UK: Land Rover's double delight

The Freelander 2 won Best Compact SUV and the Discovery 3 scooped the Best Large SUV.

Auto Express Motoring and Digital editor, Daniel Strong said: "When it comes to off-road credentials, few firms can match the history and experience of one of Britain's best loved motoring brands. Land Rover celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, but it shows no signs of slowing down.

"A host of new metal has arrived in the past 12 months with the aim of knocking the Freelander 2 off the top of the off-road summit, but the Land Rover's depth of talent has seen it retain its title as the best compact SUV."

"The entry-level Land Rover is accomplished on road and absolutely peerless in the mud, where it feels every bit as capable as models from the class above. It's this ability, along with its practicality as a family car, which made the Freelander 2 such a big hit with our judges."

On the Discovery 3 model, Strong continued: "It's not hard to see why it took our top award, because its versatile design fulfills many roles - from seven-seater MPV to off-tarmac workhorse."

Land Rover UK's managing director, John Edwards, said: "We are very proud to receive these two awards from Auto Express. Winning the Best Compact category with the Freelander 2 for the third consecutive year is an incredible achievement in this highly competitive sector.

"The Discovery 3 continues to receive numerous high-status accolades and we are confident that its successor, the new Discovery 4, will build upon the superb achievements of the outgoing model with new powertrain, improved dynamics and a fresh design."

In May this year, the TD4_e version of Freelander 2 went on sale. It is Land Rover's most fuel-efficient vehicle to date due to its intelligent Stop/Start system. It is the world's first SUV to feature such a system and is also the first production vehicle to incorporate technologies from the Land Rover's programme of sustainable engineering initiatives, collectively named 'e_TERRAIN TECHNOLOGIES'.

During the standard EU4 Cycle, the CO2 emissions of the Freelander 2 TD4_e are reduced by 8%, compared with the previous manual diesel Freelander 2. Moreover, in additional tests, Land Rover engineers have measured fuel savings approaching 20% in heavy urban traffic.

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Credits: JRC