I appreciate now how brilliant the FL2 works off-road thanks to a multitude of attributes, but does anybody have any past experience of the previous Freelander off-road or know anything of its ability in the rough stuff?

The sort of detail I'm looking for is this...

- Is it's ground clearance sufficient? Would it manage a rutted green lane?
- Are the approach/departure angles good?
- Is the wheel articulation acceptable? Would it manage an 'elephants footprint' course?
- Does it have appropriate traction controls to keep it going in wet and muddy terrain?
- How well does it handle steep(ish) hill descents and climbs?
- How does it handle other off-road obstacles like rocks and water etc.?
- Is it equipped with all the required off-road apparatus like recovery points from and rear?
- How would it compare off-road to an old (1994 era) Discovery I or 200tdi Defender?
- Anything else worth noting about its off-road prowess? How far off-road have people been in one?

I'm looking into some used examples as they are more modern (thus more safe, comfortable, reliable etc...) than many of the equivalent priced old Discoverys / Defenders, but I would like to be able to take it off-road. Terrain such as green lanes, off-road venues such as Tong etc...

Any advice/insight appreciated  "CY from DISCO3"

Discovery 3 TDV6 SE

Tim in Scotland is the man to speak to on this one CY.

I had a Fl1 commercial and used it on the farm quite a lot. It did pretty well really I never got stuck anyway, Not as adept as the defenders I had prior to the fl1. The main concern was the comparative lack of ground clearance after driving the defender. I did bang the underside and/or exhaust on obstacles on frequent occasions but never ever caused any real damage.
I found the traction control worked amply for my needs, the only time it really struggled was on a long steep grass incline after a rainstorm. When all four wheels spin equally on damp turf any method of traction control is redundant your only answer is to retry the slope but with more entry speed.


I would say the approach/exit angles are pretty good and green lanes shouldn't worry you too much at all. My biggest trouble was driving down tractor rutted farm tracks as the wheel width of a tractor is obviously wider than a landrovers. In these conditions you have to keep the landrover out of the tractor made ruts and drive on the peaks , wander off these peaks and you soon end up side ways on the track and this can be difficult to rectify. I guess this is where a longer wheelbased vehicle would be better. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Last edited by chicken george on 4th May 2008 6:30 pm. Edited 1 time in total

I ran a Freelander 1 for 3 years and it was that that got me into offroading, me and a host of others. They are a lot better than folks would have you believe offroad and especially in muddy going as they are relatively light.
CY take a look over on the Freelander Club forums http://www.freelanderclub.org/ and also the MAD Freelander's website - http://www.mad-freelanders.org.uk/ They are very good for what they are (the ground clearance and a weak clutch on manual cars being the only major minuses) . Avoid 1.8's as they are underpowered and the clutch is cooked too easily. The 2.5V6 had even less ground clearance than a 1.8 or TD and avoid any of the "Sport" badged F1's because they also have less ground clearance. The only real option if you want to go offroad is the TD4 Auto. You can get a 2" suspension lift for an F1 but it really stretches the drive shafts to their extent and has been known to give loads of problems. You can get custom aluminium tank,sump and VC guards from Mantec that are also a good investment (especially a guard for the VC as it is very vulnerable).You can now get BFG MTR's and AT's small enough for Freelander 1's as well and they enhance it's offroad ability a huge amount.

So avoid V6's (and their 20mpg drinking habit), 1.8's for the weedy engine and drinking habits and all manuals. The V6's were auto-only.

I took mine offroad a lot but was starting to damage it's underside as no plates were available then, I bought a £10,000 sump guard that worked extremely well as my Freelander1 never again went offroad once I had bought the 90! In fact I would say that if you can afford a late plate TD4 Automatic, then you should look at either a TD5 Disco2 with a CDL (it was an option on the D2) or a TDi300 Defender.

If you need anymore help/advice drop me a PM either here or on RRS.

Later edit:
If you are going for anything pre Y plate then look carefully at the gear lever, if it doesn't have the yellow HDC button then it won't have ABS and will only have TC to help it offroad. Also it is essential that you have service history as F1's were supposed to have "sealed for life" Viscous Couplings and rear diffs................... however Land Rover modified that to "cahnge the silicone fluid in the VC and the rear diff oil every 3 years" and nobody except a dealer or Land Rover specialist appears to be aware of that! If you want some good advice then I would contact George McClay at GEMM 4x4 in Larbert - they are non franchise Land Rover Specialists and have all the right servicing stuff. There is also a good non franchise dealer at Broxburn, but I cannot rmember their name - both are Scottish Land Rover Owners Club Members and advertise in the journal. How can carbon have a footprint, it has no feet?
Now driving - RRE Coupe Dynamic Lux Auto with Plus pack, Fuji White, Ebony, SD4 with tow pack
Gone - 2010MY FFRR TDv8 Stornoway and Ivory, Privacy - the pace of a TDv8 RRS, the incomparable grace of a Range Rover
Gone but will be missed- RRS Tdv8 HSE Stornoway Grey with Ebony Leather
Gone (only a little missed) RRS Tdv6 2.7SE Giverny Green/Aspen
Defender 90 County HT in Epsom Green

