Thats funny, I happen to put about 50 miles a week on in sand in my Freelander. I'm down on the Delaware beaches all the time, and I make it down to North Carolina 4 - 5 times a year and do even more there. I don't know what kind of sand you have driven on, but its damn hard to get a Freelander or really anything stuck in sand if you have half a brain. Once I bogged down and had to back up, but when I tried going forward again I was fine. ONCE in hundreds of miles of beach driving. And that was when I was pulling a Bronco 5 miles back to the highway.
Sand driving is 90 percent reducing the preassure you make with the ground (airing down) and 10 percent ground clearance. The car doesn't mattar that much. When I'm in the Tahoe I don't even put it in 4wd.