Hi all. Been viewing as a guest since November and soaking up the advice. My current situation is this, for the last 4 years ive run a ford focus tdci for work and a highly uneconomical merc clk for fun on the weekend. In the last year my weekends have changed to clay shooting (read muddy fields and dirt roads) and my works moved closer to home. So in November i made the decision id sell both and replace with a 4x4. Short list was fl2, ml350, rx450h and x5. The rx was dismissed due to the pretty dismal boot space, ml for me was by far the most luxurious interior but let down by handling and economy, x5 i thought drove best on the road and boot seemed better than fl2. But inspite of me personaly thinking the others all outperformed the freely in some way, theres just something that keeps drawing me back to it... So ive decided to take the plunge, sold the clk and the hunt begins.

I have some essentials and some high desirables in terms of spec and hoping you guys can guide me.

Essentials are, full ebony leather, sat nav, engine either td4 stop start manual or sd4/post 2011 td4 auto (which i believe are more economical than pre 2011 td4 auto?)

Desirable would be pan roof, xenon, premium sound, stornaway grey or the lovely blue which i think is bali blue?

Absolute deal breaker would be white or green (no offense to those who have them its just not for me. Wouldnt look older than 2009.

Budget is £17000 for a 2011 facelift that ticks all the boxes. Wouldnt want to go over £14000 on a prefacelift thats missing some bits i want. The odd scrape and scuff wouldnt bother me as im lucky in that my father and brother own one of the oldest bodyshops in the county.

Ive seen one car thats really tempting so far. A 2011 facelift, stornoway grey, hse, ebony leather, stop start manual, pan roof, premium audio, sat nav, one owner from new with full lrsh. £13k the catch is 112k miles. Is it a risk you guys would take? Ive read about haldex issues etc and tbh its putting me off high milage.

Any and all advice welcome guys
Thanks in advance
Colin

Hi Colin.

I bought a FL2 XS as a replacement for a FL1 as a second family car for my Son to use in December.

We had a few issue with it from the off but it was a Used Approved car so the issues we have had have been sorted under the LR warranty and if not covered by the dealer.

I would suggest you look at Approved used cars over anything else just for the support and peace of mind.

Ian.

I personally would spend a little more if you can and buy a lower mileage one. 17K will give you a pretty wide choice of used approved HSE's. Private/independent ones are cheaper. FL2's seem to be pretty reliable and in truth can have problems at any mileage. I looked at a couple of high mileage ones that were going cheap. One had a dodgy clutch and the other just didn't seem to drive as it should (I've had three so I am pretty familiar with them). In the end I went for a low mileage one. No regrets so far!

The FL2 is a very good bit of kit

One thing I might point out though is if your into a lot of clay shooting, your shot guns will fit across the back of a disco 3 / 4 better than in a freelander 2, i.e the disco is abit wider and its easyer to load / hide the guns and ammo in the boot, plus the split tail gives you somewhere to put your boots on and off. My dad used my freelander 2 to go clay shooting with and these are the first things he reported back ( other than it was nice )

Freelander is more than capable though, just once you start filling the boot with gear soon gets cramped ( spesh with long items such as shot guns )

Dan Freelander 57 plate XS Blue Auto

Depends on your shotguns, mine fitted fine in the boot before I filled it with a dog box. If you're going larger than 28" barrels or have a particularly long stock you may struggle I guess.

Thanks for all of the replys guys. Really usefull.

Yeah i worked out gun would just fit across the wider half of the boot. Considered the disco3 but a bit bigger than i need daily and economy worse than the freelander.

Thanks
Colin

You are making a good choice in my view.
I considered a few of the options you list (plus the XC60), plumped for a Freelander and couldn't be more pleased.

I picked up a grey, 2011 XS with full leather and a removable tow bar for just over 17k, 40k odd miles on the clock.
Felt i was paying a little bit over the odds but it was the right colour, spec etc and in v good nick so i bit the bullet.

Just watch out for how much cash you'll immediately feel compelled to subsequently drop on "accessories" once you've got it!

Oh yes the extras! Its getting rails and steps if it dosnt come with em. Lol.

Does anyone know the differences between a xs with full leather and nav vs a hse with no optional extras?

In short, an HSE also has: Premium sound system; front + rear parking sensors; panoramic sun roof; full electric memory seats & mirrors + 18" wheels. Mine (10MY) has rear spoiler too plus colour coded sills.

Bob 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Last edited by dunkley201 on 10th Feb 2015 2:31 pm. Edited 1 time in total

It might be better to wait a couple of weeks as 1) 4X4 price's drop after winter. 2) The DS is out soon so there's a good chance FL2 price's may drop. Each way your going to get more for your money. MY13 HSE LUX Aintree Green
MY57 SE Stornoway Grey. Gone
Nissan X Trail
Discovery V8 LPG
Series II Land Rover

Ok definatly need to make sure to ask of it has parking sensors should i look at an xs then. My step dad occasionally borrows my car for various things and he has a panic attack trying to park my mums skoda! Lol.

I believe the XS has rear sensors only  10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Yes it had occoured to me on both fronts. Worth looking and gathering knowledge now though, never know when a bargain will appear.

I think front and rear parking sensors are standard on the XS. Mine certainly has the front sensors.

My XS has got both front and rear sensors, not sure if that is standard or not, maybe i got lucky but they are both definitely v useful where i park it….

Of the other HSE standard items noted:

Premium sound system: would have liked this but standard one is good enough so not too fussed
front + rear parking sensors; got these as noted
panoramic sun roof: would rather not have this tbh, too much leaking potential!
full electric memory seats & mirrors: mines got electric seats/mirrors but not memory seats
+ 18" wheels: may get a second set of 18's to use as summer wheels and keep my 17's for winter tyres, but 17's are pretty good as it is

For me the XS with leather was the sweet spot of options vs cost but not so many about, an HSE may be better bet
Either way you'll be delighted I'm sure