Morning All

Great forum and really glad I found it when I did ! Need some help in choosing my new car.
Basically - my company have provided me an allowance towards a new car and after testing a few different models (CRV, X3, Rav4, BMW 3Series), I have come down to the FL - it was a great drive and the manual gearbox was amazing.

OK..I get an allowance and the rest comes out of my pocket. After 3 years, we return the car and then pick another - basically a 3 year lease scheme. Within my price bracket, I have 3 models available...
(1) Freelander2 Diesel XS Manual
(2) Freelander2 Deisel XS Auto (an extra £22 per month over model (1) over 3 years)
(3) Freelander2 Diesel SE Manual (an extra £30 per month over model (1) over 3 years)

Taking model (3), is the SE worth an extra £1080 over the XS spec over 3 years ? Bearing in mind, after 3 years, I hand the car back !

Also, in terms of colour, was looking at the Stornaway Grey with a dark interior...loved the black but always a pain to keep clean and all marks show.

Feedback and comments appreceiated.

Waz

Hi Waz
your question is difficult to answer, as the trim, colour and outfit of cars is so personal that recommendations can only be made on a strict logical and money for value basis.
The E and S lines of the Freelander II differentiate itself by the Terrain Response System. The E-line is without.
I would under any circumstance buy the Freely II only with TRS. The SE line has basically a better Audio System besides the leather/cloth seats, which I find ugly from the offered colour point of view (blue and greenish middle parts of the seats). The HSE includes among others leather seats, bi-xenon, better audio, 18" alloy wheels, but excludes for example heated front seats which are neccessary in Western Europe and for sure in Canada. In my opinion not worth the extra price.

I believe that the S-line with terrain response system, rear parktronic, bi-xenon head lamps and - my personal believe- automatic transmission is the best choice for money and resale value.
I had the chance to test-drive the Freely II HSE for a weekend, and in comparison the S-line for one day and I was not too impressed by the premium audio system over the normal audio. For sure not worth the extra price.

It is a fact that most profit sits in the ordered extras, and the more extras, the higher the loss in value when selling or trading in your car after some years. Funny enough, the second hand value of a car does not depend on the number of extras but on the age, milage and condition of the vehicle.
Yamaha-Fan

buy diesel xs AUTO drives very well i have also bmw 535 and the freelander auto box is every bit as good with modern traffic stop/start etc. auto box a must
i have a xs auto diesel baltic blue with cream inside looks good get about 34 mpg hope this helps

As said previously it is a very difficult question to answer as it depends on what features you value. We chose the XS manual as the feature/price list met our needs (company car 36 month term as per yours). I do think the Freelander would suit an auto box really well but not sure it is worth nearly £800 over the three years when the manual box is so good - but depends on how much stop start driving you do..

The SE adds multi CD, Sunroof, Sat nav, heated windscreen but as you say this costs £1,000 - when first looking at the Freelander the only reservation I had about the XS was the lack of sat nav - mainly the aestetic loss rather than the functionality which can be had by a Tom Tom or other..... didn't like the 'hole' in the dash as it reminded me of cars of yesterday when if you didn't get the top model you were left with gaps/blacking plates! we looked at the CRV and Rav4 and both these used a different dash if the sat nav wasn't present so it wasn't so obvious something was missing - not sure why landrover couldn't have done the same.

..anyway having had the car a few days I've already got used the 'hole' and find it useful storage.

Sorry if this hasn't answered your question but basically saying I'm very happy withe XS manual and don't feel there is anything missing .... certainly nothing worth of £1,000 over 3 years.

on question of sat nan a Garmin nuvi 610/660 will fit the space exactly and all you require is a usb power lead. Reception is excellent never lost satellites yet. The problem i have with built in sat navs is that they tend to be not so up to date and a new dvd can cost £140 almost the cost of a portable sat nav hence xs as opposed to se

Thanks for the replies.
I have driven Auto and Manual and loved the Manual - felt more responsive. I dont do much Stop/Start driving so Manual will be the choice.

MikeFL2 I think hit the nail on the head - is the SE over the XS worth the extra £1000 over 3 years. The two items I wanted was the Sunroof and the Sat nav. Themanhimself made the point of built in satnavs costing £140 for a new DVD whereas with portable, updates can be done daily over USB if required. I'll have a look at the Garmin nuvi 610/660.

The guy in the showroom said SE all the way as he felt I would miss the sunroof - does an FL without a sunroof "not feel airey ?" (his words !)

Heated seats and windscreen I can do without.

WazKayani wrote:

Thanks for the replies.
I have driven Auto and Manual and loved the Manual - felt more responsive. I dont do much Stop/Start driving so Manual will be the choice.

MikeFL2 I think hit the nail on the head - is the SE over the XS worth the extra £1000 over 3 years. The two items I wanted was the Sunroof and the Sat nav. Themanhimself made the point of built in satnavs costing £140 for a new DVD whereas with portable, updates can be done daily over USB if required. I'll have a look at the Garmin nuvi 610/660.

The guy in the showroom said SE all the way as he felt I would miss the sunroof - does an FL without a sunroof "not feel airey ?" (his words !)

Heated seats and windscreen I can do without.

I have the XS in Baltic Blue with black leather/scuba cloth and even without the sunroof the cars feels very airy so don't miss the sunroof.....lots of glass area.