Freelander Van useless in snow

Hi, I have a 2004 freelander TD van as a company car. It has standard alloys with (all season I presume) Michelin tyres, I really like it but recently the snow in Edinburgh has been getting he better of it and now it's getting embarrassing. A landrover engineer works in my street and he had a go trying to get out my driveway (no more than 20 degrees) almost burnt the clutch out, he could not believe how useless it was. He said freelanders are just too light (I noted that he was driving a Toyota Hilux). I see threads all over the internet saying freelanders great in snow but not one post saying they are crap - surely I cant be the only one having trouble.

My company are unlikely to fork out for snow tyres for me so my idea is load the back up with heavy stuff to see if it makes a difference. Is this the right thing to do?, anyone got any other ideas?

Firstly :welcome2: secondly get a discovery

snow chains.
My freelander van was very good in the snow, just low ground clearance let it down when it got stuck on a drift.

Doesn't sound like you have the right tyres on - check em out on online and they'll be reviewed or rated somewhere. And then buy some snow chains....

ebay have plenty (and some even cheaper), do some googling geezer!

SNOW CHAINS HEAVY DUTY 16MM FREELANDER 4X4 NEW IN BAG * on eBay (end time 15-Dec-10 14:41:54 GMT)

chains have to be matched to tyre size .

As has been said. Its down to tyres. If you have no grip you go nowhere. The Freelander is very capable in the snow but you must have the right tryes. Even the mighty Discover doesn't fare well on duff rubber.

cheers guys, think I will invest in some chains they seem cheap enough even for a sock like myself. Will definitely be doing some winter hill climbing in remote locations soon so it would be good to know that I have chains and a shovel in the back should they be required.

And yes I definitely think purchasing a 2nd hand discovery or range rover will be on the cards once this fella packs in exp since my work pays for the fuel!

what sort of speed was it doing to put a dent like that in the front of a disco?

scapa99 said:

cheers guys, think I will invest in some chains they seem cheap enough even for a sock like myself. Will definitely be doing some winter hill climbing in remote locations soon so it would be good to know that I have chains and a shovel in the back should they be required.

And yes I definitely think purchasing a 2nd hand discovery or range rover will be on the cards once this fella packs in exp since my work pays for the fuel!

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In most snow & ice conditions that we face, a Freelander 1 should give a Disco 1 a run for its money providing it has appropriate tyres.* The Freelander's traction control gives it a great advantage in snow/ice on asphalt conditions, providing the depth of the snow does not exceed the available ground clearance. In the UK, that's generally unlikely on asphalt.

I've seen Land Rover experience guys demonstrate this. They used a Freelander 1 and a Disco 1, both with appropriate tyres. In snow on asphalt conditions, the Freelander excelled. *Of course, when you add soggy mud and ruts to the equation, it becomes a different story.

As others have pointed out, the problem here is not the Freelander, but your tyres. If I had a Disco 1 + a Freelander, I know which one I'd be using in these conditions and it wouldn't be the one that weighs over 2t!

Rich

RichM said:

In most snow & ice conditions that we face, a Freelander 1 should give a Disco 1 a run for its money providing it has appropriate tyres.* The Freelander's traction control gives it a great advantage in snow/ice on asphalt conditions, providing the depth of the snow does not exceed the available ground clearance. In the UK, that's generally unlikely on asphalt.

I've seen Land Rover experience guys demonstrate this. They used a Freelander 1 and a Disco 1, both with appropriate tyres. In snow on asphalt conditions, the Freelander excelled. *Of course, when you add soggy mud and ruts to the equation, it becomes a different story.

As others have pointed out, the problem here is not the Freelander, but your tyres. If I had a Disco 1 + a Freelander, I know which one I'd be using in these conditions and it wouldn't be the one that weighs over 2t!

