Just bought my first Freelander, about to have a tow bar fitted
My question is ....Is there any benefits apart from the look of having fixed or removable towbar fitted????

Removable has no benefit at all other than as you say, it looks better removed when not in use and stops you bruising your shin's.
Mine's removable and I have to say with it in it makes the rear of the car quite untidy.

thank you ....there not so cheap though

advisable to remove them, it stops my mrs crashing into them and damaging front number plates  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Some of the removeables have been know to bang. There is a long thread on it if you can do a search. Mine does bang but only when on rough pot holed roads when towing the caravan. Audi A4 Avant 2.0 tdi 05 Liquid Blue
LFR 2.2 XS 07 Stornoway Grey
And a dedicated caravan puller CG

The fixed towbars also restrict the departure angle of the car. That is the angle of slope change the car can cope with.

It all depends on if you have rear parking sensors fitted. If you have, then you don't need a fixed tow bar  2007 SE Manual : Gone and missed but 2013 HSE Lux is better!
Series IIa : Gone but hopefully still alive.

Yes i have parking sensors
removable one it is then ,,,best dealer fitted price so far is £744 ( will keep looking )

Got a 2nd hand genuine fixed towbar from ebay (traditional style). £50

£250 for genuine twin electrics from TLO over on the D3 forum.

Will cost £50 to have the electrics enabled (and a few other bits including Cruise control)

Took me a couple of hours to fit, mainly trying to find all the concealed fasteners holding the bumper on.

It's an easy DIY job.

carloss1515 wrote:

Yes i have parking sensors
removable one it is then ,,,best dealer fitted price so far is £744 ( will keep looking )

Thank you guys
The witter bar fiitted is £600 ,,,not confident enough to fit my owwn

May I add to Apache post above.
I bought a two year old Witter detach from EBay for about £35.00 and a new unused LR electrics for £150.00.
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I found the Witter instructions and printed off.
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The Witter needs no bumper off but does instruct to drill two holes behind the reflector to reach 2 nuts. Once you know what they are proposing to reach the nuts you can reach behind and find the nuts without drilling.
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The Witter so far has not rattled with my Alko hitch.
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You only really need the LR electrics if you drive Auto.
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Hope this helps, kind regards from Fred 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva

Have standard parking sensors on my GS and a fixed tow bar - no problem at all. I think if it is ever going to cause me to get stuck due to reduced departure angle then I am going to get stuck regardless of the tow ball hitch for all the difference it would make.

Cost was £190, fitted in a less than 2 hours by Auto-tow. Tow bar is of excellent quality and lghts etc all work fine so are those 700 pound jobies made of platinum ?
Robin

Also have GS with park sensors.
If I leave my Witter detachable swan neck in place it has no effect on the park sensors, they just perform in the usual way
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Kind regards from Fred 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva

My comment on parking sensors was a light hearted referral to a previous car, without sensors, where the tow bar was my parking aid !!!  2007 SE Manual : Gone and missed but 2013 HSE Lux is better!
Series IIa : Gone but hopefully still alive.