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taztastic

Member Since: 03 Feb 2011
Location: North West
Posts: 8652

Dales Discovery

Sorry about the title, it's two in one really.
I have recently ventured through the Yorkshire Dales and got to know the place a little better, my car was in for service yesterday and I was loaned a brand new Discovery SE Tech Auto for the day, so off I ventured to Discover more of the fantastic landscape the Dales have to offer.

First impression ... the first comment I received from my daughter on jumping in (front seat) was that she was very low, soon rectified by jacking up the seat, I too noticed that you sit more 'in' the car than 'on' it, this leads to the perception of the lack of a command driving position, the picture below is taken from where my eyes would be and shows the field of view that I had, you can (or I could) see the bonnet tapering off, in reality this did not present an issue during the day, and gauging the width and where the corners where was never an issue. Indeed, it felt easier to position on the road, partly down to the steering which felt much more positive, the car was sat on 20" wheels and skinny tyres, more about that later.

Click image to enlarge

The initial stage of the journey was a quick blast up the M6 to Sedbergh, quiet roads so time to have a play and find out how it felt.
As I said, the steering felt very positive and had a nice weight at speed and was very responsive if needed, the car changing direction quickly and with very little body roll, a big improvement over the FL2 which has much more roll and much less body control.
The gearbox (9 speed auto) hunted about a little at first, possibly learning? it was fine on the way home later, in itself it is massively better that the FL2, although mine has now been updated and is behaving much better, the 'restricted performance' message I had recently was related to a gearbox problem.
So, off the motorway and onto the lanes into Sedbergh, I know these very well and they are a driving gem, the DS was pretty nimble and nearly caught me out once or twice, arriving at corners quicker and more quietly than the FL, noise and the sensation of speed are much more subdued in the DS, indeed going back to the motorway drive, at 90 the rev counter was around 1900, much less than the FL at those speeds.

All the controls in the car were easy enough to get to grips with, most being familiar and similar in use to the FL, a few extra gadgets, lane departure, not sure its any use really? Eco data, again more a gimmick than a benefit and the sat nav and voice control different to the FL and no doubt would be OK once used to its nuances.
The radio in the car was good, not a patch on the Meridian system in my FL but certainly fine and powerful enough with 'disturbed' latest album trying its best to melt it on the way home.

Click image to enlarge

Space inside was good, seat easily adjusted to suit me (non electric) plenty of space behind me, as shown, (I'm 5'11"), boot space was very impressive, much better than the FL, there was a pushchair in the boot, fitted side ways no problem, the FL cannot do this, the other gear is camera stuff which still left loads more room than the FL does, a big thumbs up from me for that, I didn't get round to trying the extra seats, we forgot but they would certainly come in handy on occasions with my family.

Click image to enlarge

Overall, would I change the FL2? Yes, I don't think I would miss much from the HSE Lux spec over this SE tech to be honest, things like Heated Steering wheel may be missed in winter, my arthritic hands in a morning are painful at times and the heated wheel is much appreciated despite the derision it receives.

Electric seats, nice to have but not necessary, one thing I did notice is that I am forever making small tweaks in the FL, possibly because I can, I set the seat in the DS and left it, after 8 hours driving around, I felt fine, no aches or pains. One thing that I did notice with then seats, was poor wear on the bolsters, both passenger and driver seats showed the same, the car has 4000 miles and the bolsters looked pretty bad, mine in the FL are in much better shape and given my stature it is quite a surprise, poor result for the DS here.

So back to the Dales, if you are ever up in this neck of the world, certainly get off the main roads and venture into the Dales, its not God's own country, it was stolen from Lancashire after we whipped their butts but mustn't grumble, they still let us back in. My own journey took me through Hawes and over Tan Hill and up to Kirby Stephen, great roads, spectacular views and a great car to do it in.

I have probably omitted things but if you have any questions I will be happy to attempt to give my view

Paul

On Tan Hill

Click image to enlarge

Wain Wath falls

Click image to enlarge

1st Apr 2016 4:35 pm

LR WILD

Member Since: 22 Jan 2015
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 76

2011 Freelander 2 SD4 Sport Auto Fuji White

Great photos and review of the DS, . Was up there myself last Friday, wife's family over from Ireland for Easter.

I would know the dales fairly well, the views are simple stunning no matter what the weather. You didn't happen to go to the cheese factory while you were in hawes did you Paul? , had a lovely ploughmans lunch there .

Can't comment on the ds as yet I haven't driven one,
driving round the dales in the freely just felt so at home in it.

1st Apr 2016 5:17 pm

LR WILD

Member Since: 22 Jan 2015
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 76

How did you find the new engine over the sd4 Paul?

1st Apr 2016 5:29 pm

taztastic

Member Since: 03 Feb 2011
Location: North West
Posts: 8652

Very responsive off the line, felt much quicker, didn't feel as punchy mid range though?
It's much quieter than the SD4 and easy to exceed speed limits because of this, akdo, coupled to a 9 speed box makes a difference, I was very surprised at the mpg, high speed on motorway, steep hills and not hanging about and it returned 35 mpg, my SD4 on a similiar run would give 28mpg.

Some of the plastics are a bit cheap, the plastic trim on the wheel arches is rubbish, very flimsy and didn't seem to fit right, maybe this demo car has been abused? this is a problem with many cars now though, a friend with an Audi A8 was horrified to see how easy his bumper became unclipped, pathetic little clips holding it on. Very few cars these days are made solidly, most use the same plastics, some just execute them better.

