Review: Land Rover Freelander Stop/Start

Four-wheel-drive vehicles are routinely criticised - and often singled out - for the size of their carbon footprint compared to other forms of transport. Land Rover, which makes nothing but 4x4s, is understandably keen to amend this negative connotation.

And while driving a heavy 4x4 will never be the greenest way to take the kids to school, Land Rover is at least tackling its environmental impact head on. It says it has shrunk the CO2 footprint of its assembly plant by 30 per cent since 1997, and it currently offsets all the CO2 arising from manufacture as well as the first 72,000km of use for each vehicle, in what it believes is the world's largest carbon offsetting programme.

The company also sells some of the heaviest cars on the road, so it is working on lighter structures for future models, borrowing expertise in aluminium construction from its sister company Jaguar. Further innovations in the pipeline include smaller models, electric drive and kinetic-energy recovery systems to store and release the energy otherwise wasted each time the driver uses the brake pedal.

From spring 2009, a more immediate improvement will appear in the shape of the Freelander TD4_e, which will replace the existing diesel Freelander TD4 manual – one of Land Rover’s best-selling models.

The "e" presumably stands for economy, because the new model boasts a set of changes designed to reduce fuel consumption when the car is used on-road. According to Land Rover’s engineers, the benefit can be as much as 20 per cent on the congested urban routes where 4x4s attract such opposition.

The most noticeable change is an engine cut-off or "stop/start" system, which halts the engine whenever the Freelander is in neutral with the clutch up, and either stationary or coasting at less than walking pace. Halting the engine of course means that the car burns no fuel at all while sitting in traffic jams or waiting at lights.

We drove the TD4_e on central London roads and found the stop/start system very easy to live with, requiring almost no change in driving style. Land Rover says it has aimed for a "soft stop and smooth start" for the 2.2-litre diesel engine, and this does seem to be the case. The engine restarts promptly when the clutch pedal is pressed to select first gear, with an audible burst from the starter motor the only real sign that anything unusual has happened.The engine will not halt if a gear is selected, even if the car is held stationary on the brake and clutch, so there is no unwanted pause when joining a busy roundabout, for example.

The driver can manually switch the stop/start function on or off by pressing a dashboard button. If left off, the function will reactivate at the start of the next journey, maximising the chance that the system will succeed in cutting consumption.

Cutting the engine could be dangerous off-road, so if the driver has selected one of the four off-road modes offered by Land Rover's Terrain Response controller, the engine will no longer switch off of its own accord. This means the Freelander’s considerable off-road capability is unaffected, as we learned while negotiating a rough course of steep climbs and descents laid out in and around the disused Battersea power station.

A fringe benefit of the stop/start package is that a stalled engine can be restarted simply by pressing the clutch within five seconds of stalling. This handy feature continues to function in off-road mode, as we proved repeatedly while bogged down in axle-deep gravel during our off-road tests. The engine will also restart automatically if the car starts to roll at more than walking pace when in neutral. Making demands on the air-conditioning system will also trigger a restart.

The technique of saving fuel by stopping and starting the engine automatically dates back to the 1980s, but has only recently become a viable option with engines that can be relied upon to restart promptly and electronic control systems to monitor power usage. The engines of certain BMWs, Minis and Smarts currently perform the feat, and even budget brand Kia has said it will offer a "Stop&Go" model from January. Hybrids from Honda and Toyota also cut and restart the engine automatically.

Uprated starter motors and batteries are required, of course, as these components suffer greater wear and tear through increased use.

Under the standard EU4 Cycle, the CO2 emissions of the Freelander 2 TD4_e are reduced by eight per cent compared with the current model. The official CO2 emissions fall from 194g/km to 179g/km. Under the new UK tax bands in effect from April 2009, this means the Freelander drops from Band J to Band I, saving £125 in first-year tax and £35 the following year. Fuel savings will vary according to use, but on the standard test cycle they amount to one litre every 77 miles, or about 130 litres saved every 10,000 miles.

Land Rover adds that the Freelander already complies with upcoming EU rules on how recyclable the car and its components must be. From 15 December 2008, 85 per cent of any newly introduced vehicle must be reusable or recyclable, and 95 per cent must be reusable or recoverable. The rules will apply to existing models from 15 July 2010.

Overall we found the Freelander TD4_e very easy to live with and unsurprisingly capable off-road, and we applaud Land Rover’s efforts to cut the car's considerable carbon footprint down to size.

Cost: £32,345
On sale: April 2009
Engine: 2179cc 4-cylinder turbodiesel
Output: 160bhp at 4000rpm; 295lbft at 2000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Performance: 0-62mph 10.9sec, 112mph,
Economy: 42.2mpg; 179g/km CO2
Weight: 1770kg
Dimensions in mm (length/width/height): 4500/2005/1765