Should I get a manual or automatic TD4?

Hi everyone,

It's my first post here at Landyzone. I'll soon be trading in my old Citroen Berlingo 1.9D Forte for a used Freelander 2.0 TD4 HSE (in the hope I can actually get up the hill to my house this winter).

I've narrowed down 2 potential vehicles so far.

One is an auto with 41,000 miles. The other is a manual, 1 year younger, but with 52,000 miles on the clock.

I actually prefer the colour of the auto (black with cream leather as opposed to silver with black leather on the manual) but I'm wary of the fact 'it's an auto'.

Any feedback on the autos vs manuals? Last auto I drove was a J reg (92) RR Vogue SE. When climbing hills it seemed to not know which gear it should settle in. Have they improved since then? I don't want to be sliding all over trying to get up a bit of snow. That's already happened enough over the last 2 winters! LOL

Many thanks for your help with my first purchase of a Freelander! Which car out of the 2 would you purchase and why?

Chris

Auto is very very good in the snow & you'll have no trouble at all going up or down icy hills with it. the Freelander Td4 uses a JATCO automatic box & they tend to be fairly good as long as you change the fluid regularly (between 30k-60k miles).
Like everything there have been members who have suffered problems & they aren't cheap to repair if they do go wrong but I've had my car for over 3 years, got it with 52k on the clock & it's now at 77k with no problem whatsoever.
Manuals are slightly faster & about 6mpg better fuel economy on a run but clutch master cylinders can fail & are a nightmare to change plus they are fitted with dual mass flywheels which whilst not as unreliable as some cheaper cars are still known to fail & cost you near £1000 to get it changed along with the clutch.
The autobox on the standard car is extremely smooth with excellent gear selection however if like myself & many others you decide to fit the synergy tuning box to liven the car up then gearchanges become a bit jerkier & the box does tend to hold on to the higher gears for too long going up hill though a prod of the go pedal soon persuades it to change down. If you enjoy the auto experience then the Freelander auto will impress you it really is very good.

Had my car for a few years and the Jatco auto box has been brilliant. I can drive a manual, but since having the Auto I'd be very tempted to stick with Land Rover auto's. I'm looking at getting an L322 and they only use the Auto Box so looks like I'll be using an auto for years to come. The TD4 auto is very easy to drive, and as mentioned it's great in Snow/Mud/Grass. Save you burning your clutch!

Jodsclass said:

Had my car for a few years and the Jatco auto box has been brilliant. I can drive a manual, but since having the Auto I'd be very tempted to stick with Land Rover auto's. I'm looking at getting an L322 and they only use the Auto Box so looks like I'll be using an auto for years to come. The TD4 auto is very easy to drive, and as mentioned it's great in Snow/Mud/Grass. Save you burning your clutch!

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yep shame about only autos in the L322 - iv allways been against auto's (being a lazy mans car, etc..) but since buying my L322 i now like autos lol .

such a dream to drive (even if the auto boxes fail on the range rovers )

there still worth it

I don't see it as a lazy mans car. I have a dishwasher & a washer dryer because I've better things to be doing than washing & drying, Electric toothbrush for cleaning the teeth, it's the same in the car, I like to concentrate on driving and less on clutch & gear changing. It's progress

Jodsclass said:

I like to concentrate on driving and less on clutch & gear changing. It's progress

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Changing gears is part of driving. It actually gives you more control over the car and pays as well considering it's more economical.

Only time I'd consider an auto is if I lived in a city but if I lived in a city, I doubt I'd be driving a landy...

Ive got the manual box on my 2005. Gear changing is pretty stiff - Ive bled the clutch twice and now making plans to change the master cylinder. Interested in Chromiumuk's comment that changing the master cylinder is a nightmare job, lookes fairly easy to me, maybe im missing something!
Ive already had a DMF go on my 04 Mondeo TDCi this year costing £850 with a new clutch/starter/slave cylinder. Didnt realise the Freelanders DMF was a problem!

IIRC it's the slave cylinder that's a bitch because it's inside the bellhousing and is a full clutch replacement jobby. I had this stiff gear change problem and also had a whistle symptom which was caused by a worn clutch release bearing. IIRC, the clutch release bearing is partly constructed with plastic and tends to melt under heavy clutch operation. If you have a manual TD4, you need to be able to master the clutch very well while off road else it won't take long to do some expensive damage. In my case, it cost over £600. Still, I wouldn't drive an auto.

