My nearest and dearest will confirm that I am not generally enthusiastic about automatic transmissions, so it was with a sense of duty rather than delight that I first climbed aboard the clutchless Freelander Td4.
That soon changed, to the point where I decided that if I were to buy once of these cars for myself, I would unhesitatingly choose the automatic version.
This option costs ?1370, and it’s worth every last groat of that sum. It’s not that the standard manual is itself an inferior unit - in fact, in SUV terms it’s pretty good - but the six-speed auto is outstandingly better.
Why? Because the changes are so quick, and so smooth, and require so little effort even if you select the CommandShift mode for manual sequential selection. The lightest pressure forwards or backwards on the lever gives you the next gear up or down respectively with such slickness that you’re already there before you’ve taken your hand away, and even if you’re pushing the accelerator pedal into the carpet at the time you hear the change in engine revs more than you feel the change.
One strange aspect of this - not what you’d expect from an automatic - is that the TD4 actually feels much more sporty than it does in manual form. With the manual, you might unconsciously decide to change down just one gear for a corner when two would be more suitable, and burble round gently. In the automatic, you change down twice, with minimal effort, and come out of the corner more quickly, with the engine more solidly in its useful power band.
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