1st Apr 2016 6:08 pm

chicken george

Member Since: 06 Dec 2007
Location: N. Yorks
Posts: 13292

2008 Freelander 2 TD4 XS Manual Santorini Black

stolen my arse, we chucked you sheep wranglers off it 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

1st Apr 2016 6:55 pm

taztastic

Member Since: 03 Feb 2011
Location: North West
Posts: 8652

I'm impressed 2h 10m before you found it

I must remember my humble place

1st Apr 2016 7:14 pm

chicken george

Member Since: 06 Dec 2007
Location: N. Yorks
Posts: 13292

Stop winding up your ruler. The peasants are revolting 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

1st Apr 2016 9:59 pm

Tradewind 35

Member Since: 04 Dec 2012
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 441

2007 Freelander 2 TD4 GS Manual Baltic Blue

Great photos Taz. The DS looks ok - but crucially it is fairly indistinguishable from the rest of the soft roaders on the market so to me it does not look right for a Landie. I don't like the view forward from the driving set - the squished A pillars make the header rail too low and in my line of sight. Considering that it came out some eight years after the FL2 the modest improvements you cite hardly count as eight years worth of progress so it remains for me a very mediocre offering. JLR just did not put the effort into it like they did for the Freely2.

2nd Apr 2016 11:55 am

indypops

Member Since: 19 Oct 2014
Location: East Yorkshire
Posts: 96

2009 Freelander 2 TD4_e HSE Manual Rimini Red

Great pictures good review.Your lucky Ripon landrover are lending us a mini.

2nd Apr 2016 10:19 pm

Stuartc

Member Since: 01 Dec 2014
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 2292

2015 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE Auto Aintree Green

Tradewind 35 wrote:
Great photos Taz. The DS looks ok - but crucially it is fairly indistinguishable from the rest of the soft roaders on the market so to me it does not look right for a Landie. I don't like the view forward from the driving set - the squished A pillars make the header rail too low and in my line of sight. Considering that it came out some eight years after the FL2 the modest improvements you cite hardly count as eight years worth of progress so it remains for me a very mediocre offering. JLR just did not put the effort into it like they did for the Freely2.

It pains me to say but I totally agree!
The DS is "ok" BUT, Can't have a flat load area with rear seats, dash is rather ordinary design/boring infact and whilst the styling is growing on me until LR redesigns the rear end I'm afraid I'm still screwing up my face like a "pug" when I see one from behind.
Had the choice of buying a DS or MY15 Freelander the rest is history. Have driven both Evoque and DS and until that feeling of wanting to hand back loan car to get back into the Freelander 2 passes well I'm a very happy chappy!
I know this sounds bias but I find no deficiency between driving my MY15 Freelander 2 to either the DS or Evoque. I'm guessing that LR were refining all the Freelander 2's systems right up to the end as, for the main, the same mechanicals are in all these vehicles.
Saying this I still have faith in LR and all will work out!

MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
Cruise ECO Data
Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
Picture In Motion
4x4i screen (WIP)
Digital Broadcast TV
Meridian Rear Media with WIFI
Factory Powered Tailgate
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
Reverse Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

3rd Apr 2016 4:36 am

taztastic

Member Since: 03 Feb 2011
Location: North West
Posts: 8652

Flat load area, I have vans for that and in honesty are people really spending �40k on a car to use as a van? I really think those people are hankering after a defender replacement, the load area in the DS is way better than the freelander, I would get everything in it without resorting to a roof box.

The dash itself is fine, the area around the gear knob is lacking something, that does look sparse, would it stop me buying a car no, I tend to spend most of the time looking through the window.

What I would ask, which model did you drive? The ingenium engine coupled to the 9 speed box takes it beyond the FL2 by some margin, it is designated TD4, this makes me think there will be an SD4 with higher power and there is also talk of an SVO tickled vehicle.

Would I have bought one of the first Freelanders 8 years ago ..no, they were basic, rough and people pulled them to pieces, I suspected the figure on my car to be wider, ie finance v worth, it's closer than I thought, hmm....

3rd Apr 2016 10:20 am

Stuartc

Member Since: 01 Dec 2014
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 2292

Lol,
At a recent friends country bash I slept in the back of the Fl2 with the rear seats folded flat, I'm not sure that would have been possible in the DS, and yes only once , so far! I use both the roof racks and rear often to carry loads, a flat floor is greatly appreciated for getting contents home undamaged. But the DS With seats up is impressive and better than Fl2.
We don't have the Ingenium engine yet here in AU so I'm comparing 2.2 9 speed to 2.2 6 speed.
There's some rather nice cabins from other manufacturers out there atm and Frankly the DS is below par, architecture wise!
I'm not a fan of the select gear knob and I'm not alone on that one.
Would I buy a DS in the future? Possibly!
Not sure where ya going with the "finance v worth" statement but this is my private vehicle which I paid cash for, no finance, and it's giving me a grin every time I drive it and the fact it can fill multiple roles is exactly why I wanted a LR. Value, depreciation or residual doesn't come into my ownership prerequisites for owning my Freelander 2.
Like my current Freelander 2, I waited until LR had made the right specification for me!
I suppose I will wait until they do the same with the DS or another model in the LR lineup. MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
Cruise ECO Data
Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
Picture In Motion
4x4i screen (WIP)
Digital Broadcast TV
Meridian Rear Media with WIFI
Factory Powered Tailgate
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
Reverse Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

3rd Apr 2016 11:54 am

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