Freelander 1 TD4 Sport seems sluggish.

Hi everyone. Hope you're all well and staying safe. Not posted for a while as I've had no problems (jinx?) but I've been following many threads with interest.
We've just set off on a trip here in Spain, towing a 1150kg caravan for the first time. All is going well and being the first time with a caravan behind, it could be my imagination but I seem to be lacking power low down. It feels like the turbo doesn't start to kick in until 2250 to 2300 rpm.
Even without the caravan, the car seems a bit flat unless I keep the revs up. Could it be a MAF sensor problem, or something else?
New air filter and replaced the small air filter on the turbo vacuum pipe. No splits in any intake/intercooler pipes, they are fairly recent silicone replacements. No excess smoke but the exhaust sometimes smells a bit diesely. Any thoughts appreciated or maybe I'm worrying unnecessarily.

Bad low RPM torque can be a number of thing, but if the MAF is original, or not a Bosch one, then that would be my first thing to check. Unplugging it will put the engine a basic fueling strategy, and should increase the the power, if the MAF signal is week. It will put the MIL on, but you'll know why, so that's not an issue.

Cheers Nodge. Should the turbo start to spool up below 2000 rpm? I seem to recall it doing so but could be mistaken!

Jonny H said:

Should the turbo start to spool up below 2000 rpm?

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Yes. Full boost and torque is normally available from about 1500 RPM.

If I unplug the MAF while we are away and performance is better, will it cause problems if I run it like that for a few days, until we get home?

Jonny H said:

If I unplug the MAF while we are away and performance is better, will it cause problems if I run it like that for a few days, until we get home?

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The answer is no you may just use a bit more fuel, but will cause no problems.

Have you still got an egr valve?

May need a clean or remove altogether.

EGR delete kit fitted some time ago.
Just to make me into a liar, the car has performed perfectly today, pulling well from low revs but no caravan attached.
Stern test tomorrow though, heading through the Picos de Europa with the caravan on!! I'll keep you posted. Thanks for all the advice.