Land Rover axed the Freelander from global showrooms in 2014, but the name which debuted in 1997 is making a comeback, and it’ll be coming to Australia.
Revealed at last week’s Beijing motor show, the Freelander 8 is the first vehicle to launch from a new joint venture brand between Chinese giant Chery and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
With Freelander now its own standalone brand, the 8 SUV is its debut offering, pairing design cues from previous iterations of the Land Rover Freelander with Chery’s technological might.
Designed “under the direction” of Land Rover Defender and Range Rover Velar designer Phil Simmons, there are hints at the Freelander’s roots in its styling, such as its headlights and diagonally split rear quarter windows.
“The opportunity with Freelander was to respect its heritage while making it relevant for modern customers,” said Simmons. “That means clean, confident design paired with genuinely useful technology.”
It’s a blocky thing though, and with reports from China claiming it measures about 5.1 metres in length, it’s not small either, being even larger than the current Defender 110.
A total of six seats are inside the cabin, spread across three rows to provide slightly more room for occupants.
Freelander hasn’t published any images of the 8’s interior, though it says the SUV features a ‘large-format mini LED display’, which incorporates the digital instrument cluster and infotainment system.
Previous reports suggested the Freelander 8 would be based on Chery’s T1X platform, however CarNewsChina reports it’s underpinned by a new Freelander-specific architecture.
This will allow it to support the use of electric-only, plug-in hybrid and range-extender powertrains, a far cry from the popular petrol and diesel options of the first two Freelanders.
Importantly, it will be made in right-hand drive, with Chery Australia confirming the Freelander 8 is set to be offered locally, though timing won’t be locked in until production begins.
In January, it was reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and executives from JLR were meeting with Chery to convince the carmaker to start production in the UK, however no public results of these discussions were made.
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