Gaydon, Warwickshire, 18 January 2007 – Land Rover again beat tough competition to win the Best Compact 4×4 and the Best Large 4×4 categories at the 2008 What Car? Car of the Year Awards ceremony in London last night.
The all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2.2-litre GS fought off opposition in what is one of the most hotly contested sectors to win Best Compact 4×4, while the Discovery 3 TDV6 SE auto beat its rivals yet again to be named Best Large 4×4 for an impressive fourth year running. They were also both awarded ‘best buys’ in their respective price categories of over £20,000 for Freelander 2 and £30-40,000 for Discovery 3, as was the Range Rover TDV8 Vogue at over £40,000.
What Car? group editor, Steve Fowler, said: “In spite of tough competition over the past year from a whole host of new models, Land Rover continues to clean up in the 4×4 sector. The Freelander 2 remains our pick of compact 4x4s – it’s a true off-roader, but is comfortable and civilised for every day use. As for the Discovery 3, our overall Car of the Year in 2005, it remains the best large 4×4 by some margin – testimony to the cleverness of the design and engineering of the car.”
Land Rover’s managing director, Phil Popham, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win these prestigious awards yet again from What Car?. These accolades are recognition of the continued relevance of our vehicles and their class-leading versatility.”
Land Rover’s sales in the UK exceeded 50,000 units last year for the first time in its 60 year history.
The Freelander 2’s first full year of production in the UK saw sales of just under 19,000, the Discovery 3 continues to sell well with nearly 40,000 sold in the UK since launch back in 2004, and the introduction of the more efficient turbo diesel V8 in Range Rover Sport and Range Rover helped to keep the brand at the forefront of the luxury SUV segment.
To book a test drive or for further information on any of the Land Rover range log onto
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The Freelander 2 TD4 GS, priced at £23,460, comes with Land Rover’s innovative Terrain Response™, cruise control, rear park distance control and automatic climate control as standard
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The Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Automatic, priced at £38,895, comes with a generous specification including active four-corner air suspension, Terrain Response™, cruise control, automatic climate control, a leather pack, satellite navigation and park distance control. Fuel consumption (combined cycle) is 30.0mpg on the TDV6 manual (27.2mpg with automatic transmission) and CO2 emissions are 249g/km (manual) and 275g/km (automatic)
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About Land Rover – Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true ‘breadth of capability’ across the model range. Defender, Freelander 2, Discovery 3, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover each define the world’s 4×4 sectors, with 78% of this model range exported to over 140 countries. Land Rover employs 9,500 people and supports a further 40,000 jobs supported in the supply chain
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Land Rover is committed to addressing the challenges of climate change and since September 2006 carbon dioxide generated by Land Rover manufacturing activities and UK customer vehicle use has been balanced through an industry leading offset programme run by Climate Care
