In the next month or so, i need to order a new lease car for delivery in Dec/Jan. I know at work we've been having a mare getting hold of Evokes and Freelanders on factory orders through lease companies - typically taking 6months minimum. Is this likely to be the case on a FL2 now?

Is it likely the spec on FL2 will change before Jan 2013? (i hear stories of a MY13 spec car with loads of changes). Reverse camera on the nav would be good

The car will do 30,000mls per annum, and some towing of our 1650kg caravan - so was thinking the auto might be the best option. i can see the SD4 has an extra 40bhp, but no extra nm's - would the TD4 auto be adequete for towing duties? i read the TD4 auto is smoother than the SD4 - is that correct?

Any advice would be appreciated. 2010 LR Freelander2 XS TD4_e Manual - Santorini Black (family car for the misses)
2009 OVLOV XC70 D5 - Company motor

Waiting times will vary depending on what spec you are after, leasing companies normally have a pool of vehicles they can get access to, if it is a standard spec one the chances will be better than if you wanted one with special options.

I doubt you will see radical changes for a couple of years, especially the reversing camera, there will be minor changes in the Autumn as per usual but they will more likely be tweaks rather than major changes.

Towing wise the the TD4 will be fine, SD4 a little better, Auto mainly down to choice but if it were me I would edge towards the Auto, much better for towing and no clutch and DMF to worry about.

My FL2 is a Lex lease vehicle. It was a factory order in mid-January and arrived with the dealer in mid-March.

A colleague was recently enquiring about an Ewok through Lex and they quoted approx. four months delivery.

I can only guess about any spec changes, but it doesn't look as though there would be any problem getting hold of one by Dec/Jan. 2012 SD4 XS Santorini Black

Visited Stratstone last week to test drive an Evoque and the salesman told me "any new orders won't be delivered until November at the earliest."
I drove the Manual SD4 190bhp with mixed first impressions. I liked the extra poke of the new engine which sounded more refined 'quieter' than my FL2, although cruising at 70 sounded the same. The interior finish is much better and I really like the electronics and gadgets. If I went for one I'd have to have the Lux pack!

What I didn't like was the 'coupe like' seating position with less vision over the cars in front, the blind spot created by those huge 'A' posts and wing mirrors would take some getting used too, no option of a tilt/slide sunroof, the low roof height and the price with optional Lux pack!

On the drive home back in my FL2 I felt more comfortable with the ride height + far better all round vision and thought to myself, "if only they made the FL2 with the interior of the Evoque!"

hi

remember the MAX tow weight of the Evoque is only 1700kg so you are very near the limit,

Freelander 2 has a tow limit of 2000kg 1995 P38 now dead
2012 FL2 GS Fuji White
winter pack
arm rest pack

Coolie wrote:

The car will do 30,000mls per annum, and some towing of our 1650kg caravan - so was thinking the auto might be the best option. i can see the SD4 has an extra 40bhp, but no extra nm's - would the TD4 auto be adequete for towing duties? i read the TD4 auto is smoother than the SD4 - is that correct?

Any advice would be appreciated.

i tow with a td4 1000kg 1/2 caravan type trailer pulls it with bags of power to spare so you wont have a problem towing  rainy-city
xs

I tow with a TD4 auto 1700KG van no problem at all & box is silk smooth.
I have had numerous SD4's on loan whilst having gremlins put right , sometimes for weeks at a time & the SD4 box is harsh in comparison with gear changes really noticeable !
I would also go as far as to say that performance wise not really noticed any difference in performance at all.
In fact there was a stretch of road up a steep hill where i could stop at the bottom & boot flat out and see how the vehicles compared at the 5th lamp post. Not scientific I know but the speed gained was identical with both vehicles.
To be fair to the loan SD4's difficult to know how they have been driven & mostly only done 2-4000 miles whereas mine has just reached 20k so loosened up so that could be the explanation for the performance .

I was told last week, if I order'd a evouqe two weeks ago would have one by July 

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Excellent, just the sort of feedback i was looking for - thanks All

Looks like i'll need to judge when to order, if i want the car in Dec but want the autumn version update.

Reckon i'll go for a TD4 auto XS, with a few sparkly bits from the options list too.

Ref reply from Tigger, yeah loading up the miles at this rate gives opportunity to swop cars out every 2yrs on avg (my Volvo has been on loan elsewhere, whilst i've been using a Lexus RX450h) . Funnily enough, i could get a D4 GS (within my lease budget) - but i'm not sure i want a car that big and such a big P11d either this time. I get taxed in a different way to CO2 level system due to special usage rules, but still i fancy a more compact model.

Any idea when LR would publish the detail of the autumn update models? 2010 LR Freelander2 XS TD4_e Manual - Santorini Black (family car for the misses)
2009 OVLOV XC70 D5 - Company motor