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Snowweasel


Posts: 395
Joined: Oct 2006
Last Visited: 11:14
16th Apr 2021
Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 12.08hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
I'm in the happy position of being able to think about a new car. After last winter, I'm very keen on getting a 4x4. In the really bad snow last December I was able( through work) to hire a Discovery4 and loved it, it went literally anywhere, was nice to drive and very comfortable. BUT even the diesel version I had was pretty expensive to run.
So now I'm thinking about a Freelander, smaller and cheaper to run, especially as I'm paying for the fuel! But what are Freelanders like in the snow? Does anyone know? I'm not expecting a Discovery type experience but I would like to think that it would be able to cope with Scottish conditions as well as be OK for the long drive north.
moffatross


Posts: 1525
Joined: Mar 2006
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 12.26hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
Skoda Yeti. winking smiley You can lay the back seats down to make plenty of room ... I've slept comfortably in the back of mine at Glenshee & Nevis with my skis & other kit & it's quite comfy in a duck down sleeping bag on top of a lightweight inflatable mat. But I'm only 5'8" so bigger folks might not find it so easy.

Now that it's well run in (12K miles), I fid it hard to do less than 43-45 mpg between refills which isn't bad for a 170PS 4WD. With winter tyres it would be more or less invincible but even on standards it just gets right on through and up stuff that I wouldn't have dreamed taking my old Megane on.

With stuff like bum warmers, turny lights, nice stereo, rawhide seats and a wee SD card slot to listen to your MP3's from if you go pay for the full kit, it has to be cheaper, more economical & reliable than a Land Rover too.

Loving mine. smiling smiley
WindyMiller


Posts: 654
Joined: Sep 2010
Last Visited: 17:31
1st Sep 2019
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 13.14hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
It depends what you are looking for, they are both very different vehicles. The Discovery is much larger than the FL and drives like an off road car. The FL is very much more a car to drive but in saying that is very capable in the snow. The Discovery has adjustable suspension to raise its clearance height which helps with very deep snow. Mrs WM got her FL stuck once this winter but the snow was very deep and it bottomed out (we live in Aviemore). A quick shovelling to clear under the car got her going again. The FL is very sure footed and surprisingly good off road. It is still a thorough bread Land Rover.

Do you need an every day car or do you need a large carrying capacity with 7 seats?
The FL is 5 seats only with a smallish boot in comparison to the Discovery) but for every day driving is the better option. The seats do fold down to give a huge space. The Disco with 7 seats has little boot space.
Both are excellent in snow up to 40cm. The FL gets over 40mpg and as good as 47mpg long distance. Do not buy a petrol one.

Go along to your LR dealer and get a test drive, you will see what I mean about totally different vehicles. The dealer has off road test drive vouchers, ask him for one, they are free.

I will stick with my Range Rover, its still king of snow and thrashes the FL and Discovery off road but forget the fuel consumption, if you have to ask what it is you don’t want one!

Hope this helps, If you have any more questions PM me through the site. I have had 8 Land Rovers FLs, Discos and RRs.

WM

hector


Posts: 225
Joined: Nov 2004
Last Visited: 13:35
19th Jun 2014
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 15.06hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
How long are you planning on keeping it?

If it's longer than the 3 year warranty period I would tend to stay away from a Land Rover unless you're comfortable with big repair bills. A friend has just had to get rid of his 4 year old Disco 3 after spending close on £5k in repairs in it's first year out of warranty...

For a typical buy new and keep for 3 years, both the Freelander and Disco are great cars but as a long term ownership prospect go Japanese every time. They might not be as "cool" or have as many gimmicky features as a LR but they do the same job without fuss for year after year. smiling smiley

Jamie
(Land Cruiser owner... winking smiley)


StevieMcK


Posts: 1160
Joined: Feb 2003
Last Visited: 13:25
29th Apr 2019
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 15.24hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
This is a totally unscientific answer, but based on my experience in a FL, I'd have no worries over its ability in the snow.

We tried to get to Cairngorm or Glenshee on the last sunday in November last year. We got as far as Perth before we figured out that neither resort was opening. As we turned to go back to Glasgow, we then also found that both the A9 and M90 had been shut behind us. With nothing else to do, we asked a few locals where the steepest hills/roads were in Perth and headed up to Corsie Hill in the FL. The next 3 hrs were spent taking turns driving the FL up and down the road, while the others used it as upflit.

With the A9 and M90 still shut, we decided to head for Crieff on totally white roads and then cut down onto the A9 after the section that was blocked. A few miles outside of Perth, one of the country roads was totally blocked with cars struggling up an inclined, so we whipped out google maps on a phone and followed an alternate "road". The road narrowed right down at one point and then the hedges disappeared as we went through 2ft drifts. It was only the next day when I looked on the full version of google maps, that I relasied we'd drove across a field.

[bit.ly]

Anyway, like I said, totally unscientific, but the FL impressed me that day.
WindyMiller


Posts: 654
Joined: Sep 2010
Last Visited: 17:31
1st Sep 2019
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 15.47hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
I agree with Jamie’s comment on the Disco3 but not on the new FL. It is a very reliable car, unlike the old FL version which was dreadful. The jury is still out on the Disco 4 as it shares a lot of the same mechanics as the 3 (and the RR Sport, same running gear) The LR mechanics like the new FL for reliability, they just laugh at me when I come in with my RR Vogue with a box of bits that have fallen off, small things like drive shafts, front differentials, transfer boxes… but it can be a love hate relationship with LRs.
One thing I forgot to mention on the Land Rovers is the special gear box selector for different driving conditions, it changes the gear ratios / torque available. It really does work well, turn it to the snow setting and the electronics take over replacing some of the special skills required. It helps those who may only drive occasionally on snow, mud etc and have not fully built up that skill set.

