I bought a Freelander 2 last year to tow a 1500kg caravan. Its a great vehicle and very capable if a little lacking on boot space.

I wonder now if I made the right decison - Firstly I bought a manual version and I think maybe I should have gone auto and secondly I am getting a hankering now for a disco 3

I would appreciate your thoughts...

I've towed my 1450kg single axle van a couple of thousand miles with my GS manual, its great. Hardly know the van is there and no worries on wet grassy sites.

Agree with limited boot space, not too much of a problem if towing the van just pile the junk in the van. Just experienced my first real problem with boot space this last weekend. Dog crate took up all boot space and 3 adults up front, not enough room for weekend luggage .... slightly miffed !!!

Auto is a terrific drive, but there is a bit of a penalty to pay on mpg's, but I think most auto owners here would say its well worth it. Probably depends on the miles you cover and who pays for the fuel. i'm a high miler (25k+ a year) and pay for my fuel so its manual for me (plus auto wasn't available when I ordered my car late '06) Stornoway Grey GS ... What a fine motor ... but not any more ... ... psst look at my gallery!
Company cars ... a thing of the past - May 2013.

The primary reason for us buying the Freelander (Babe) was so that we could tow a 1500kgs van anywhere we wanted without having to worry about weight ratios and being able to travel without fears of getting stuck etc.
The decision was absolutely the right one. The Abbey GTS 418 with 100kgs. on the nose travels behind the Babe as though it is a rigid axle. 60 - 65 mph can be held uphill and down without any sway or concerns about dogs wagging tails etc. and when I get to the field i simply switch the Terrain Response to Grass setting and let technology do the rest. I have the auto box and it was the one to go for as I don't have to worry about gear selection and torque curves etc. I simply point the outfit at where I want to go and the vehicle and satnav does the rest. MPG does suffer due to auto. and with the van on the back I probably get about 22 to 24 mpg which rises to 29 to 31 when solo. Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest

Don't talk to me about hankering for a D3 i am trying my hardest to keep hold of the car that i love my hubby has been going on for months about a D3 , although i do like the D3 and could see myself behind the wheel of one i do spend 90% of the time on my own in the car and feel it would be like driving an empty bus around, as for the FL2 it tows our van with ease and were getting good mpg , as for the manual/auto question it must be down to personal preference as autos don't intrest me .

I have used my FL2 to tow our current caravan a Fendt which is 1600 kg and it copes easily with it, so much that i have now traded it in for a bigger caravan which has a max weight of 1800 kg and i am sure the car will cope fine. Does anyone else tow a bigger or heavier van than this.

Well I'm more than happy with the FL2 - for towing and boot space. (We had a Sportage before - now that really does have a small boot!).

We will only buy an auto as it makes towing a much less stressful experience (also applies to town / traffic jam driving). It's also much easier on the left knee!

The clutch on the D2s was very heavy - not sure about the D3. When I drove the company ones I really knew I'd been in it as my left leg ached so much!

I saw a Vauxhall Meriva towing a largish van today, is that legal? sensible?, plus he was lost he drove through our local town several times  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

CG, the law states that the max trailer weight must not be more than the cars kerbweight but conventional wisdom is that the trailer never exceeds 85% of the kerbweight of the towing vehicle. With an FL2 that trailer weight maximum is therefore about 1550 - 1600 kgs. Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest

Ralphk wrote:

CG, the law states that the max trailer weight must not be more than the cars kerbweight but conventional wisdom is that the trailer never exceeds 85% of the kerbweight of the towing vehicle. With an FL2 that trailer weight maximum is therefore about 1550 - 1600 kgs.

I thought that the law was the ACTUAL weight of the caravan should not exceed the ACTUAL weight of the car. The kerbweight of the car is the car as off the production line without driver. The MTPLM is the maximum the trailer can weight with payload. The 85% rule again is a coverall rule for all car/van combinations this does not factor in 4 wheel drive or twin axles which add to stability.

Therefore legally the FL2 can tow a caravan of 2000kg if the car was loaded with at least a 230kg payload although whether you'd want to is another matter.

I have been advised that a 1750kg MTPLM is fine for a FL2 

ChristianC,
I accept what you are saying but I am afraid that some of your information is incorrect. The law uses the information [provided by both the car manufacturer and the caravan manufacturer in assessing if the car+ caravan combination is roadworthy. I will not go into what constitutes roadworthy but in terms of weight ratios the rule used by police and other road bodies is that under no circumstances should the actual weight of the trailer when loaded must not exceed 100% of the towing vehicle kerbweight. (Kerbweight is defined by VOSA as the weight of the car as manufactured plus fuel and the driver).
Conventional wisdom fro all the major pundits including The Caravan Club, Camping and Caravan Club, Practical Caravan and last but not least Towsafe is that the actual weight of the braked towed trailer (MTPLM) should not exceed 85% of the towing vehicles kerbweight. There are some exceptions to this rule in regard to experience of towing plus the mass of what is being towed but generally this rule is a good one to follow.

After 35years of towing caravans acros Europe I am amazed when I see so called caravanners breaking the speed limits, particularly of motorways, acceperating downhills, passing large vehicles when going downhills and so on.
I was taught to drive , both solo and when towing, to use the following maxim; if something goes wrong either by my fault or someone elses, do I have a get out plan. An overweight caravan at too high a speed for the conditions does not leave much room for corrective actions. Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest

So acording to the caravan club the freelander kerbside weight is 1770kg and 85% of this is 1504kg so is this the max weight to tow safely? 07my Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Baltic Blue,Privacy Glass,Ebony black leather,Land rover detachable towbar,S/S Side bars,Climair wind deflectors,Bramble Rash,

Rover60, Yes based on the 85% rule. However, take your FL to a weighbridge and get the weight checked prop erly with you sitting in the drivers seat.The base weight of the FL is as you say but a diesel with higher spec and also auto box will show the car to be much higher. My car is actually 1880kgs thus emaking the 85% a 1600kgs. Additionally the MTPLM icludes all of the load allowance for the caravan chassis. Will you realistically use all of that allowance? Also if you are experienced and will not do some of the silly things I wrote about in my earlier post then you could effectively go up to 90% of KW. An old Chinese proverb says that "Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men" Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest

Ralphk wrote:

ChristianC,
I will not go into what constitutes roadworthy but in terms of weight ratios the rule used by police and other road bodies is that under no circumstances should the actual weight of the trailer when loaded must not exceed 100% of the towing vehicle kerbweight. (Kerbweight is defined by VOSA as the weight of the car as manufactured plus fuel and the driver).
.

If this is true then why is the Max Tow weight for the FL2 2000kg but the kerbweight 1770kg surely if the law dictates the trailer weight must not exceed 100% of the towing vehicle kerbweight then the max tow should not exceed the kerbweight and hence be 1770kg ? 

Oh and for the record I have a towsafe printout which approves the FL2 for a MTPLM of 1750kg 

Hi everyone.
I just found this article on the web from Practical caravan. It sums it all up perfectly with explanations of the guidelines and other issues. Go to http://www.practicalcaravan.co.uk/legal/index.html Ralph
Zurmatt Silver, Diesel, Automatic, side steps, mud flaps, mats, boot liner, TomTom Start 60 installed, rubbing strips, removable Brink tow bar, after market tinted glass, front styling bar, Rear spoiler, Motorlicious tail pipe trim. Wood Company centre armrest