New Land Rover Freedlander, rubbish for towing?

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myfatpony

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We were discussing about getting a Freelander for towing but have heard lately that they are really rubbish, struggle to go up hills whilst towing or struggle with anything near 2 tonn.
Not sure if this is rue or not so has anyone got one of the new Freelanders to say otherwise?
 
Don't know bout freelander, but I have a discovery TD5 & its crap!! Breaks down all the time, has since we bought it but can't afford to replace it, & is expensive to get repaired (could of actually bought a new car with the amount we've spent on repairs in the last 4yrs!) Get a Toyota instead, never break down!! Thats what I'm having when this finally dies for good & OH admits defeat!! Will never touch a landrover make again!!
 
tinap555 said:
Don't know bout freelander, but I have a discovery TD5 & its crap!! Breaks down all the time, has since we bought it but can't afford to replace it, & is expensive to get repaired (could of actually bought a new car with the amount we've spent on repairs in the last 4yrs!) Get a Toyota instead, never break down!! Thats what I'm having when this finally dies for good & OH admits defeat!! Will never touch a landrover make again!!
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Well our freelander has been pretty much the same, we had to replace the whole engine last year :eek: and its broken down again at the minute! Even the mechanic is struggling to find out whats wrong this time and parts are very expensive, we have just had to replace the fuel pump which if we had got it new it would of cost us over £200 and apparently most other cars are about £30!! But im not sure what it would be like towing as ours doesn't have a tow bar.

It is such a shame that it breaks down so much because i really like it otherwise, but like tinap555 i don't think we are going to get another landrover again!
 
Was looking at Freelander last year but as they are in permanent 4 wheel drive - crap, I decided against it as they don't have a high or low ratio to go into if needs be, pre 2007 Discos are apparently crap. If you want a proper towing land rover you can'tgo wrong with a Defender, very robust and tow brilliantly
 
A friend had one it was a nightmare from start to finish steer clear heard nothing good about them from anyone
 
We have one - and have had to spend £1000 plus in repairs over the last year ......and it's making a funny "ticking" noise, plus the new brakes are squealing as we speak. We do tow with it, but only on very short ( a few miles) flat journeys really.

We are looking at changing asap.
 
It's not legal to tow with a Freelander unless you're towing a Shetland!! It's limit is too low.

I adore our discovery 2. Its amazing!!
 
flamehead said:
It's not legal to tow with a Freelander unless you're towing a Shetland!! It's limit is too low.

I adore our discovery 2. Its amazing!!
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I think you will find they will tow 2000kg which is fine for one riding horse in a normal trailer, however you can get a proper
4x4 for the same money so I dont understand why folk seem so keen on them or any of the other small of roaders that are expensive to run and buy , if money is tight far better to get a older solid 4x4 with Minimal deprciation and is up to the job and safe ....
 
I used to have a Jeep Cherokee 2.7 diesel for towing and used to pull my 2 big horses with no probs at all.
 
Don't forget the towing vehicle needs to weigh a lot more than the trailer, I have a series Landrover, it's more than capable of towing a loaded trailer, but not heavy enough and I experienced the utterly terrifying "tail wagging the dog" scenario. No harm done, lesson learned!
 
As a car they are crap - all Land Rovers are except the Defenders. As for towing mine was fine (ifor 505 and approx 400kg horse plus junk), The disco was awful.
We now have a Navara which is the best thing since sliced bread!. If you are looking at a small 4x4 to use for towing and as a driving car try the Mitsi Pajero. We had a 20yo short wheel base for a while - it was thirsty (but it was old) but it was a dream to tow with. A friend also has a Kia (sorento???), she says its great and prob less thirsty that some if you are using as a main car too.
PS it is legal to tow with a freelander - 1800kg.
 
