Hi everyone, I have a 53 plate FREELANDER 1 SE at the moment but going to be looking for a FL2 in the new year probably an 09ish Xs model, my dilemma is manual or auto.
I have always driven manuals but had Landrover experience day a couple of months ago, a Defender for the morning and an Evoque in the afternoon, enjoyed driving both, the Evoque was an auto and tried it on the roads around Honiton before taking it off road and I must say I loved it.
So what are the pros and cons of an auto over a manual which is best in your opinions, all comments welcome

Michael

I have 11 plate manual S on economy grounds. Down from disco2 td5 at 30mpg to fl2 at 40.
Am quite happy to change gear for better economy.
Only downside is if you tow as friends say frequent reversing uphill can toast the clutch.
No problem so far tho. FL2 11 S Black 😂
Gone Disco2 TD5 GS

I have had both an auto and a manual. I personally prefer the manual but I don't do a lot of city driving. The auto is effortless to drive but you lose some of the flexibility of the manual which I didn't like. I would definitely drive both as previous threads on this subject seem to favour the auto. Both gear boxes can have problems but in my view the clutch problems on manuals are exaggerated. I've had two manuals and so far no problems with either.

IMO auto is puka
I use my fl2 hard never had a prob auto all the way 😇😇😇

the FL2 has an excellent manual gearbox, and if you read through the posts a lot of people are happy with the auto gearbox.

but in my opinion if you just want to get from A to B with minimum input go for the auto.

if you still enjoy driving and being in control of the car, go for the manual.

at the end of the day it's a personal choice and only you can decide.

Iain

I had a manual 59 plate TD4 HSE, hated the thing after 3 weeks of buying it new, gearbox was in it'self ok but IMO the car was to tall for it if that makes sense,very wallowy, just felt as though you put it in gear & it moved next week as in you often got some sort of lag in 1st and 2nd. I had the same manual gearbox in the Evoque & loved it, so much better as the car is far more squat.

I now have an SD4 Auto & it is very nice indeed. (Past) Freelander 2 HSE 2010 MY In Rimini Red.
(Past) RR Evoque Dynamic Lux Si4 In Firenze Red.
(Past) RR Evouque Pure Tech in Barollo Black with bespoke Firenze Red colour coding.
(Present) Freelander Metropolis 2015 MY In Santorini Black with Ivory Premium Leather.

thanks for all the replies quite a mixed bag, I will have to drive both and see which i prefer

Just to throw something else into the mix, timing will get you a better offer, selling the FL1 privately if snow comes will yield the best amount, buying FL2 after the winter will give you more cars for the money.
I would carefully weigh up which would give you the best deal.
Or be like me and think "I want it now, life's too short"

Thanks taztastic I am like you do what you want today cos tomorrow you could be dead, but yes I will sell the FL1 privately

I have owned a 59 FL2 HSE (Auto) for about 2 years now. In that time we have had NOTHING bad to say about it. It has behaved impeccably and has never left us wondering if we made a mistake.

As for handling, that all depends on HOW you drive. I have learned, through passing IAM, RoSPA(RoADAR) Advanced Driving tests, how to corner, brake, accelerate, steer properly and as a result, I can manoeuvre my car easily and without any drama or wallowing about. Okay, it's never going to behave like a lowered GTi because of the size of the tyres and height of suspension/ geometry but I can honestly say that this is one highly dependable car and if handled correctly, it's an excellent ride. The only reason we are considering selling it is because we now have two cars and the other one suits our needs better, otherwise we'd keep the Freelander until it died.

One thing I would say though, is if you've never had a 4x4 and think it's simply going to plough through snow and ice simply because it's a 4x4, you're mistaken. For that you'll need WINTER tyres, as not even our spare set of General Grabber AT's manage anything more than mud and grass.

For a car like mine, with about 50-60k on the clock, you're looking at £12-14k depending on condition.

edit: Gearboxes.
Auto: You need to know how to use the 'manual' override function of an auto box. It's by no means the best there is but with a little guidance, you can get the car to be in the right gear for whatever you need. I average around 30mpg give or take.

Manual: economy might be the only consideration here and as you'll see, few people have any issue with using the Auto for everything from towing to general driving. I personally don't see the point in a manual FL2 because the auto box isn't that much of an issue when used correctly and at best, you'll only gain a couple of mpgs. Whereabouts unknown stop going to follow stream until reach civilisation stop message ends

I'm not sure winter tyres are a must. I drove through two of the worst winters in the last decade on Wranglers. You just need a little common sense

My Great Grand Dad was like that, couldn't understand why the house was having electric installed, he had always managed with a few candles.

An answer to needing winter tyres.
Taken at Land Rover Experience Dunkeld 2nd march 2012. Temp -16C.
HSE Auto with standard road tyres. Managed full course without any problems. The instructor was brilliant, even had me doing hill (steep hiill) starts on this.l





 All FL2's (3) Gone
2011 Mercedes C180 CGI Gone
FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.

Many thanks for posting that druand-my point exactly. I totally get the winter tyre argument, I even have electricity and a flushing toilet in my house. The original inquiry was from a prospective new owner. To advise him that you need winter tyres before venturing out on the road in the snow is misleading. Winter tyres help but a FL2 equipped with standard tyres is still very, very good

I even have electricity and a flushing toilet in my house.

And now you have them you wouldn't want to go back to the Well in the garden and candles.