a vehicle capable of handling almost any terrain you decide to drive over without breaking sweat. As the tagline says, Go Beyond!