"The all-new Freelander 2, appropriately, gets two exceptional
new engines. The petrol i6 is one of the smoothest and most refined
4x4 engines in the world. Very compact and packed with technology,
it delivers bags of torque across the rev range. For such a
powerful engine, its fuel consumption and CO2 figures are also
excellent. The new TD4 is one of the world's most advanced and
efficient diesel engines - easily the best small diesel we've ever
installed in a Land Rover, with great response and outstanding
refinement." Andrew Foster, chief programme engineer.
Refined New i6 Petrol Engine
The powerful and torquey 3.2-litre i6 petrol engine gives
Freelander 2 on-road performance comparable to that of many compact
saloons. The vehicle accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 8.9 sec and has
a top speed of 200 km/h. More relevant for everyday motoring, it
also has impressive kick-down acceleration.
Maximum power is 171 kW at 6300 rpm, and maximum torque is 317
Nm at 3200 rpm. These figures are substantially higher than those
offered by the outgoing Freelander's V6 engine 130 kW, 240 Nm).
Performance is also much better than the outgoing vehicle's, as is
fuel economy - which is improved by 10 per cent on the combined
average cycle.
The six-cylinder i6 engine is ingeniously designed to combine a
straight configuration - intrinsically, the most refined and
smoothest engine arrangement - with an exceptionally compact size.
This allows the engine to be transversely mounted, which improves
cabin packaging and gives extra space, in front of and behind the
engine, designed to help optimise the efficiency of the vehicle's
safety systems.
The key to this compact new design is the unique and innovative
Rear End Ancillary Drive (READ) system. Conventional engines drive
camshafts and other engine ancillaries (including alternator, water
pump and air conditioning compressor) from a series of chains and
belts overhanging the front of the engine. The i6's READ system
takes drive to these items up the rear face of the engine - the
side attached to the gearbox - with much less overhang. The result
is an extremely short engine, just 600.5 mm long. This
substantially increases engine bay space, allowing the i6 to be
fitted crossways and the vehicle's advanced crash structure to be
configured around it.
The i6 engine has an aluminium block, head and bedplate and all
are structurally optimised to balance low weight and stiffness.
Even the camshaft cover is structural, allowing it to incorporate
the camshaft bearing caps for further weight reduction.
There are twin overhead camshafts and 24 valves (four per
cylinder) to provide optimal engine breathing. This is further
improved by a patented Cam Profile Switching (CPS) system that
features two completely different intake cam profiles machined onto
the same camshaft. The engine management system decides which cam
profile to use, depending on the engine's running conditions and
driver's torque demands. One profile is ideal for
low-speed/low-load driving; the other, which gives longer valve
lift, is better for higher speeds and loads. An ingenious two-piece
hydraulic valve tappet arrangement alters the cam profiles.
The i6 engine also features a continuously Variable Valve Timing
(VVT) system, which constantly alters valve overlap to achieve
optimum power, efficiency and emissions. The combination of CPS and
VVT gives the new engine impressively broad power and torque bands,
and improves both outright performance and general
driveability.
In addition, the Variable Intake System - which alters both
intake tract length and, more unusually, plenum volume - boosts
low-end torque and high-end power, further enhancing the engine's
breathing capability. Eighty per cent of the vehicle's maximum
torque is available across the entire rev range, and 256 Nm is on
tap all the way from 1400 rpm to 6400 rpm.
Aluminium pistons and forged steel con-rods operate a 7-bearing
forged steel crankshaft with induction hardened bearing surfaces.
The crankshaft timing ring and starter ring are incorporated into
the flexplate that sits between the engine and automatic
transmission for more compact packaging.
Power from the READ system is taken from a gear on the rear
crankshaft web, which also drives the oil pump. This drives a
mid-shaft gear that powers an idler-shaft carrying two
different-sized gearwheels. The front gearwheel drives the
alternator: the rear gear takes drive to the overhead camshafts
through an inverted tooth chain, and also drives the power-steering
pump, engine coolant pump and air-conditioning compressor via a
polyvee belt.
The highly accurate fuel-injection system features four
micro-nozzles per cylinder, each with a diameter of 0.29 mm.
Capable of injecting a large volume of fuel when high performance
is demanded - up to 250 cm3/min - they are also able to provide
total precision when minimal performance is required, helping the
i6 Freelander 2 achieve its combined fuel consumption of 11.2 l/100
km.
The base engine has been developed primarily by Land Rover's
Premier Automotive Group partner Volvo. Built at Bridgend, Wales -
alongside the Land Rover V8 engine family - the i6 engine has been
extensively developed for Land Rover's demanding off-road
requirements, including improved dust, mud and water protection and
the tolerance of operation at more acute angles of tilt.
New TD4 Turbodiesel
The second engine for the Freelander 2 is an all-new 2.2-litre TD4
turbodiesel, which combines great torque and impressive
refinement.
