In February of 2023 Jaguar Land Rover Freeport became Land Rover Freeport. Corporate changes in recent years to Jaguar’s business model led to the decision to significantly reduce its number of dealerships, in favor of fewer niche stores that will exclusively sell high-end, all-electric Jaguars.
What may seem like a really big change in the business is actually not so drastic, says Tony Anton, general manager of Land Rover Freeport.
“They’re owned by the same company,” says Anton. “They’re managed by the same people.”
As a former Jaguar dealer, Land Rover Freeport will continue to sell certified pre-owned Jaguars.
“And we still service Jaguars and sell parts for Jaguars as well,” says Anton.
In 1938, the Weidinger family opened the first Jaguar dealership in the country in Hempstead. The showroom eventually moved to Great Neck and about 30 years ago, the family opened Heritage Jaguar of Freeport to service Long Island’s South Shore.
Seven years ago, they renovated that same Freeport location, opening a much larger, state-of-the-art Jaguar/Land Rover dealership: a 35,000-square-foot space with 100car roof parking and a full-service shop with 22 lifts and a highly trained technical staff.
“Rather than the commonplace practice where somebody takes over an existing dealership, we actually started from scratch,” Anton says. “There was nobody in Freeport that ever bought a Land Rover in Freeport before, so that made us kind of new.”
Operating with a long-established and faithful clientele, Land Rover Freeport has already substantially expanded its business.
“So rather than just being the new guy, we’re one of the largest on Long Island,” Anton says.
And, while other Land Rover dealers on Long Island are part of a larger group of dealers, Land Rover Freeport is the only individually, privately owned Land Rover dealer on the island.
A Variety of Models
In the Range Rover line, there’s the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque — in size order — from largest to smallest.
Despite the different models and sizes, they all look very similar, notes Anton.
“In 2022, Range Rover redesigned the flagship Range Rover and in 2023 they redesigned the Range Rover Sport to be two of the most magnificent cars I’ve ever seen or driven,” Anton says. “The state of luxury is just beyond compare: 4-wheel steering, spectacular comfort, beautiful appointments on the interior, tremendous amount of power, a very smooth, wonderful ride and sports car handling, which is almost unheard of for such large vehicles.”
In most cases, a smooth ride and sports car handling don’t go together in one vehicle.
“In this case you have a smooth, luxurious and quiet truck that handles like a sports car,” Anton says.
The Defender line, which came out in 1983, had not been offered for sale in the U.S. since 1997. It was reintroduced in 2020 and in 2021 was pronounced Motor Trend’s SUV of the year.
“It’s another truck that looks like it would drive like an off-road vehicle+ like a Jeep – but, once again, it is smooth with spectacular handling,” Anton says. “They come in 8-passenger, 5-passenger and even a 2-door coupe model.”
The Discovery line, which also comes in the smaller Discovery Sport model, is another wonderful option.
Range Rover = Versatility
Built as all-terrain vehicles, Land Rovers can drive just about anywhere.
“They’re designed to climb the Himalayas or cruise on the local roads of Long Island, making them a very unique vehicle,” Anton says.
A car is usually either an off-road vehicle or a luxury vehicle – not both.
“The Range Rover is a bit of everything,” Anton says.
The vehicles get great gas mileage and have a range of power levels: two-, three- and five-liter engines.
“All of them have plenty of power,” he says. “Obviously, the larger engines have even more power.”
Land Rover Freeport also sells a hybrid Range Rover Sport.
“The hybrids will go about 60 miles between charges,” Anton says. “And once your 60 miles runs out, there’s no need for concern: you can simply drive on regular fuel and go from here to California without needing to charge.”
The cars come in 24 different colors, including Carpathian Grey, Belgravia Green, Varesine Blue, Ostuni Pearl White, Hakuba Silver and Sunset Gold, as well as an array of bespoke interiors.
Full-size Range Rovers offer tremendous levels of luxury.
“Some of the more exclusive models are made for rear passenger owners, with extra rear-seat room, leg rests, massage seats, Wi-Fi, and business tables,” Anton says.
Service with a Smile
Land Rover Freeport offers a variety of complimentary service options and will work with clients to make pick up or drop off easy and flexible to meet their specific needs.
“We try to make service at Land Rover Freeport as painless as possible,” Anton says.
To accomplish that goal, the dealer will pick up the vehicle at your home, leave a loaner car, deliver your car back to you when it’s ready and also pick up the loaner.
“We also offer Lyft service to drop you off or bring you in if that better suits your needs,” says Anton, adding that every car that comes in for service gets a bath and a thorough interior cleanup.
Stating that everyone at Land Rover Freeport is “very excited, both about the cars and the new dealership,” Anton welcomes one and all to come in and check out the showroom.
“If you are not already familiar with the Range Rover products, taking a test drive is the sort of thing that will convince you that it’s the right choice for you,” he says.
Land Rover Freeport is located one mile from the Meadowbrook Parkway at 146 West Sunrise Highway in Freeport; 516-771-9700, www.landroverfreeport.com
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