Freelander 8 2027: Chery and Land Rover’s revived ’90s soft-roader confirmed for Australia

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The Land Rover Freelander is returning to Australia after a decade away, much bigger and more Chinese than before.

A joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover, Freelander, now a brand of its own, will debut here next year with the 8, a large plug-in hybrid SUV.

Unveiled in China in April, Australia and New Zealand are among Freelander’s first export markets, and it’ll be Chery’s sixth brand here, after Chery itself, Jaecoo, Omoda, Lepas and iCaur.

Export market #1 is the United Arab Emirates, where Freelander’s first event outside China was held on Tuesday.

At 5118mm long, 2050mm wide, and 1898mm tall, the Freelander 8, which will come with five or six seats, dwarfs its ancestor, which was Land Rover’s smallest and cheapest car between its launch in 1997 and its demise in 2014. The available rear-wheel steering will be put to good use reducing the turning circle.

It’s bigger than the seven-seat Land Rover Discovery, which measures 4956mm long. To top it off, it’s 613kg heavier – reportedly 2980kg versus the 2367kg of the Discovery, a car that isn’t small by any measure.

The gigantic weight is partly from what powers it. In China, the only choice at present is an extended-range electric powertrain. 

A 60.3kWh lithium battery powers an electric motor at each axle, providing 310km of electric range under the optimistic CLTC testing standard; 210-250km is likely under the WLTP protocol used in Europe and Australia. A 1.5L turbocharged four-cylinder, making 115kW, is primarily a generator to extend the range if the battery goes flat.

Though it’s important to remember Australian specs may differ, in China, combined power and torque are reportedly 610kW and 813Nm.

The Freelander 8’s 800V electrical system enables 350kW DC charging.

It remains to be seen if the new model will inherit the original’s off-road nous, with a mechanically locking front differential, rear limited-slip differential, and a simulated centre differential lock.

Styled to mimic the 1997 Freelander outside, most prominently with the diagonal split in the rear side window, the inside is more contemporary. Following the squared-off, modernist look of Land Rover interiors, the Freelander 8 notably isn’t dominated by screens.

Generous though the 15.6-inch central screen and full-width display under the windshield are, underneath them lie buttons and knobs Chinese cars usually purge. A powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chip should make the screen less laggy than rivals.

Tick the box for six seats and the middle row is heated, ventilated and reclining. At the front is a standard “Commander” driver’s seat delivering Land Rover’s hallmark elevated driving position.

Next to the “Commander” is a PR blunder for the ages. The front passenger seat is called the “Lady” seat. Said seat is designed for occupants up to 190cm tall, to allow them to stretch out.

Due in Australia next year, exact timing and specs are TBA. Priced between AU$66,570 and AU$85,900 in China, an Australian price hovering around $100,000 seems a fair bet.