Freelander or Defender

grey_lady

Recently my partners car (Rover) which is coming to the end of its useful existence got stuck after the electrics died straight after going through a ford near our house which regularly gets quite high - we have lots of narrow country lanes round here and live at the end of a private lane which is full of pot holes - and it also wouldnt be totally unexpected for our house to get cut off entirely by car (happens once every couple of winters).

We've been debating getting an old Defender to keep for emergencies but we're trying to weigh that up against the fact his daily driver probably only has a couple of years left (+185k on the engine and he uses it like a workvan e.g heavily laden a lot) a Freelander might be better as it could be used for a daily driver and to hopefully get us through the ford in the winter and to cope on the icy lanes.

it would also be useful to be able to tow which I guess both of these would do. We're thinking a Defender/Freelander rather than a crossover type but open to cheaper alternatives that would do the job.

Hoping to get some useful opinions - thanks.

Rolandtheroadie

If your happy with an old defender, what about a discovery or even an old rangerover?
I hope to buy a 4 x 4 at some point soon (cant drag myself from my old corsa thats costing me next to nothing to run, hoping it blows up or something to justify getting shot of it) and will stick to diesel, preferably 7 seats with a large towing capacity.
My own choice would be discovery, pajero, Isuzu Bighorn/Vauxhall Monterey. Then I'd look at rangerover.

Hammyman

Toyota Landcruiser?

Hintza

The Defender is the obvious choice and holds its value well (easy to fit a snorkel) but could you live to it on a daily basis? No heating worth talking about and wipers that are quite dodgy. I would however have it before an old Discovery I just think they are too problematic) and if you have a healthy budget the new shape Defender is not bad (decent heating).

The old Freelander had a number of problems but without knowing a huge amount about them the new Freelander is meant to be vastly superior.

If you are out in the sticks you probably want to talk to the garage/mechanic that you will be using for his advice and input into what he is happy working on. No point in buying something that you have to travel miles to get sorted.

You don't mention budget?

freakybacon

Whats your budget? A defender is a great big boys toy- would have one as a second car- but requires commitment and ideally a mechanically minded owner. How about a toyota rav 4 or a suzuki grand vitara?

grey_lady

Thanks for the responses, the Rangerover and Discovery I think are a bit pricier to buy and then run -so had really been ruled out on cost.

The Rav 4 and Vitara seem to be more like urban cross-over cars, would they get through the water when the ford is over a foot and be able to tow other cars out? I've heard that the Freelanders capabilities are much better in that dept than other crossovers.

The Toyota Landcruiser I hadnt thought about - worth looking at though.

Budget depends - if it's just used to get us out when the water is too high to normally drive through and when its icey then ideally 2-3k on something beaten up and old.

If it's to act as a daily driver as well then more (might try to stretch
to a F2)

I just havent heard that Defenders are all that good as everyday road cars, then again could the Freelander cope with the ford and get through where other 4 wheel drive trucks have been known to fail - hhmm.

BillScarab

If you just want one as an emergency second car get a pre 1973 Series III or Series II. That way there's no road tax, insurance will be about £100 a year and it will get anywhere you want. However it will be very slow, noisy and uncomfortable. It will have character however!

To be honest a Freelander is virtually a crossover compared to a Defender.

alleycat`

Would something like a toyota hilux do for what you want?
I'll be honest i don't know the "ford depth" on a pickup style 4x4 but i'd think it more reliable / capable than the original freelander.

Hintza

On that budget I wouldn't be touching freelander.

If you just want it for emergencies I would concur with Bill and get an old Series II or III. But I suspect that is not really the route you want to go and you are looking for a daily car.

But your main concern is height and potential water ingress (which will probably mean a 4x4) but don't discount the RAV and the Vitara.

grey_lady

Thanks - I think it does come down to the choice of whether it will need to be a daily driver or not - more thinking required.

Surbybird

grey_lady wrote: »

Recently my partners car (Rover) which is coming to the end of its useful existence got stuck after the electrics died straight after going through a ford near our house which regularly gets quite high - we have lots of narrow country lanes round here and live at the end of a private lane which is full of pot holes - and it also wouldnt be totally unexpected for our house to get cut off entirely by car (happens once every couple of winters).

We've been debating getting an old Defender to keep for emergencies but we're trying to weigh that up against the fact his daily driver probably only has a couple of years left (+185k on the engine and he uses it like a workvan e.g heavily laden a lot) a Freelander might be better as it could be used for a daily driver and to hopefully get us through the ford in the winter and to cope on the icy lanes.

it would also be useful to be able to tow which I guess both of these would do. We're thinking a Defender/Freelander rather than a crossover type but open to cheaper alternatives that would do the job.

Hoping to get some useful opinions - thanks.

Don't go near the Freelander. I used to have one and it spent most of the time either on the back of an AA lorry being towed home or parked up at the main dealers waiting to be fixed! Many and varied engine problems made me get rid of it.

It was slow (when fully loaded, 0-60 took about....ooh.. 4 minutes) and clunky and fuel hungry and although I loved driving it when it was behaving itself I wouldn't buy another one.

Get a Toyota Landcruiser or Rav4 instead.

K