Off road capability

[gords]

How capable is a Freelander off road, in standard guise?

Is there much in the way of "after market" kit for enhancing a Freelander (it's offroad ability, not bling )?

Are the different models all the same wheelbase?

[V8MoneyPit]

The only thing that stops it dead is ground clearance. They are particularly good with slippery surfaces like grass or wet surface mud. Ours just has standard Goodyear M+S tyres and was far better in the snow than the 110.

TD4 has lots of torque. Auto's are better for low speed use. There is no hi-lo transfer box and the manuals are bit high on first gear.

They are all the same wheelbase.

[gords]

The only thing that stops it dead is ground clearance.

Much like any 4x4 then

What sort of clearance do they have compared to a Discovery and can they be lifted? Got any pictures of the underneath of one? :lol:

[V8MoneyPit]

:lol:  :lol:
I try to avoid getting under the Freelander.... job for the garage!

They are only about 8" clearance I think. I have never grovelled with a tape measure next to one .... can't imagine why  :lol:  :lol:

There are lift kits available, but I understand they can be made a ot cheaper. There was a thread on here a while ago about lifting them. I understand you can get about 1.5" without affecting steering.

[Llanigraham]

Gordon
As one who fairly regularly gets his Freelander dirty, I would say they are very capable off road, especially in mud or on wet grass. They are defeated by ruts over about 8" deep especially if you don't like the scrapping noises from underneath.
One thing I have found is it makes you pick your route very carefully, and to keep out of the ruts.
There are various ways of getting up to 2" of lift, but most people in the Mad Freelanders Club have gone for 1" plus bigger tyres. Have a look at their website,
www.mad-freelanders.org.uk/index.html

Have fun, and don't believe eveerything that is said against them, after all they still have a green oval on them!

[mark.yellow.series.3]

landrover freelander is the best in its class.

[WishIhadaLandy]

Couple of questions about freelanders:

1. Does the lack of low ratio make a big difference when off roading (i have driven one but not where a low box would have been useful, as it was in a car park, albeit a sand one at the beach)?

2. What is 8 inch's of ground clearance compared to a discovery or defender?

3.what sort of fuel comsumption are the TD4's?

4.Are they good value as a second hand buy?

Thanks for any answers. :D

[V8MoneyPit]

Answers (IMHO):

1. Low range only makes a difference if you are going places where you need to trickle along slowly. The first gear on the manuals is a bit high even for some greenlaning IMO. I used to slip the clutch going in and out of our fields because the track is rather rough in places and the car would bottom out if driven too quickly.

2. The 8" might be exagerated a bit. The main problem is breakover angle. The limited clearance is under the centre of the car where a Disco/Defender is much higher even though their axles aren't that much higher.

3. TD4's get to upper 20's mpg on the road. Might just get into low 30's if you are on a long motorway run.

4. TD4's and 5dr's seem to hold value reasonably well after the initial plummet from new (like most new cars!). Both the 1.8 and V6 seem to have poorer residuals. V6 quite thirsty, but loads of grunt. 1.8's can be difficult to sell on. There are loads on the market, so lots of choice. Lots of choice means you can haggle at the time of purchase, but has the opposite problem when selling!

[Steve ray]

1st & Rev (using HDC) make the Freelander pretty decent off road.

The ground clearance is an issue - it certainly tests your ground reading skills. The ETC helps a great deal.

MPG: our Td4 gets about 30 - 31mpg 'knocking about' and higher up the 30's on a run. Air flow meter (wire in air intake can be faulty if you are not getting near these figures)

Td4 5-doors hold their value best.
Avoid 1.8 petrol - mainly becasue of all the bad press, they are hard to sell on. The 2.5 V6 petrols are better, but have alove affair with filling stations!

Overall, a motor that's best in it's class (it's still a Land Rover afterall) even though a few people are prejudiced towards em!

[Thrasher]

We had 2 Freelanders ... and now we don't :-)

Traction systems are A1 - engines are ... er... well....

[Big-G]

Standard ground clearance is a draw back, a 40mm lift makes a considerable difference, biggest diameter tyres you can run in 28.8 after that they foul the wheel arches.

50mm lift requires slight cuts to the inner wheel arches at the front, castor doesnt seem to affect the handling, and very little additional tyre wear.

I have a 63mm lift at the back and a 57mm at the front, any higher and the brake lines need lengthening.  Running 215/80R15 tyres no bother and good handling even with the MT's

Like Graham said check out our M.A.D bunch at www.mad-freelandes.org.uk

Big G

[gords]

Standard ground clearance is a draw back, a 40mm lift makes a considerable difference, biggest diameter tyres you can run in 28.8 after that they foul the wheel arches.

How does the lift kit work? Where/how does it fit?

A Discovery potentially suffers drivetrain problems (particularly UJs) as soon as you start to lilft them ... is this not a problem on a Freelander?

[Thrasher]

Gords you have a whole host of new and expensive things to break on a Freelander .... the viscous coupling is a favourite. We ditched ours in favour of a smaller vehicle *with* a proper low box :-)

[gords]

Neil, I'm detecting a less than favourable view of Freelanders from you

[Thrasher]

Gords,

We owned two, they are ok offroad, but not in the same league as my other Green (and now Black!) Oval vehicles. The interiors for me were lacking, the common faults should have been resolved this many years into the production, oh and now the price is about to drop out of the market with the FL2 Mondeo about to be launched. If you want to buy one, wait at least 3 months and buy one for next to nothing, kill it offorad and buy a spare.....

[Big-G]

Lift pushes the shocks further out of the body work, thus the body is further form the ground, now big diffs hanging down like other LR's, i have a clear 10 inches under mine, albeit thats more than a 50mm lift!  Had mine on for nigh on 2 years with no problems, also have sold them to numerous others with no side effects.

Yes they have their faults, but then again show me a LR that doesn't!  I have had nothing but perfect operation out of mine and it gets pushed offroad to extremes all the time, including recovering a stuck Disco on Sarn Helen last new years day - a place my freelander has never managed to get stuck!

Watch this space, next is a modified bumper to take a winch  not that i need it for myself of course :-)

[alaric]

I drove one at the Land Rover experience and was surprised at their capability.

Hill Decent Control is very good, although as it uses the brakes instead of engine braking, you might find it goes through pads a bit quickly if used a lot off road and in mud - I've heard that this is a problem with all the new LR products which use traction control in place of locking diffs.

The other thing to remember is that drive to the rear axle is only engaged after the front wheels have lost traction - it is a good system for getting you out of trouble, but, unlike full 4wd used well, it won't stop you getting into trouble in the first place.

Axle articulation isn't a patch on a full size 4wd.

Alaric.

[Thrasher]

Yes they have their faults, but then again show me a LR that doesn't! I have had nothing but perfect operation out of mine and it gets pushed offroad to extremes all the time, including recovering a stuck Disco on Sarn Helen last new years day - a place my freelander has never managed to get stuck!

We won;t mention the time I had to tow a Freelander off a flat bit of land in that case :-) Gords - be aware NOT ALL Freelanders are equal - TC was an option....oh how we laughed :-)