Should I buy a freelander??

Hello all, I sold my TD5 disco a week ago and im already regretting it. the reason I sold it was fuel economy back and forth to work and she was getting old (niggly things starting to go wrong). Ive gone back to a car at the moment but im missing a 4x4!
My uses are:
- Light greenlaning
- Lots of field and muddy track/lane use (farm use)
- Towing trailers (nothing too heavy)
- cheap to run back and forth to my day job 20 odd miles each way a day (motorway)

would a freelander suit this better? my main concern is fuel economy, how good are they? what about off road how good are they?? Lots of people I know say theyre crap but looking on youtube they dont seem that bad? what are they like to work on and how reliable are they? and finally what should I pay? Im looking at the last of the old shape lights (2003ish) has to be a TD4 and has to be a station wagon.

Thanks all

I've swapped my TD5 for a Freelander2 and like it a lot. Fuel is about 27 in town and up to 40 on a journey. It's a miles better motor than the Freelander1. I've had one of those as well and although it gave me no trouble over three years from new it wasn't a patch on the Fr2, or on the Disco TD5.

A lot of tratter boys are selling thur durdy smelly motors and cumming outa the closet and buying a gaylander wiff a black leffer arm rest but they wanna keep it all quiete in case the other tratter boys find out

ming said:

A lot of tratter boys are selling thur durdy smelly motors and cumming outa the closet and buying a gaylander wiff a black leffer arm rest but they wanna keep it all quiete in case the other tratter boys find out

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Well, if your wife doesn't fancy you any more it's best to try doing something sexy to a tractor...

I cant have anything too new cos ill be too afraid of damaging it, plus i cant afford one just yet haha

The TD4 is a good engine. It hauls well, even with 5 people in the car, it doesn't complain at all and the engine is very quiet and well refined. My previous car was a 1.9 petrol saloon and it really didn't like having 5 people in the car! In the Freelander, you don't even notice that you've got extra weight in the car. I guess that can be said for most diesel 4x4s though. What can't be said for most 4x4s, is that the Freelander delivers car like performance all round. It is not too slow and it will happily cruise all day along the motorway, great if you also need it to commute/travel a lot. (which I do) The other good thing is that you won't have to pay the price in fuel, because again, it also delivers car like fuel economy. (well, from that era at least)

The Freelander 1 has a good traction control system and a HDC control system which eliminates the need for low range in some situations. It will excel in soft or slippery situations. (such as ice, wet grass and snow) Some say it will even outperform an older Defender or Disco 1 in these conditions.

The biggest problem for the Freelander imo is ground clearance. It is awfully low to the extent that you will often need to straddle ruts. It also has poor articulation. Thankfully though, the traction control system will sort that out most of the time. Last month, I went on a 4x4 "adverture" with Land Rover Experience. I was at the back, following all the Discos, Defenders and Rangies. (There were 13 cars in total) My car was able to do pretty much everything that they did on that day. It was also the more "difficult" adventure route and the itinerary sheet even said "Not suitable for Freelanders"!

The Freelander 2 is nice, but would you really wanna spend that much only to get it dirty? I know I wouldn't... When I went on the Land Rover Experience adventure day, there was an 09 plate FL2 with us and it made me cringe every time I saw it brush against the bushes, and it wasn't even my car!

Do keep in mind that you can't get AT tyres for the FL1 with 17" wheels. I didn't realise that at the time, and I'm now stuck with normal road tyres!

thanks rich, sounds like its the car for me! Ive got a 90 for any off roading really, its just for a bit of playing and field work, which it sounds like its perfect for me! now to find a nice lowish mileage clean one!

yes like rich says the fl1 td4 is a good motor i have the auto and yes they are very good off road . . . . . .

ming said:

yes like rich says the fl1 td4 is a good motor i have the auto and yes they are very good off road . . . . . .

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Except yu do need a tame tratta to pull yu out every now and again - eh, Ming?