I'm thinking about a series 2 as mine is getting on a bit, but only atempted to tow with mine once and it scared the hell out of me.
The trailer felt as if it was controlling the car, you would need a much heavier vehicle I reckon.
My car is chipped and is very speedy as a normal drive, and I would get a replacement done as well. (though I may well go back to a RR as I miss mine a lot, but the smaller Sport)
Never heard of any problems being seen on a "Gaylander? " that's a new one on me I'm afraid, there are hundreds of them round here and not many gay people!
 
Have heard the Freelanders arent very good in general, certainly not as towing cars. Also have cylinder head issues alot?

Cant say the same for my Discovery though, i love mine, its a series 1 (1997) 3.9L v8 with an lpg converion on it, tows very very well, had it and only had one problem with it which was the water pump and has cost me £100 to fix and replace inc new anti-freeze etc etc.
The newer ones are more 'electric' eg push button on dashboard for handbrake etc, a friend has one for towing it breaks and is in the garage more than my old one. And we can repair ours at home as it doesnt need plugging in to fix it!! Nor does it have diff lock.

As with all cars second hand its pot luck you dont know its history. I like the Mitsubishi Shogun as a tow car but the one my sister had for towing has been a nightmare and always overheating and cant get to the route of the problem.

So whatever you get can be poor.

Dont think the Freelanders are built as a workcar, like the Toyota Rav 4 they are too lightweight for proper towing work.
 
My struggles to get up hills in her freelander with only an 11.2hh on board!! She says she thinks its going to start going backwards!
 
Have to say towed with a freelander for years and loved it.

Towed us out of some terrible feilds when bigger heavier 4x4 were wallowing ;)

We had 505 and 500kg horse attached to it and it was fab. Now we have a Nissan Xtrail and we love it to tow with economical and does what we want it to do :)
 
I've got a Freelander 2 (2010) never had a problem with it. I don't know if the above are older models but nothing has ever gone wrong with it.
 
We have both a freelander and a discovery. Both are good at towing and we have not had any mechanical problems with either of them :-)
 
I have the older freelander (2000) and it tows my horsefine. Horse is a 15 hh connemara weighin about 450 and trailer ifor 505. Have towed with 2 but as others have said its not brilliant - ok for short journeys though.
 
you can use it for towing but the smaller trailers and ponies - 2000Kg max towing weight does not mean you should load it all the way up or you will never get up a hill! Theres been a lot of discussion on the board about the maximum recommended towing weights which is what the caravan club suggest and that is no more than 85% of the max towing weight. As I have a very steep hill to get back to the yard I leave a lot of headroom and will take upto 1800kg with a jeep that has a MTB of 3.3 tonnes.
 
i'm selling my Freelander, not because it is rubbish or no good for towing, just because I now have to have an automatic due to a left knee problem. You can tow with them, actually our local Ifor Williams dealer said it would be fine, but due to now needing an automatic I am looking at either a Kia Sorento or a Jeep Cherokee.

I love my Landy, I think they are just like marmite, you either love them or hate them
 
My Dad has just got a Freelander 2, he had the old type and that was always in getting repairs but the new one is great, much bigger heavier and more solid. I am trying to persuade him to lend it to me!
We use my friend's older Disco and while that tows a dream it often needs the odd repair.
 
Isn't the idea of a LR Freelander or otherwise, to get your hands dirty and self fix?
Ebay for the reader if you have the ECU with port, plug it in get the error decoded on your laptop.
Otherwise all parts are nuts and bolts to hold in place, and virtually every part of the vehicle can be repaired or replaced by the owner, so with a bit of sourcing and phoning around the repair expenses are minimal in return for a sunday morning with mucky hands.
 
I've got a Freelander 2 and never had any problems with it. I use it for towing and whoever said that it was illegal is talking out of their bottom I'm afraid :rolleyes: I've got a 13.2 hh and lightweight trailer and have never had any problems whatsoever.

Why on earth would having a Freelander 2 mean that I want to be a mechanic Blue Rider? I've got a horse but I don't want to be a farrier :rolleyes:
 
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