Freelander TD4 - any advice..?

[cbr6fs]

Absolutely no idea, i was too busy waving as i past him to ask him

The point is, unless your planning on off-roading on a regular basis and pretty extreme off-roading rather than just the odd farm path a 4x4 will more often than not a waste.

Even if you buy a 4x4 if you have the wrong tyres or technique you'll still get stuck in places that an experienced driver would sail past in most fwd cars.

I do a fair bit of off-roading getting to fishing, diving etc and the only time i got stock it was 100% my fault as i'd driven on to sand i knew was too soft.

Some air out my tyres and a quick dab of the handbrake and it got me out though this in a rwd sporty type car.


Experience and matching the correct tyres for the conditions matter FAR more than which way drive or how many wheels are driven.

As far as old cars go, i completely disagree.

I'm not really a fan of new cars so tend to buy older cars simply because i prefer the driving experience.
With that in mind my car is a 1994 and i usually average around 30k miles a year.
The last 8 years of ownership, regular racing/trackdays, touring around Europe, trips to and from Greece and as my every day transport it's only let me down 3 times.
1 x a passenger didn't close the door properly so we came back to a flat battery
1 x I used the wrong bolts on a Supercharger/crank pulley
1 x I upped the boost too much and ignored the engine detonating (knock)

These days if a car is chosen wisely and is well maintained there is no reason it won't still be running in another 10 - 20 years.

 

[halo]

i bet the nissan was flooring it in a low gear though, its not the car its the person behind the wheel.
a freelander will be good if it has been looked after, same as any car,and full service history with a good landrover company is a good thing, though most people will take them anywhere to people who dont really know what needs doing.
there is no minimum level for a service, as long as the company does what it says it will do its legal, so full service history with a rubbish/inexperienced company can be as bad as no service history.

best thing you can do is raise your budget and get a low mileage discovery 2/late freelander 1 or get a normal 2wd car and just be aware of where you are parking (no boggy fields, though as a bushcrafter this may be an issue) and dont even bother trying when it snows.

if you get something old you have to accept the problems as they arise, and get AA warranty, pretty much all the others are rubbish and cover everything that wont go wrong. if your going for something old and are prepared to fix it regularly (but cheaply most of the time) then get a nice Discovery 1 ES with the leather seats and air conditioning with a 300TDI engine which will be cheap to fix and if you need to you can get all the expensive bits second hand easily. they should cost between £700 - £1500 depending on mileage and depth of rust.

i'll second the disco 1 300tdi reply but,i would steer clear of aircon and any fitted with edc(drive by wire) altough it's mostly the auto's that have edc.

my 98 plate manual 300tdi gs only cost me £1200 2 1/2 years ago it's never let me down driven sensibly gives good fuel economy for its size and is oh so easy to work on and fix' they are worth the money if you know your way around a tool box.

 

[_scorpio_]

need better off road performance from your freelander?

 

[SimonM]

Thanks for all the input...I decided against the Freelander as on reflection I didn't really need 4x4 capability. What I do need is a large boot and something capable of lugging my canoe around, so I bought a ......



































Volvo V70

Simon