Freelander 2

[harvey b davison]

HI, thinking of getting a freelander 2 as a family car and for towing the caravan etc, 

whats the pro;s and cons of them.

budget is aroung the 8 - 9k mark

or is there a better alternative (but must still be 4x4) within the budget

cheers in advance

H.

[skc101fc]

We've got a freelander 1, for comfort on road generally, and occasionally pulling a 5m60 caravan it does the job well.
Yes it do ave a few of the mk1 issues and foibles but service it before it needs it.
I really want to upgrade to a 2 but the price jump upwards is way more than our funds and reserves will stretch to. I've been told by dealers that owners of the 2 tend to hold onto them as they're surprisingly good, so not many on the resale market.

[wicklamulla]

It'd be a Hyundai Santa Fe for me as i reckon the 4x4 system is more robust over the Freelander.

[PeteB]

I had a 1 with the TD4 and it spent most of its life towing and would have another! The 2nd gen are more refined but the fit n finish on the 1st gen was good too! My only criticism was that first gear and reverse could feel a little high and main dealer servicing was ruinous! But there are enough specialist people to take up that role. I tried to tempt the missus into getting one recently as a dog bus and will try again thinking about it!

[SimpleSimon]

Have a look at the '07-'14 Nissan Xtrail. That budget will get you a late, low mileage model in top trim. They're lovely to drive, plenty of torque and all the luxury toys. Boot is bigger than most of the mid-size competition. Very capable off road with AT tyres on. 

I love mine.

[SamHulston]

Had a fl1 took some serious abuse off road and towed everything i stuck behind it. Personally for that kind of money I’d look for a very well maintained TD5 disco although maybe bigger than your looking for.

[Ratman]

Just sold my 14 plate x-trail last year cos i sold my caravan. LOVED it, if it wasnt for the shatty DPF on em i would still have it. 38 - 40 mpg knocking around town. I only live 2.5 miles from work so barely got warm (hence the DPF scenario) was a tekna ex demo so loaded with all the extras. Like simplesimon says, comfy, pleasure to drive etc, bags of room!!! (Still got 2 x lots of genuine nissan oil and filters for it in my garage [emoji51]) only one gripe i had was it had shatty dunlop sp road tyres on it so grip on a field was terrible. Put some uniroyal rainsport 3s on and it transformed her (still got 2x more brand new tyres for it my garage) Really rated it, M9R engine was a peach [emoji106] highly recommend!!! Bought a bmw m140i after that [emoji51][emoji51]

[harvey b davison]

After talking to my trusty mechanic, i have taken a new direction and now looking at either the kia sportage or the honda crv, both of which will do what i want. So any thoughts ?

[Ratman]

Kia is...... unrefined in my opinion with their finish, very basic to look at and plasticy inside, but that’ll be for you to decide, mechanically they are good value for money, earlier 2.0crdi are better towers than later 1.7crdi but again will be down to you on deciding by driving them.
Honda crv, not had many dealings with them, mate of mine is a car mechanic day in day out, i’m hgv’s, he doesnt rate them, has had some in with problems with diffs and g/boxes but think thats because they had milage against them, turbos on 07 - 09 years ?‍♂️ go drive, its the only way you’ll know. Even better is to find one in a showroom / forecourt somewhere with a towbar and arrange for a good few hours test drive on your own and go drag your caravan around grossed up with what you’d normally carry when you go away. Not sure on crv towing weight capabilities? kia were getting less and less each time a new model came out, cos i once considered one before i got my x-trail so just bare that in mind when your buying too. Of course low towing weight would suggest more instability [emoji15] x-trail was 2.2 tonne towing weight, only disadvantage it has was its kerb weight was only 1650kgs which is light for a suv / 4x4 But thats what gained it its mpg [emoji106] to counteract any instability (which it didnt really have) i used to load our bags of clothing etc in to car instead of van. But i have no kids or owt but if you have kids then their body weight will compensate. Mine towed a dream at 62 - 65mph no bother [emoji51] van was a swift major 4fb at 1450kgs just short of 25 foot long so quite a big outfit when coupled.

[harvey b davison]

My caravan only weighs 1300kg fully loaded, as its only a 2 berth. My wife really fancies the sportage so going to look at them in more detail. As for the engine, it will be the 2 ltr i will be looking at. Im old fashioned in that a bigger engine equals more pulling power, not into small engines with turbos etc. i believe the 4x4 system is electronic on these as well.