Maximum power for the new diesel engine is 118 kW up from 82 kW
on the outgoing Freelander's 2.0-litre diesel. Maximum torque is
400 Nm - up from 260 Nm. Naturally, performance is improved
substantially. Acceleration from 0-10 km/h takes 11.2,
substantially reduced from 13.2 sec for the previous Freelander
diesel. The combined average fuel consumption is 8.5 l/100 km,
better than the outgoing Freelander diesel despite a 43 per cent
increase in power.
The TD4's advanced technologies include variable in-cylinder
swirl, the latest 'generation 3' common-rail fuel injection, a new
Garrett variable-nozzle turbocharger, a double-walled cylinder
block and sump-mounted balance shafts. The result is impressive
torque spread, fuel economy, performance and refinement. The engine
exceeds the demanding EU4 emissions requirements.
The peak torque of 400 Nm occurs at a very usable 2000 rpm. The
power curve is flat, delivering 80 per cent of peak power across
more than half the rev range. A hefty 200 Nm of torque is available
from 1000 rpm to 4500 rpm. As a result, the Freelander 2 TD4 is
responsive, rewarding and easy to drive.
In automatic versions of the Freelander 2 TD4, hard acceleration
delivers extra performance for short periods thanks to Transient
Overboosting, where turbo pressure is increased. The new GT17B
Honeywell Garrett Variable Nozzle Turbine (VNT) turbo gives great
low-speed response, huge mid-range torque and plentiful upper-end
power. Its small turbine wheel is light, further reducing turbo
lag, which is virtually unnoticeable.
The engine combustion is very efficient, with piezoelectric
injectors, high fuel pressures and variable swirl technology all
reducing combustion noise and in-cylinder pressure. Piezoelectric
injectors provide exact control of the fuel delivery, while the
'generation 3' common-rail injection system is capable of injection
pressures of 1800 bar (over 26,000 psi), about 30 per cent higher
than 'generation 2' systems. Common-rail systems can supply a high
volume of fuel at peak load conditions, one reason why common-rail
engines offer much better performance - as well as better economy -
than older diesel engines.
The new cylinder head design optimises swirl across the entire
engine range. In many diesel engines, this is a compromise between
achieving acceptable swirl at low speed and avoiding excessive
swirl at high gas flow rates. On the TD4, an innovative intake port
deactivation system solves this problem, improving diesel swirl -
and combustion efficiency - at both low and high revs.
Each cylinder has two intake ports. The low-speed tract applies
air at an acute angle to create swirl at low engine loads. Once
higher gas flows are demanded, a second tract opens, providing
extra air - but without increasing swirl.
The cylinder block is manufactured from cast iron, and is double
walled. This not only strengthens the block but significantly
reduces radiating noise, a little like double glazing. The head is
aluminium alloy while the engine cover is made from lightweight
polypropylene, housing foam to absorb specific noise frequencies.
It is simple but highly effective, reducing engine noise by up to a
half.
The crankshaft is made from fillet rolled cast steel and is
supported on five main bearings. A dual-mass flywheel absorbs
engine vibrations. At the other end of the crankshaft, a torsional
vibration damper isolates the crank from the valve- train and
ancillary drives. To aid engine refinement further, the TD4 uses
two counter-rotating balancing shafts, housed in the sump. These
shafts, rotating at twice crank-speed, counter the natural
four-cylinder engine vibrations. They help deliver a remarkably
smooth and refined diesel engine.
The engine - which made its world debut in late 2006 - is a
result of the co-operative agreement between the Ford Motor Company
and PSA Peugeot Citroën which also produced the acclaimed TDV6
fitted to Discovery 3 and Range Rover Sport. As with the i6 petrol
engine, the TD4 engine has been specially developed to meet Land
Rover's unique requirements for wading and extreme off-road angles,
as well as for class-leading dust and mud protection.
New Six-Speed Automatic Transmission
Both Freelander 2 engines come standard with a sophisticated
six-speed automatic transmission, specially developed for Land
Rover's challenging blend of on-road and off-road driving, and
deliver power to Freelander 2's unique full-time intelligent 4x4
driveline.
The Aisin Warner AWF21 six-speed automatic transmission is a
light, compact unit that features a unique remote breather,
deliberately routed above Land Rover's wade line (500 mm water
depth). Seamless shift quality is ensured by a new fully integrated
electronic Transmission Control Module. The module uses different
gearchange maps, depending on whether the transmission is in full
auto, sport or manual CommandShift mode, and when the vehicle is
using one of the special Terrain Response programmes.
- In sport mode, the auto transmission is programmed to hold low
gears longer and to shift down more readily, to assist
acceleration.
- CommandShift allows manual sequential gearchanging.
- When Terrain Response special programmes are engaged, different
mappings are applicable, depending on the mode chosen. The
Transmission Control Module also manages torque converter lock-up,
which has different requirements depending on the selected Terrain
Response mode.