That’s the word from Land Rover New Zealand boss, Wal Dumper. “The Freelander 2 HSE will encounter inevitable price rises in 2009 and its specification will rise further away from the (newly-launched) SE.”
Dumper says he doesn’t know how long he can hold the SE’s price at $59,990, but the more upmarket $69,990 HSE “faces an increase of 10 percent or more in the New Year.”
That price rise will “present existing (Freelander) owners with the reality of potential appreciation and better retained values.”
The Freelander 2 HSE turbodiesel has all of the equipment that’s in the new SE, but adds bi-xenon headlights with automatic levelling control, front park distance control, puddle lamps, a memory function for the driver’s seat settings, and front footwell lights.
It replaces the 17-inch wheels with 18-inch alloys, dark laurel wood veneer is used on the dashboard, and a more powerful nine-speaker sound system is fitted.