The auto box in Freelander is brill! I had an auto 300TDi Disco before, the Freelander is sooo much nicer! Being electronic rather than hydraulic, it is much better in the way it responds to driver input, like changing down as one slows, or needs to accelerate to overtake. It also holds low gear or even changes to a lower gear when going down hill, a trad hydraulic box just disconnects so you end up freewheeling! No clutch to wear out, no dual mass flywheel to go wrong. Dont forget you can always go steptronic mode when you need that total driver control for more difficult connditions.

i find the auto suits the character of the car better, and "off road" is theoretically better but that's minor for most that stay "on road", Autos are worth more and more desirable so would be easier to sell on after. Pay your money take your choice! always buy on provenance and condition rather than looks and price (obviously within reason). good luck.

If you plan to go off road or tow with your Freelander, then the auto would be the betterer option. The manuals can overheat the clutch when towing or off road. Having said that, both manual and auto Freelander drivers say there's is good.

v6 auto owner.

I think you should get a pajero.

storm99 said:

I think you should get a pajero.

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My old portuguese friend used to **** himself laughing every time he saw one when he first came to the uk.

For those that don't know... Look it up.

probably good description

RichM said:

IIRC it's the slave cylinder that's a bitch because it's inside the bellhousing and is a full clutch replacement jobby. I had this stiff gear change problem and also had a whistle symptom which was caused by a worn clutch release bearing. IIRC, the clutch release bearing is partly constructed with plastic and tends to melt under heavy clutch operation. If you have a manual TD4, you need to be able to master the clutch very well while off road else it won't take long to do some expensive damage. In my case, it cost over £600. Still, I wouldn't drive an auto.

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Apologies, it was the slave cylinder, I couldn't remember offhand but knew that some members had problems with the clutch hydraulics.
I live in the outskirts myself but travel into the city every day & was fed up sitting in traffic pumping a clutch pedal every 2 seconds. Finally went auto after years of being against them & am so glad I did. There's no doubt that manual gives you more feeling of control on the fast country roads but to fully enjoy that you need a faster nice handling sportier car.
Just a small point , but I've found the command shift / manual select function or whatever you want to call it pretty useless on the freelander. It does work but I don't like the delay & it isn't like a manual at all in that if the revs aren't in a certain range it won't change (which I suppose is a good thing as it protects the box) - all feels a little remote to me. Best to slide it in Drive & enjoy the ride.

chromiumuk said:

Apologies, it was the slave cylinder, I couldn't remember offhand but knew that some members had problems with the clutch hydraulics.
I live in the outskirts myself but travel into the city every day & was fed up sitting in traffic pumping a clutch pedal every 2 seconds. Finally went auto after years of being against them & am so glad I did. There's no doubt that manual gives you more feeling of control on the fast country roads but to fully enjoy that you need a faster nice handling sportier car.
Just a small point , but I've found the command shift / manual select function or whatever you want to call it pretty useless on the freelander. It does work but I don't like the delay & it isn't like a manual at all in that if the revs aren't in a certain range it won't change (which I suppose is a good thing as it protects the box) - all feels a little remote to me. Best to slide it in Drive & enjoy the ride.

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Exactly my feelings too.

Picked up my Freelander HSE auto on Friday, seems a brilliant piece of kit, fitted with all the goodies.

Why would you choose to row a manual up and down all of the time, when you can sit back and relax with the auto box, it's a no brainer to me.

Regards

Angel.

Big Phil said:

Picked up my Freelander HSE auto on Friday, seems a brilliant piece of kit, fitted with all the goodies.

Why would you choose to row a manual up and down all of the time, when you can sit back and relax with the auto box, it's a no brainer to me.

Regards

Angel.

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Hope you enjoy your car, it sounds nice.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the input about the auto vs. manual. I've decided to only search for auto cars based on your feedback. My last RR Vogue was Auto and it never let me down, I just wanted to check what the quality was like in the Freelanders.

storm99 said:

I think you should get a pajero.

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Don't be crazy. The Pajero Jnr Sport is a much better buy than it's big brother LOL.

I love my auto and its great both on and off road!