Not having been a Freelander owner in the past I have dedicated my next purchase to a Freelander 2 after much deliberation between the Freelander 2, Disco 4 and Defender 110. My dilemma is whether to go for manual or automatic and will most likely be a 2015/15 model to be used for caravanning holidays across Europe. Having been avid campers for many years my retirement next year brings a whole lot of free weekends and summer hols for touring. I don't expect to do much off roading but hey ho we might just go. The thoughts of the collective are very much appreciated...

Automatic every time. I can't think of one reason other than cost why a manual box would be better. I will never buy another manual vehicle. For any purpose you put a late model Freelander to , commuting , towing, winter duty, even non damaging light use off road ( LR experience centres used to use the Auto Freelander ) the auto box is superior. 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Thanks, Martyn.
My daughter has just turned 17 and the other question was do I wait until she has passed her test but I think it'll be a Polo for her to drive around. Been checking with the insurance company for quotes and it has rocketed to over 2 grand. I read somewhere there had been issues with gear boxes from towing caravans. Not sure if it is related to auto boxes though.

late model 64/15 plate will most likely be SD4 version which only came with Auto box.

Have had TD4 Manual and TD4 Auto and now SD4 Auto the latter is by far and away the best to drive.

The auto box is the also the proven best gearbox for towing so will suit your needs perfectly.

Thanks Rog for the info! We’re very limited to dealerships in Northern Ireland so might have to wait a while for the right one to come along. Decision made though.

Although a Auto has many upsides I find my manual is A OK car so if the right one comes up on the money have a test drive. Most report haldex and diff failures in the transmissions when they go wrong with very few issues with boxes be it auto or manual. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Auto every time it's the best decision I made regarding the freelander

+1 for auto, especially when towing a tintent. Updated- Waiting for a Scotland v England 6 Nations home win. 24th Feb 2018
Gone-1972 88 SWB Soft top
Gone-1981 24v FFR Lightweight
Gone-2009 Freelander 2 TD4 GS manual
Gone before it bankrupted me- 2008 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 GS Auto

Had several TD4 manuals, now have a SD4 auto - the latter is by far the better. Better on and off road. Jules

I purposely bought a new FL2 as you got a manual option. Auto box only stopped me for getting a new D4 which is what I had on the cards as an upgrade from my manual FL1. MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
MY15 Xenon Headlight Conversion

MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s

Just another bit of info . The auto box can be over-ridden with a manual shift mode called " Command Shift " if you ever have the need , for example if you want to descend a very steep hill you can change down to first if that is your driving style. If you ever feel the need to have a traffic light Grand Prix , you can knock the lever over into " sport" mode and use use either full auto or manually use the stick for flat out single finger shifts . Having said that our car just bobbles along quite quickly and smoothly in D with the 160 engine , the 190 SD4 must do it easier still  2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Last edited by MartynB on 9th Oct 2017 12:42 pm. Edited 2 times in total

After a lifetime of manual cars, I have had FL2 SD4 Auto for the last 5 years.

I am so certain that this is the right choice for me, powerful, comfortable,easy to drive, and see out of, I have replaced my first with a second FL2 of similar spec.

I feel the auto box suits the high torque, low revs, power of the FL2 by bringing relaxation. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 76k+ miles) (MY2015)

Up till now always had manuals, get an Auto. If towing get an Auto. If rock crawling get an auto. If in start stop traffic get an auto. If you have dodgy hip, knee & or wrist due to age or other issues get an auto.

If buying a Polo get a manual as they use DSG which is not a proper auto which will cook in all the above situations anyway.

I was in a few northern Italian caravan parks with relatives with their Touran manual 2.0L diesel, some of the exits were pretty difficult up a slope into a difficult stream of traffic. Not a nice situation with possibly stalling the car, which happened once. We slightly cooked the clutch a few times. One time a fair bit of cooking of the clutch & once 3 had to push to get the car out due to clutch cooking exit. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Guys can't thank you enough for the valuable knowledge and wisdom! I'm glad I made the right decision to join the forum. Looking forward to forum discussions when I finally make the plunge.

Just to add my humble opinion... always had manuals but a disability put me onto auto route and cannot see why I didn't get one years ago. ease of driving... etc etc etc. ENJOY

OH and by the way.. welcome. If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

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Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.