Rich

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well thats funny as ive seen more discos on road today than ever before. also saw a freelander stuck on somebodys drive. there just a car with a propshaft going to a diff at the back, no ground clearance. also had a freelander come to my work today for some really aggresive snow tyres because the pirelli snow tyres were no good. he came back an hour later for a refund as it was still **** in the snow. heavy vehicles are better in the snow as they..... im not even gunna explain it as commen sense should work it out for you

If you're on road tyres, then the most you'll ever be is twice as good as a 2WD car, which often isn't enough in snow. You need decent tread and supple rubber, relevant to the conditions. For example all terrains are okay on compacted snow, but you'd want more aggressive tread on fresh snow etc.

Don't forget that cornering (with no throttle applied) and braking is going to be exactly the same as any other car, the 4WD is only an advantage when you need to apply power, it won't alter the laws of physics.

disco2shaun said:

well thats funny as ive seen more discos on road today than ever before. also saw a freelander stuck on somebodys drive. there just a car with a propshaft going to a diff at the back, no ground clearance. also had a freelander come to my work today for some really aggresive snow tyres because the pirelli snow tyres were no good. he came back an hour later for a refund as it was still **** in the snow. heavy vehicles are better in the snow as they..... im not even gunna explain it as commen sense should work it out for you

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Yes but you have to consider the fact that more idiots buy Freelanders than they do Discos. Many, if not most Disco owners know a thing or two about driving on harsh ground conditions. Sadly, we all know that the same can't be said for most Freelander owners.

i know freelanders have traction control etc but disco1's have centre difflock and better ground clearnce, theres no way a freelander could have got out of my drive this morning, half of wheels were coverd on disco and was upto tow bar. then outside was even worse, just put disco into low and 2nd and booted it and it went staright through like a bull in a china shop. if freelanders had a lot more ground clearance they might have a chance but there just to low down. i totally agree with the tyres as ive got bfg a/ts on mine and i havnt skidded or slipped once yet ut i drive carefull not like a lunatic. but also the weight of a disco2 crushing through that snow helps more than anything

might wanna buy a thick coat as well for when the doors fall off, the heating isnt capable enough to cope with it

paul_c said:

Don't forget that cornering (with no throttle applied) and braking is going to be exactly the same as any other car, the 4WD is only an advantage when you need to apply power, it won't alter the laws of physics.

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Not necessarily true. If at all possible, you should avoid using your brakes at all on snow and ice, as the effect is just too harsh and you will only end up with locked wheels and no control.

What you should be doing is using the engine braking to control your speed. Now in a normal 2wd car, you're only getting engine braking to the two driven wheels, as opposed to a 4x4 which will have all four wheels being braked by the engine.

Of course when you really do need to apply the brakes, yes, you aren't at an advantage compared to a standard vehicle. (Perhaps even a disadvantage due to the higher weight of most 4x4s)

Cornering is another thing - four wheel drive is certainly an improvement in these conditions over a RWD vehicle, as there's a lower tendency for the vehicle to oversteer. You can also safely maintain some power going through bends with four wheel drive, with less tendency to understeer like you might get with a FWD vehicle.

There are more benefits than you might think, but it's important to remember you're not invincible

Yeah, agree with all the above, the point being that the 4x4 doesn't make you magically great in the snow, the car still needs to be driven within its limits and deep snow or icy slopes might be too much for any 4x4. Best getting a tractor then.

paul_c said:

Yeah, agree with all the above, the point being that the 4x4 doesn't make you magically great in the snow, the car still needs to be driven within its limits and deep snow or icy slopes might be too much for any 4x4. Best getting a tractor then.

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Definitely seems like the best option, I couldn't believe the speeds that some of the tractors around here were doing along the roads yesterday, they just seemed to be on rails!

you go round in circles repeating yourselves and the answer is always the same, a good driver in a **** vehicle is better than a useless driver in a good one!

Took my Freelander out in about 8inch's of fresh snow on some farm roads with M+S tyres on and I was quite surprised how well it did go, had plenty of grip and was still able to power safely round corners, I don't think I would been keen on going in anything much deeper though. On ice it was no better than any other road car and the same amount of care was needed maybe more given the higher weight.

scapa99 said:

I see threads all over the internet saying freelanders great in snow but not one post saying they are crap - surely I cant be the only one having trouble.

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Haven't been on here much

:welcome2: btw