The Mad Hat Man said:

Except yu do need a tame tratta to pull yu out every now and again - eh, Ming?

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dunt yer ever ferget

ming said:

dunt yer ever ferget

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No














but I could be bought orf

jimbo-td5 said:

thanks rich, sounds like its the car for me! Ive got a 90 for any off roading really, its just for a bit of playing and field work, which it sounds like its perfect for me! now to find a nice lowish mileage clean one!

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[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJOapbLJ3Us"]YouTube - Disco vs. Freelander[/nomedia]

Have owned '86 110 V8 County, '94 Disco 300 and '04 Hippo TD4 Auto. Am very happy with Hippo and would recommend autobox if you are spending time on wet grass etc as its much easier than playing with clutch at low revs.

Hippo is about 80% FWD until front slips and more torque is sent to rear wheels. No need for any low range or diff lock

Skynet said:

Have owned '86 110 V8 County, '94 Disco 300 and '04 Hippo TD4 Auto. Am very happy with Hippo and would recommend autobox if you are spending time on wet grass etc as its much easier than playing with clutch at low revs.

Hippo is about 80% FWD until front slips and more torque is sent to rear wheels. No need for any low range or diff lock

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Yeah but his main reason for getting rid of his Disco TD5 was due to its fuel economy. The Freelander TD4 auto has similar fuel economy to the Disco TD5 manual.

Disco II TD5 Manual = MPG 30
Freelander 1 TD4 Auto = MPG 32
Freelander 1 TD4 Manual = MPG 37

Source: Parkers.co.uk

Personally, I prefer driving a manual anyway. I like having more control over the vehicle and I know many people in real life who have a negative perception about autoboxes. I don't want people thinking "OH, he has an auto. I guess that means he can't drive a manual!! LOLOLOL" Basically, autos still have a bit of an image problem (though, not so much in the 4x4 community it seems.) and the Americans certainly don't do much to help it!

That said, I did have to replace my clutch not so long ago. :doh::doh:

And Darmain's slave cylinder went and the main cylinder is inside the gearbox. I admit I get between 32-35 mpg but happier not having to worry about clutch play on slippy surface.
As for image, auto rollerskate I agree perhaps there is but, auto 4x4? Nahhhhhh

I have to agree with rich again, I find autos too boring to drive, but i know i will be worried about the clutch, just have to be careful though!! having trouble finding one for the right money at the minute, theyre surprisingly expensive!

jimbo-td5 said:

I have to agree with rich again, I find autos too boring to drive, but i know i will be worried about the clutch, just have to be careful though!! having trouble finding one for the right money at the minute, theyre surprisingly expensive!

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I picked my 51 plate up back in April for £3200. Good condition with 78k miles on the clock at the time. Not bad considering it's an ES-X spec. I didn't wanna spend too much, because I knew I'd end up scratching it and denting it. I wasn't wrong there!

As for the clutch, I killed the clutch release bearing while reversing up a really steep, narrow mud track lane in the dark. Despite the clutch release bearing being vulnerable, it was pretty much my fault. I was giving it too many revs, while slipping the clutch at the same time. Basically in a manual FL, you just need to be aware of what you're doing, especially in stressful situations like that when you may be paying less attention to clutch control etc. I'm guessing a low range gearbox might have helped in that situation!

We had a Disco TD5 for 4 years and sold it with the intention of trying to get something more economical and to sell it while we could get some money back - this was 3 years ago and prices of 4x4s were falling fast. We got a VW Golf and that lasted 6 months before enough was enough and it was traded in for a Freelander TD4.

We don't use it off road but otherwise can recommend it. Its much more economical than the TD5.

If you are going to use it for towing or off road go for an auto, I admit that there are many manuals used for towing, I just wonder how many have had a new clutch?

2006 TD4 auto = 30mpg
2008 FL4 auto = 32mpg
Disco 3 auto when on loan for 3 weeks = 26mpg driven on the same run at the same speed by the same nutter, 40 miles each way to work.