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on 4th May 2008 6:54 pm. Edited 2 times in total

£10,000 sump guard Solid gold was it? At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

No - it was branded Land Rover Defender 90 Hard Top County and Epsom Green in colour George.
This is what my £10k sumpguard looks like in action



BTW I have some friends who competed in the British Offroad Rallys for quite a few years in a Race set-up Freelander 1 1.8 and also a TD4 Freelander. The td4 had also taken part in, and completed, the Paris -Dakar as a private entry. Some of the big teams laughed at them for entering it - but the owners had the last laugh when they completed the rally without millions of £££££'s in back-up teams whereas quite a few big teams with megabudgets never completed the course! It never broke down on them once! How can carbon have a footprint, it has no feet?
Now driving - RRE Coupe Dynamic Lux Auto with Plus pack, Fuji White, Ebony, SD4 with tow pack
Gone - 2010MY FFRR TDv8 Stornoway and Ivory, Privacy - the pace of a TDv8 RRS, the incomparable grace of a Range Rover
Gone but will be missed- RRS Tdv8 HSE Stornoway Grey with Ebony Leather
Gone (only a little missed) RRS Tdv6 2.7SE Giverny Green/Aspen
Defender 90 County HT in Epsom Green

Thanks for the information Tim, that's really useful stuff.

I have been looking at vehicles for myself (a 3rd car to the family) but I've got a very limited (student) budget thus have been looking at very old Land Rovers. My other issue (aside from running costs, fuel and reliability) is insurance. I've just today been given an excellent quote on our 1.4 Renault with Direct Line but don't think they'd look so positively at insurance a 17/18 year-old on a big 2.0l Land Rover Still waiting to hear if NFU cover out city centre postcode.

If we were to flog the Renault, however, we may get somewhere in the region of £4-5k. Adding a little to the pot looks like it would get a tidy 2000 TD4 ES Auto with about 70k miles on the clock. At that kind of mileage do they start to get pricey in repairs? We have a zero knowledge of mechanics in cars so would be relying on local garages to do any repairs, so a reliable example would be preferable. Also, as the Renault is only ever really used in town, got to convince the rest of the clan that a noticeably bigger vehicle would be practical.

Off-road, the FL1 looks like it would be plenty capable of doing the sort of stuff I'd be interested in. Ideally I'd like to attend some of the off-road days held by the SORC etc. through Loch Lomond and the highlands etc etc but I'd also like to be able to take it round venues like Tong and to some of the events held by DISCO3 such as Salisbury and Rockingham/Boughrood etc.

I'll keep looking into it... "CY from DISCO3"

Discovery 3 TDV6 SE

Yes but don't forget that "a big 2.0l" Land Rover will be a series model and therefore cannot do more than 50mph downhill with a hurricane behind it, and will more than likely be exempt from tax - but also not nice to drive as your only car as they are cold and often wet inside!!

Quote:

At that kind of mileage do they start to get pricey in repairs? We have a zero knowledge of mechanics in cars so would be relying on local garages to do any repairs, so a reliable example would be preferable.

No I meant insurance on a 2.0 Freelander - is is big compared to what we've got just now

I don't know specifically but I think it's around insurance group 12 whereas the Renault is group 3. It's an extra £170 to stick me on the Renault's current Direct Line policy, so would have to factor it in as being 4x as much for the Freelander (unless NFU did cheap cover) or am I getting that completely wrong. "CY from DISCO3"

Discovery 3 TDV6 SE

Yes it will be more expensive than the Renault - don't they give Renaults away with cornflakes? My Td4 GS 5 door was something like Group 8 so it shouldn't be that expensive to insure

I wouldn't expect the F1 to go to too many places that a D3 would get to, especially if there are deep ruts! You would need a set of MTR's to even think about going to Tong and playing with the D3's. How can carbon have a footprint, it has no feet?
Now driving - RRE Coupe Dynamic Lux Auto with Plus pack, Fuji White, Ebony, SD4 with tow pack
Gone - 2010MY FFRR TDv8 Stornoway and Ivory, Privacy - the pace of a TDv8 RRS, the incomparable grace of a Range Rover
Gone but will be missed- RRS Tdv8 HSE Stornoway Grey with Ebony Leather
Gone (only a little missed) RRS Tdv6 2.7SE Giverny Green/Aspen
Defender 90 County HT in Epsom Green