(Mon 06 Oct 08)

From December (if you're a fleet customer) or next May (if you're a private buyer) you'll find that diesel-engined Land Rover Freelanders fitted with manual transmission have become surprisingly economical.

These cars will have their names changed slightly from TD4 to TD4_e, and they will be identical in all respects to the current models, with one important exception: they will be fitted as standard with Land Rover's new Stop/Start technology, which has an important effect on fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

The figures for the current TD4 manual are 37.7mpg and 194g/km on the official EU test. Stop/Start improves the situation to 41.3mpg and 179g/km, which means a £55 reduction in annual car tax (according to the new VED structure which will start next year) as well as the obvious fuel savings. The system is of course at its most effective in urban driving, or in other slow-movement situations such as a jammed-up motorway.

Land Rover has also devoted a lot of effort to making both the starting and stopping procedures as smooth as possible, which has always been an issue with diesel engines. Looking further ahead, Land Rover is trying to make the system work in conjunction with automatic transmission.

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