Towing - defender vs freelander 2

palomino_pony

palomino_pony

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Hi
I have a lovely defender td5 2002 which is my daily car. I tow my ifor 510 and 520kg horse short distances. The defender is excellent for towing however I'm wanting a bit more comfort, back seats etc so this is now for sale. I don't tow often any more due to work commitment/ planning my wedding etc. I'm thinking of changing to a freelander 2 which are tough enough for 2 dogs, 4x4 as we are pretty rural and snow is a concern. But also has a bit of luxury! Does anyone have a freelander 2. Do you tow with it? I know freelander 1's were too light to tow and mums was dreadful anyway- not considering those. If not able to tow I can use other halfs defender to tow so please don't shoot me down!!! So freelander 22 reviews??? Please!
 
Legally weights wise you would be fine for one horse - Freelander has a 2000kg limit for towing and so one 520kg horse plus you and stuff and fuel would be fine. Second horse would have to be a smaller ponio tho.

But I would be more concerned about the power aspect esp on hills - I think Freelanders 120BHP for the 1.8l up to 160bhp for 2.2l, which may struggle with long slow hills esp on bends and esp with 2 in there if you ever need to carry two. Also the Defenders weight gives it a stability the Freelander cant match, plus if the Defender has low ratio gear range and diff lock (the second gearstick) it can get you out of just about any muddy/icy field.

If it were me, I would stick with towing with the Defender. But it would be legal to tow with the Freelander if theres just one horse in and assuming something like an Ifor 510 type trailer.

The other middle option could be a Disco?
 
Thanks. I do a lot of miles and fuel is a killer at the mo in the defender. If I didn't I'd get an X5 like a shot! Fuel is going to be a similar problem in a disco. What's the freelander 2 like - I'm looking at diesel manual best engine specs- as a road car and in snow?
 
I two my 15.1 TB/ID around in an ifor williams and have no problems at all plus it doesn't kill me every week in fuel consumption - a defender would probably be a lot better for the job mind.
 
I tow one 600-700kg horse in an ifor 505 with a freelander 2 and its surprisingly good! I don't tow long distances and I've not attempted to tackle the notorious Air Balloon hill (it's a biggie!) but for the purposes I want - towing to local shows and fun rides) it does me grand!

Interior spec wise they are pretty cushy too - we got an 09 plate XS model that had been specced up by previous owner so got an almost top of the range HSE without the price tag ;) All we're missing is built in sat nav and heated seats. If you do want one I would recommend waiting for the right one, an XS or HSE model with good mileage, and if you're prepared to have a more 'out there' colour you'll get much more car for your money. Ours came down almost 2k in price over a few weeks simply because it was bright blue!! Lesser models in black or grey were selling for the same price, weird!

Anyway, I'd highly recommend them :)
 
Bleurgh noooo not the gold/orange thing!! Lol I do love my blue one, some people were actually admiring it in tescos car park the other day...I crapped myself thinking they were examining damage and OH was going to kill me haha!

OH initially was determined to have a black one, but when we saw the difference in spec and age/mileage we could get if compromised on colour he changed his mind pretty sharpish!
 
palomino_pony said:
Thanks. I do a lot of miles and fuel is a killer at the mo in the defender. If I didn't I'd get an X5 like a shot! Fuel is going to be a similar problem in a disco. What's the freelander 2 like - I'm looking at diesel manual best engine specs- as a road car and in snow?
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A friend runs a 110 defender he had a freelander as a loan car when the 110 was in for its latest warrenty claim. we went on a fairly long trip solo not towing, neither of us would have one as a gift horible low driving position horrid seats and a lurchy ride not great on fuel either personaly if I was in the market for that sort of car I would be having a serious look at a subaru forester another friend runs one and its great to ride in and he gets over 50mpg will tow 2000kg better image too if that important to you,freelander is a bit "haha you cant afford a discovery"
 
Actually, perfect11s, we found many a disco cheaper than the freelander - they're cheaper to buy as more expensive to run.

A RR Evoque however, is a bit 'haha you can't afford a real Range' ;)

Plus, with a freelander, if you drive it badly when off road you can convincingly blame your car, instead of having to sheepishly ask someone to pull you out of a ditch because you just drove into it yourself... :/
 
perfect11s said:
A friend runs a 110 defender he had a freelander as a loan car when the 110 was in for its latest warrenty claim. we went on a fairly long trip solo not towing, neither of us would have one as a gift horible low driving position horrid seats and a lurchy ride not great on fuel either personaly if I was in the market for that sort of car I would be having a serious look at a subaru forester another friend runs one and its great to ride in and he gets over 50mpg will tow 2000kg better image too if that important to you,freelander is a bit "haha you cant afford a discovery"
Click to expand...

My Freelander 2 HSE cost more than a Discovery.
 
perfect11s said:
A friend runs a 110 defender he had a freelander as a loan car when the 110 was in for its latest warrenty claim. we went on a fairly long trip solo not towing, neither of us would have one as a gift horible low driving position horrid seats and a lurchy ride not great on fuel either personaly if I was in the market for that sort of car I would be having a serious look at a subaru forester another friend runs one and its great to ride in and he gets over 50mpg will tow 2000kg better image too if that important to you,freelander is a bit "haha you cant afford a discovery"
Click to expand...

How on earth does your friend get 50mpg on a Forester? I looked into buying one when I gave up on my old Disco because I've always been a fan of Subaru, but every website I saw claimed that they averaged around 22-23mpg.
 
At least freelander looks fairly stylish too. Forester will make me look like I'm a 50+ year old man not a just about 30 year old woman! Discos are a bit massive too
 
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