Well mine was in for its 4th year service and MOT so had another loan car but this time a manual one with 97 miles on it.

Gear control was a lot lighter than the last manual one I drove but I am not convinced it suits the car.
first gear is weird, short and lack of power with a weird on off power feeling if driving with a very light foot making it impossible to drive ultra smooth. The gear-change from first to second isn't exactly slick making large roundabout where traffic was flowing fast tricky having to change gear halfway out across a road.
The rest was ok but wouldn't want to get stuck in town or motorway traffic for long.
The car didn't feel anywhere near as powerful as my auto but may be due to only having done 100 miles !

Over 2 days I averaged 37.9mpg with gentle driving about the same as the auto.
Once i jumped back in mine, wow the surge of power as you pull away and the continued torque as it went up through the gears with no effort actually brought a smile to my face.
I must also say that mine felt no different to a brand new one ! as I still have no rattles or squeaks & still smells new.
So could I buy a manual one personally ? NO
Also pleased to report that since September last year when L/R finally fixed 3 years of total hassle not a single fault code has developed in any of the control modules whereas before it could gain as many as 30 in a week.
So may be its finally fixed but just so frustrating that it took 3 years and kept being told they all do it ! as clearly they don't. Do I trust it " No " do I trust L/R "NO" reliability spoilt that relationship for ever.

I think that is an inevitable consequence of your preference. It's the same for me when I get an auto for a courtesy car. I can't wait to get back into the manual again. No such problems on mine as it is ultra smooth changes so I think the high mileage has a say in matters there. I just love being in control at all times and I judge the changes much better than the auto box hence no need for the wasteful kickdown. I do have a heavy right foot i'm afraid so I don't get huge MPG but then driving like that with an auto would be grim MPG. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Saw this last week and thought of OldGeezer!
sorry its a bad pic, iPhone used

Click image to enlarge

Taz is that on the A1

M6 Southbound in Cheshire last Wednesday at 08:15

wonder if it was a relation of this chap


http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/motoring/art...aults.html

Good summary of the manual OG .. Still it's a shame you still feel so negative of the brand. It happened to me with Audi (albeit not as bad as you) and it has put me of for life

Doc - in the same way you have to get used to driving a manual - you have to get used to an auto also and even I would admit that when I first got into the fl I was not overly impresses with the auto compared to the ZF box on my 330 but I soon got used to it and I think it is a very good unit... Recently I have also been driving it in command shift and once you get used to the wrong way round shifter it is amazing how smooth it is and how much control you have.

I would still pick a manual for some card though - the BMW 1M is currently tickling my fancy - just not sure I would get all 3 kids in the back  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Taztastic

excellent but bad publicity for LR

Can't get my head round this wasteful kickdown mine doesn't do it, well not what I call wasteful, if you are one of these pedal to the floor merchants when you overtake or accelerate perhaps it's that, me I can just leisurely press the noisy pedal, it calmly and smoothly drops a cog and the vehicle in the mirror gets rapidly smaller. Same when towing, put the cruise on 60mph there or there abouts and it will sit at 60 all day with silky smooth changes. Said it before and again, Auto and Freelander 2, peaches and cream.

+1 you have to drive it like a real oaf to get any kind of 'wasteful kickdown' Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

+2. I have to agree with 'wasteful kickdown' = 'real oaf' driver

Couldn't disagree more. Even with more delicate acceleration I find the kickdown fidgety. I don't dislike autos full stop, I just dislike the auto FL2 and would never buy one. If I had problem after problem with the manual then I would simply buy a different car altogether. I like the fact that if I need to go for it for whatever reason, I can change gear knowing what gear is right for what speed. In the auto if 'oaf mode' is deployed and I floor it, then it drops 2 gears and revs it's head off which jerks you about. It should just change down once on kickdown when flooring it in my opinion.

What exactly is the difference between the auto box in the FL2 and the one's in the rangie and disco? LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

You get the occasional oaf driving a Freelander 2, as far as I'm aware an oaf has not driven a Disco or Rangie

ad210358 wrote:

You get the occasional oaf driving a Freelander 2, as far as I'm aware an oaf has not driven a Disco or Rangie

So you haven't driven a disco or rangie then  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

In the FL2, as with ALL auto's, kickdown will select the lowest available gear, even if it only has a couple of hundred revs left in it.

Drive with what you have, you want progress, place the box in sport mode, drive briskly, it will stay in gears longer and change down more readily, there is seldom any need for kickdown.
Kickdown is a throwback from old three speed boxes that would refuse to change down and had to be forced, now we have 6, 7 and even 8 gears, kickdown is a little farcical.
As someone hinted, the fault is not the box its the control module that is at fault, or to give the control module its colloquial name, the OAF.