Jamie is right, long term go Asian, I have heard great things about, don’t laugh now, the Kia and a 7 year warranty!!!!

WM

Snowweasel


Posts: 395
Joined: Oct 2006
Last Visited: 11:14
16th Apr 2021
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 15.54hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
THanks for some interesting replies. If money was no object I'd go for the Disco everytime, totally bombproof.
Sounds like a FL will do the job, though! A real epic, StevieMcK.
Maybe I should look a bit wider?
One of the guys at work has a Toyota Landcruiser but is being crippled by the fuel costs, he's talking about a Nissan XTrail. Anyone know much about them? And Mrs Snowweasel likes the look of the VW Tiguane, but I can't see much about their off road/ snow performance? And then there's the Volvo XC60, fabulous looking, but once again, a bit tightlipped about snow performance.
And then there's the Yeti!
Too many choices.
ColinTheCop


Posts: 525
Joined: Mar 2007
Last Visited: 18:44
16th Jul 2019
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 17.57hrs on Thu 24 Mar 11
I'm a Land Rover nut and go to their shows every year.

But what Hector said is spot on. New ones are notoriously unreliable. If you can afford to get rid after 3yrs then go for it.....

Apparently the Kia sportage is hard to beat. And it comes with a 7yr warrenty.
telemarker


Posts: 2934
Joined: Oct 2003
Last Visited: 14:59
12th Apr 2021
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 10.09hrs on Fri 25 Mar 11
Another Landcruiser owner here... 11yr old one and still fine on and off the road.
taking it down to Spanish Pyrenees this summer to follow 800km of mountain trails! 70% offroad. going over 3000m passes, fords and some sections that SUV like freelander are told to detour round.

The older Freelanders were often awfull, so i wouldnt touch them with bargepole.

D3 are starting to have electrical problems which cost big money.

Xtrail's use a renault engine these days... and have had a lot of turbo problems.

dont know much about the new FL or D4

Yeti looks good on paper. a car i will consider in future or the Scout, to replace our 9 yr old Subaru forester when it expires (forester also a great AWD estate car and has been brilliant in snow).





daveski


Posts: 1506
Joined: Jan 2008
Last Visited: 10:01
28th Apr 2019
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 17.16hrs on Fri 25 Mar 11
Jeep Patriot owner, half the price of a disco, lot cheaper than FL, does exaclty what I want and need.

Would now actually consider the Skoda Yeti - and put my 1988 Toyota Cabriolet back on the road.

I used to be a firm landy fan, hours and hours of off road use, disco does come with a lot, but I dont actually need it, not been in the new FL, the old one did not have driver height.


eurotele


Posts: 277
Joined: Dec 2002
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 18.34hrs on Fri 25 Mar 11
Most of the big 4x4 are total overkill

Yeti , Subaru outback , forrester on winter Tyres will do 99% of what a freelander will do with a fraction of the ownership cost

You don't mention towing ( 2.5t plus ) or anything that would say the Subaru or yeti couldn't cope, plus with diesel prices rocketing and unless you're stupidly rich that's a


Happy hunting

Snowborders


Posts: 163
Joined: Feb 2007
Last Visited: 20:34
24th Feb 2013
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 20.02hrs on Fri 25 Mar 11
Audi Quattro, job done, failing that anything but a Landie, Skoda Yeti also looks good, Fiat Panda 4x4, go on be different, be daring!

If you've eaten today, thank a Farmer
hector


Posts: 225
Joined: Nov 2004
Last Visited: 13:35
19th Jun 2014
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 20.02hrs on Fri 25 Mar 11
Completely agree Eurotele unless you're going drift bashing or heading off road in winter any "soft roader" on decent winter tyres will do the job.

Winter tyres are an important factor, I'll never forget coming across a stuck Range Rover (looked pretty much brand new) coming up the Lecht from Cockbridge and then trundling on past. I can only imagine what he was thinking as his £60k ultimate 4x4 was outdone by an old VW Passat.

Out of the soft roaders, any of the Subarus would probably be my first choice. Reliable, good to drive and easily as capable as a Freelander in the snow.

Jamie
naefearjustbeer


Posts: 1043
Joined: Apr 2007
Last Visited: 23:28
22nd Nov 2015
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 17.22hrs on Sat 26 Mar 11
Subaru legacy owner here with winter tyres and it is fantastic in the snow! Plenty boot space. Ticks a lot of the boxes for me. The wife has a suzuki jimny and it is even better in the snow but naff all use for normal use.

telemarker


Posts: 2934
Joined: Oct 2003
Last Visited: 14:59
12th Apr 2021
Re: Discovery v Freelander?
Date Posted: 08.26hrs on Wed 30 Mar 11
an issue I read about (In landrover world) for the Disco 4 is they now have 19" alloy wheels,
so expect punctures and rim damage if you off-road it, and limited choice of offroad tyres.

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