The Land Rover Freelander 2 has become the first ever compact 4x4 to win a full five-stars from EuroNCAP for crash test safety. That's a major improvement on the old Freelander, which only managed a three-star rating. The Suzuki Grand Vitara, tested at the same time as Freelander 2, scored a respectable four-stars.
But the positions are reversed for pedestrian impact scores. The Grand Vitara scored a healthy three-stars here, the Freelander 2 just one-star.
Euro NCAP Secretary General, Adrian Hobbs said ‘I am delighted that Land Rover has made such an improvement to the level of protection offered to its occupants. It is perhaps surprising that, until now, no small off-roader has managed to achieve a five star rating. I am disappointed though that the company has not invested the same effort into improving the level of protection it offers to pedestrians. In this recent test, the Freelander 2 only achieved one star in pedestrian protection, just as it did in 2003. It concerns me that manufacturers are still not considering the dangers posed by their vehicles in relation to the outside environment’.
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