... better head lights, premium pack s with 19's and full colour bumpers. Also rear audio buttons. (still not sure what they do) but still, better than a giant hole in the back. Folding mirrors? or that the same on both.

Anyway HSE rocks compared to SE. But as i said, its all depends if you can afford the extra luxury

Dorko

Dorko wrote:

... better head lights, premium pack s with 19's and full colour bumpers. Also rear audio buttons. (still not sure what they do) but still, better than a giant hole in the back. Folding mirrors? or that the same on both.

Anyway HSE rocks compared to SE. But as i said, its all depends if you can afford the extra luxury

Dorko

Main difference between a SE and a HSE is the badge on the boot
H is for higher cosmetic details, higher price, higher enjoyment value and higher status  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

why do you get a H then?  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

chicken george wrote:

why do you get a H then?

Because I can afford it  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

Hi,
Not sure about the SE/HSE dilemma but I added 18" and leather pack to my XS and got the following.

(using ttc546's list as a pointer!)

18" wheels (as opposed to 17") YES
AC air quality sensing (no auto sensing on SE) NO
Carpet mats as standard YES
Puddle lamps YES
Memory and auto dipping exterior mirrors YES
Auto dimming interior mirror NO
Dolby ProLogic Alpine surround sound radio, 6 CD stack, 14 speakers (as opposed to Alpine std radio, single CD, with 9 speakers) NO
Full leather seats YES
Armrests YES
Memory function seats - 3 settings YES

On rrp I saved about 6 ish grand over HSE and in March I got it new for £23.5k (should be about £21.5k new in todays market!!!)

I wanted leather and after much studying decided it was the HSE or XS with leather pack. The SE did not offer enough over the XS (Sat Nav/ sunroof) to justify the £3k in my opinion.

NM Baltic blue XS - Alpaca Leather - 18" HSE wheels.

ttc546 wrote:

Only you can decide whether the following additions on the HSE over the SE are worth it to you:

18" wheels (as opposed to 17")
AC air quality sensing (no auto sensing on SE)
Carpet mats as standard
Puddle lamps
Memory and auto dipping exterior mirrors
Auto dimming interior mirror
Dolby ProLogic Alpine surround sound radio, 6 CD stack, 14 speakers (as opposed to Alpine std radio, single CD, with 9 speakers)
Full leather seats
Armrests
Memory function seats - 3 settings

Forums always post the "issues". No one really writes in and says how good their car is - coz that is a given. You will find the same any BMW X3 forum (if one exisits - I don't know). I have had 3 Porsche's, and if you were to look at Boxa.net and caymanclub.net you would think that they had a series of poor reliability, but these are all enthusiasts just talking and represent a minority of the overall ownership. When I had the Audi TT, the TT-Forum reported loads of tech issues, but were generally a minority.

So the lesson here is - don't judge a car/brand by the issues reported on a Forum alone. My FL2 has been faultless after 13k miles so far.

Have to say that Lancaster Landrover in Reading have always provided me with excellent service, so not all dealers are the same.

Whatever you decide, enjoy. Chris

Thanks Chris. I do appreciate how forums tend to highlight the negatives - but lets be honest - thats what as a prospective buyer you want to know about! I run an active forum of my own with 2000 members so am happy to wade through the threads to find what I'm after.
I'd disagree about people not writing positives about Freelanders as I think many do on this forum. Its very pro-Freelanders as you would expect, which is good to see. For that reason, I'm happy to take the faults/issues/ service prices/ dealer experiences people report on at face value.

Good to hear your F2 has been faultless and thanks for the mention of Lancaster Reading.

Thanks to everyone that has given me advice and recommendations on this thread. I'll let folk know how I go on, but I have now made an appointment to test drive a BMW X3 this afternoon with the intention of either dismissing it from our thoughts entirely ... or buying it.

I would buy another FL2 if that helps so far its been faultless, My only niggle is the squeak on the gearchange but that should get cured soon  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

chicken george wrote:

I would buy another FL2 if that helps so far its been faultless, My only niggle is the squeak on the gearchange but that should get cured soon

Glad its working out well for you CG.

TBH we've now voted against the very poor attitude we encountered at Landrover dealerships by leaving the brand after nine years of very happy and (compared to many F1 owners) relatively trouble free Freelander ownership. We test drove the X3 this afternoon and despite me having concerns about the ride quality we were both very impressed with the ride and handling. It has all the bits we wanted plus some nice options aswell. We pick our new car up next Wednesday. We'll still be Freelander owners for a short while as the V5 form has been delayed (after putting our plate on retention) so selling the Freelander 1 will have to wait a while.

So, thanks for everyones help in this thread. It has been much appreciated. I still had reservations about buying a Freelander 2 because of the niggly issues/ servicing costs etc, but would most likely have gone ahead anyway. I just couldn't get past the shocking behaviour of the dealers, which as I learnt from this thread is not an isolated incident. If they can't be bothered with a buyer trying to spend cash I just dont feel I could trust them if I were to have a problem - particularly outside warranty.

Obviously you have had to make a choice

Make sure the dealers principle is aware of the service and the fact this was a major factor in purchasing a different brand. Naming the sale staff would also help 'their' attitude and hopefully improve the sales staffs attitude

In these times i am sure he will be sat and listening why his/her sales staff lost a sale  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Dorko wrote:

... better head lights, premium pack s with 19's and full colour bumpers. Also rear audio buttons. (still not sure what they do) but still, better than a giant hole in the back. Folding mirrors? or that the same on both.

Anyway HSE rocks compared to SE. But as i said, its all depends if you can afford the extra luxury

Dorko

Rear audio buttons, 6 CD dash changer and auto-dipping rear view mirror are on my SE. I believe they are standard. I considered the HSE, but am now glad I bought the SE. Done nearly 800 miles - stornoway grey 08 plate auto BTW, it is a fantastic car and was great in the snow we had recently.

As for dealers, I wasn't too impressed with one dealer who was utterly apathetic to my desire to buy a car. 2 months later they rang up saying they might have something; to be told it was too late by my wife as we had one sitting on the drive. The dealer I bought from was hit and miss - I felt I had to do much of the legwork to close the deal. I'm still awaiting the promised car mats...

Kingy wrote:

chicken george wrote:

I would buy another FL2 if that helps so far its been faultless

Glad its working out well for you CG.

TBH we've now voted against the very poor attitude we encountered at Landrover dealerships by leaving the brand after nine years ... I just couldn't get past the shocking behaviour of the dealers, which as I learnt from this thread is not an isolated incident. If they can't be bothered with a buyer trying to spend cash I just dont feel I could trust them if I were to have a problem - particularly outside warranty.

I concur with CG about buying another FL2 (in my case not for another couple of years at least )

I would also buy again from Stratstone in Swansea - I've only ever had polite, attentive and friendly dealings with all their staff from the front desk, to the parts and service department and even the salesmen. In fact, their forgetting to reconnect my gear stick after the heater was fixed has been their only copybook blot so far.

- Dick