As the title says, I am thinking about my first 4x4 after a set of 2 seater convertibles and currently an AUDI 2.0 T FSI S-Line Spec Ed. I had a big old 4x4 in the states for a fly drive down the west coast and kind of liked the driving experience.

Well, the Freelander 2 seems to tick most of the boxes for me, so it comes down to choice now.

I will be going for a nearly new one, as there seems to be some great deals out there at the moment. i am also probably going to go for a black or grey XS,SE or HSE depending on what comes up. So, a fairly broad range, but there are some cheapish HSEs for a good saving now.

I can't make my mind up on the manual or auto front. bah...

Manual:

* cheaper tax (same as my Audi)
* cheaper on the fuel

* always had manual so far
* easy driving style

Black, SE & Manual.

Auto is for old drivers. Better MPG anyway.

And your correct there are some good deals. 08 FL2 SE TD4 manual,Santorini Black, Factory fitted Black Tinted Glass, Anti-Tesco Trolly Side Protection, bebe confort axiss carseats & Cargo barrier to stop twin's buggy & junk coming through. NO Sweets Crisps or Drinks inside.
WITH TWINS, YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY Now towing a Abbey Vouge 650 1800kg

Tug weight 1958kg + Roofrails & Towbar

Black, SE & Manual.

Auto is for old drivers. Better MPG anyway.

And your correct there are some good deals. 08 FL2 SE TD4 manual,Santorini Black, Factory fitted Black Tinted Glass, Anti-Tesco Trolly Side Protection, bebe confort axiss carseats & Cargo barrier to stop twin's buggy & junk coming through. NO Sweets Crisps or Drinks inside.
WITH TWINS, YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY Now towing a Abbey Vouge 650 1800kg

Tug weight 1958kg + Roofrails & Towbar

Echo echo echooooooooooo

B Internet..

Its living in the Sticks that does it. 08 FL2 SE TD4 manual,Santorini Black, Factory fitted Black Tinted Glass, Anti-Tesco Trolly Side Protection, bebe confort axiss carseats & Cargo barrier to stop twin's buggy & junk coming through. NO Sweets Crisps or Drinks inside.
WITH TWINS, YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY Now towing a Abbey Vouge 650 1800kg

Tug weight 1958kg + Roofrails & Towbar

I went from a BMW330ci convirtable to a FL2 HSE Auto, we still have the beemer and its great but I don't regret going for Auto in the Landy - think it suits the car really well, and I've been told by folk who should know (like the instructors at the Land Rover Experience center) that the Auto is better offroad.

I wouldn't dream of getting an auto sports car, but the Auto the the Freelander seem to go together really well, and its very relaxing to drive (unlike the other car, which makes you drive like your trousers ar on fire )

Best bet is drive them both & see what you think, thats what I did.

Thanks for the feedback.

What MPG do you all get in reality? (not that I worry too much about it, i used to have a Boxster)

I get anywhere between 29.8 and 32.8, on a mixture of country roads & dual carrigeways, but the Mrs seems to average about 35.

Hi. Depends what you want to spend. The XS, which I've got is the best value for money in terms of reasonable equipment levels. The are usually noticeably cheaper on second hand values over the SE or HSE. However, it lacks the heated front screen, heated seats and sat nav. As for the auto, it's quicker than the manual and is better suited to 4x4's, particularly if you do any form of towing. My Dad has a manual FL2 and I like it, but the rev range on diesels is very short, so you find yourself constantly changing gear and my Dad's manual only gives 2 mpg better economy than my auto. Each to their own with the choice of spec and colours, but I've owned a lot of fast cars in the past and I think the FL2 auto is great fun.  Gone - TD4 XS Auto, Sumatra Black, Mud flaps and side strips, clear indicators, private plate, privacy glass

modern auto's technology is so good I'd never go back to a manual except for a 2nd fun sports car 58 HSE, auto, lago grey, tints. Mine and my dogs Storm and Sky
TT Quattro, black. Ers.
AC Cobra rep in build. Ars.

In my auto I get 35mpg on a trip if I drive carefully, sometimes more. Last night I did a 60 mile trip with cruise set at 75mph and got 34mpg.

When I had a manual recently when my car was in the garage for a clean(!) I only got 2mpg more. Freelander 2 TD4 HSE auto Tonga Green/Alpaca

Wasn`t going to post about my latest "trial" but after getting 37.1 mpg averaged over 10K miles., as measured on the trip computer but backed up as accurate by measuring at each fillup, I decided to see what the maximum I could get was.
My normal commute is 26 miles each way, 2 miles in town, 12 miles or so on motorway and the rest on A roads. I set the cruise for about 58 mph on the motorway, so as to keep just ahead of the wagons, and just went with the flow on the other roads, but accelerated gently and tried to anticipate. The highest MPG I have seen is 43.2 over the course of a week, around 300 miles in total, but then some local running around at weekend dented the average, so its now 41.3 after 3 weeks and about 1000 miles. AND I`M BORED!!
So its back to normal driving and see how quickly the average drops.
Edited to add that it`s a march `07 TD4 HSE Manual with 36K on the clock - just run in ?? Don`t drive faster than your angel can fly!

The auto has a manual gearbox as well so you can have the best of both worlds.If you are going off road then the auto is better.Saying that an auto is for old people(ALONA) shows how ignorant you are. Stornaway grey SE auto with 18" alloys

The automatic is far better for off road driving as I just found out on the LR Experience - all in the driving technique  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

Thanks for all the feedback!

I think i will go for an Auto SE or XS, depending on whats about at the time. But will go for a test drive to confirm my thoughts.

So... Autotrader, Main dealer or other dealer?? I was considering the British Car Auctions, as there is some great cars going through for not a lot at the moment.!

Mike