martin1512
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After much laughter and **** taking at my brother for buying a Freelander 1, I finally let him take me for a drive in it, and let me take the wheel. So after making sure my mask was securely fastened so no one would see me sat in a Freelander with another bloke
we set off for an area in east Dorset that I use to run outdoor education courses.
My daily drive is a V8 110 station wagon, and I must say that compared to my 110, the Freelander is a revelation, much smoother, quieter, roomier and comfier than my 110, and it goes round corners well too. When we got to the off road site, out of fairness, and also because we didn't have a which or tow vehicle handy, I avoided the deeply rutted areas that I knew the Freelander couldn't manage, and headed for a heavily wooded hilly section. My first impressions were really quite good. There was never a problem with traction on the wet and muddy field, and in the woods, the Freelander was certainly a lot more nimble and agile than my lumbering 110. However, the Freelanders off road limitations soon became obvious. Although I had avoided the deep ruts, there were still issues with the ground clearance when going over large roots and a few rocks that my 110 doesn't notice. Also, the long nose of the freelander was a big problem when crossing a small stream, the nose was too long and the wheels to small to get over the lip of the bank. Once out of the stream the Freelander again did really well across the bumpy and muddy hill. The suspension coped really well with the bumps, and unlike in the 110, I did not hit my elbow, knee or head on any part of the vehicle at all, which made a pleasant change. But again, the Freelander soon ran into difficulties. On all of the hills before I had always found that atacking the slopes with a heavy right foot and plenty of momentum worked well and compensated for the lack of a low range box. On section though completely defeated it. It was a twisting track with a 1 in 4 to 1 in 2 gradient, and covered in tree stumps, rocks and small stones. Normally my 110 goes up here no problem in low 1st or 2nd and lots of revs. Unfortunately the freelander just refused to go up it, so we had to turn round, thankfully the HDC was working, and is actually a superb piece of kit.
So after a couple of hours driving one, I have to say the Freelander surprised me. It is ok off road, I'd give it 6/10 and very good on road 9/10. But I will not be swapping my 110 for one anytime soon.
we set off for an area in east Dorset that I use to run outdoor education courses. My daily drive is a V8 110 station wagon, and I must say that compared to my 110, the Freelander is a revelation, much smoother, quieter, roomier and comfier than my 110, and it goes round corners well too. When we got to the off road site, out of fairness, and also because we didn't have a which or tow vehicle handy, I avoided the deeply rutted areas that I knew the Freelander couldn't manage, and headed for a heavily wooded hilly section. My first impressions were really quite good. There was never a problem with traction on the wet and muddy field, and in the woods, the Freelander was certainly a lot more nimble and agile than my lumbering 110. However, the Freelanders off road limitations soon became obvious. Although I had avoided the deep ruts, there were still issues with the ground clearance when going over large roots and a few rocks that my 110 doesn't notice. Also, the long nose of the freelander was a big problem when crossing a small stream, the nose was too long and the wheels to small to get over the lip of the bank. Once out of the stream the Freelander again did really well across the bumpy and muddy hill. The suspension coped really well with the bumps, and unlike in the 110, I did not hit my elbow, knee or head on any part of the vehicle at all, which made a pleasant change. But again, the Freelander soon ran into difficulties. On all of the hills before I had always found that atacking the slopes with a heavy right foot and plenty of momentum worked well and compensated for the lack of a low range box. On section though completely defeated it. It was a twisting track with a 1 in 4 to 1 in 2 gradient, and covered in tree stumps, rocks and small stones. Normally my 110 goes up here no problem in low 1st or 2nd and lots of revs. Unfortunately the freelander just refused to go up it, so we had to turn round, thankfully the HDC was working, and is actually a superb piece of kit.
So after a couple of hours driving one, I have to say the Freelander surprised me. It is ok off road, I'd give it 6/10 and very good on road 9/10. But I will not be swapping my 110 for one anytime soon.
