Gaydon, Warwickshire, 19 January 2007 – Land Rover was awarded two prestigious accolades at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards ceremony in London last night, beating tough competition to win Best Compact 4×4 and Best Large 4×4.
The all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 2.2 TD4 GS fought off opposition from the new Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail 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 again to be named Best Large 4×4 for an impressive third year running.
What Car? group editor, Steve Fowler, said: “Land Rover really has got the 4×4 market sewn up. The new Freelander brings new levels of ability, comfort, refinement and cool to the compact 4×4 segment, just as the Discovery has done in the large 4×4 market. Both are worthy What Car? Award winners.”
Land Rover’s managing director, Phil Popham, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win these prestigious awards from What Car? for both the Freelander 2 and the Discovery 3, off the back of our second successive record sales year.”
Popham continued: “The Freelander 2 is our most fuel-efficient model to date and has been launched to widespread acclaim from both the media and customers – who now offset the carbon dioxide for the first 45,000 miles’ use through our industry leading programme with Climate Care. This award is recognition of Freelander 2’s outstanding breadth of capability and gives us a good start as we look forward to the year ahead.
“Achieving the Best Large 4×4 award for three consecutive years for the Discovery 3 TDV6 is a testament to its class-leading diesel engine, its versatility and its all-round package.”
The Freelander 2 is on-sale now at Land Rover dealerships throughout the UK, priced from £20,935 to £33,990, including the contribution to offset carbon dioxide emissions. It has already sold nearly 1,500 units in the UK, since going on sale in December.
The biggest selling model in the UK and in Europe is expected to be the TD4 manual with a combined fuel economy figure of 37.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 194g/km.
The Discovery 3 has sold nearly 30,000 units in the UK and 115,000 units globally since launch in 2004, and continues to collect critical accolades the world over with 94 international awards to date.
