Driving around Dartmoor was a breeze with the Freelander HSE TD4. The Freelander followed the Defender 110 driven by Matt Martin from Sandskater.
During the January snow that had led to Frozen Britain, Dartmoor got a fresh coat overnight. The night before had seen severe conditions on high ground and led to problems at Haldon Hill for the 2nd time in 11 months. The Pirelli Scorpion 225/55 R17 tyres coped fairly well, though some All Terrain tyres, such as BF Goodrich T/A’s, would be an improvement. When stationary with wheels dug into slippery ruts, the tyres lacked grip and it meant sliding sideways sometimes in order to climb out. Where there is a little space to reverse, any loose surface or ruts are easily overcome once the vehicle has a little momentum.
On slush, ice, fresh snow, packed snow the Freelander was in its element. Driving up and down inclines with all of the above was effortless. Traction control rarely came into effect, with ‘TC’ lighting up only when trying to transverse ruts from stationary.
The Land Rover never flinched when ascending a very slushy rutted stretch of road, even though the driver had visions of traction control kicking in and wheels spinning.
In fact the Freelander loved the snow, and was very capable, driving along ruts that had been made by vehicles with a much greater ground clearance – evident by the sound of the underside scraping the deeper snow.
Where there was room, the Freelander even managed to do some drifting, but that’s another story.. (see below for a brief video clip).
See also Matt Martin’s article on Which Land Rover to take off roading? Freelander 1 at his Land Rover Blog.
Tags: 110, 4x4, Dartmoor, Defender, Freelander, Land Rover, off-road, Sandskater, snow, TD4, uksnow
