Land Rover goes FWD with 2011 LR2 & Evoque

With the first info on the facelifted 2011 Land Rover LR2, also known as Freelander elsewhere, Land Rover is jumping full force into the crossover market. For the 2011 LR2 will be the second Land Rover ever to be offered in a front-wheel-drive version. The first one was, of course, the 2011 Range Rover Evoque.

However, the LR2 will be offered in front-wheel-drive form with the small diesel engine choices in Europe only. The petrol version that we in the GCC get will continue to be in all-wheel-drive form only.

The 2011 LR2 facelift consists only of an unnoticeably-changed front end, new wheels and some new cabin trim bits. There is no mention of petrol engines or even rear photos yet. We assume the rear got a few changes too. Update: Some new photos were finally released, showing the new tail lights.

The 2011 Land Rover LR2 will likely hit the streets well before the 2011 Range Rover Evoque, the latter still with few released photos and no real information other than it will be offered in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive forms. Some say this trend towards front-driven small crossovers is to bring the Land Rover line-up’s average fuel economy in line with increasingly-strict government regulations in the West.

Keep track of UAE prices and GCC specs in the Land Rover buyer guide.