The Land Rover Freelander has always been Land Rover's underdog compared to its siblings, the rugged Land Rover Defender, sporty and luxurious Range Rover and all-rounder albeit very large and heavy, the Land Rover Discovery.
But the Freelander is a great vehicle in its own right as an everyday runner with towing capability when needed. I personally own a facelift Land Rover Freelander 1 HSE and yes, it’s been remapped... Of course, it has!
Before I remapped my Freelander, it was somewhat a ‘lazy landy’. It did not like going up hills or pulling away; the 2.0l diesel BMW engine was only producing 110bhp and 260nm of torque.
My Freelander managed to tow my 6m rib fine, but after having it remapped, she doesn’t even notice her friend tagging along behind! The remapped 2.0l Freelander 1 has an increase bhp of 26% to 140BHP and an increased torque to 340nm, so 30% more grunt to get you up steep hills and confidence to overtake.
I was astonished by the difference. Before the Freelander was remapped, I was considering selling the old girl but she is now a keeper. To the point she is now sporting personal number plates.
The Freelander does just as much as her siblings now, maybe, just maybe even a little better. She is more comfortable then a Defender that's for sure, she tows just as well as a Discovery and she’s now as sprightly as a Range Rover -well almost- but you don't worry about her in car parks as much – that’s for certain.
It’s not only the Freelander 1 that benefits from remapping the Freelander 2 really bridges the gap between the Freelander and range rover. Freelander 2 are full of gadgets and luxury same as the range rover but more affordable to run and with a remap for a few hundred British pounds you can have more power. The average increase for the Freelander 2 models is 20% increase. For example, the 190Bhp 2.2 diesel would remap to 226bhp, the new most common 3.0tdv6 range rover is 253bhp and weighs more so power after remap is on par.
