What's the news?

Land Rover is shuffling the cards of its Freelander deck, boosting equipment levels and tweaking specifications as the car enters its last full year of production. It will be replaced in late 2015 by the incoming Discovery Sport, so Land Rover wants to make sure that it keeps customer interest in the car as high as possible for its run-out period.

So, out goes the top-grade HSE trim and in comes a new spec called Metropolis. Is that name to underscore the Freelander's increasingly urban nature? Or have Land Rover's designers just been overdosing on Superman comics lately? Whichever, Metropolis models get electrically adjustable (eight-way for driver, six-way for passenger) front seats upholstered in premium Windsor leather; touchscreen-controlled satellite navigation; an 825W Meridian surround sound system; panoramic sunroof; and 19-inch diamond-turned alloy wheels. The manifest also extends to Xenon headlights with Land Rover's signature LED daytime running lights, a heated steering wheel, luxury carpet mats, a reversing camera, premium metallic paint and gloss black interior detailing.

GS and XS models are now to be replaced by new SE and SE Tech grades. SE will be the most basic Freelander but it will still get a heated windscreen, front fog lights, front and rear centre armrests, 18-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels and the Design Pack combination of colour-matched bumpers and sills. This is all provided in addition to heated leather seats, climate control, Bluetooth, rear parking sensors and heated, power-folding door mirrors.

Going even further, the new SE Tech models add a more powerful, 380W Meridian audio system, touchscreen-controlled navigation, automatic headlights and wipers and 19-inch 10-spoke alloys.

UK prices start from £27,765 for an SE with the 163hp TD4 engine and manual gearbox while the cheapest Metropolis version, a more powerful 200hp SD4 automatic, starts at £35,995.

Anything else?

Although the Freelander will be replaced by the Land Rover Discovery Sport next year, it won't be the end for the car. The rumour mill has it that the Freelander will get a new lease of life, built in India and sold as a Tata.