I have been getting prices on personal contract hire this week for replacing my FL2 next April - good job I did because everyone is quoting March / April for a factory build!

Figures coming back are all much the same so my options are currently

Freelander 2 SD4 HSE with privacy glass, metallic paint, windsor pack
Audi Q5 2.0TDi Quattro S Line S Tronic with privacy glass, metallic paint, satnav (also comes with power boot, xenons, daytime running lights over the FL2)
Volvo XC60 D5 R Design Premium with privacy glass, metallic paint, sat nav, auto (also comes with power boot over the FL2)

Im going to have a good look at these cars over the next few weeks, seen a few on the road and they look okay. my current observations are as follows

FL2
FOR - I know what its like, really comfortable and easy to drive, excellent driving position, better engine and economy this time around
AGAINST - poor facelift, outdated interior,
Q5
FOR - good spec, Audi reliability, gorgeous front and rear end
AGAINST - side on i'm not too sure it looks a bit bloated! Rumoured to be less spaceous than a FL2
XC60 - Gorgeous back end, nice interior
AGAINST - looks a bit low compared to the FL2, also a bit long in comparison?

Has anyone got any real experience of driving any of these?

My brother has the ecoDrive XC60, likes it, as a passenger its comfortable, but with everything been geared towards MPG the low rolling resistance tyres couldn't get him off a flat carpark with 2 inch of snow on it, since changing tyres its improved but nowhere near as good as a FL2,

obviously your looking towards the 4wd versions so you have slight more wheel spinning and get somewhere, maybe

The back end looks

for an opinion of the Q5, RRSport member Josh has just taken delivery of a Q5 S-Line 3.0L, sure he is a member on here as he was looking for opinions on the FL2 v Q5, try PM him to ask his ownership opinion now he has it  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Shilen
Why not arrange with the Dealers of the models on your shortlist to have a full day's test drive (better still a weekend) in each of those models and then decide.

Looks I can accommodate but interior space/load capacity, comfort, driving response etc are in my book more important and must be right or the decision to buy is not made.

Oddly enough, I was making a similar decision earlier this year. Fortunately, my local dealers were more than happy to lend me a car for a day so I tried the audi Q5 S line and an F2. At the time(January) we had some real heavy snow falls of about 2-3 feet. Combine this with the fact that I live in the country at the top of a fairly steep hill and you will understand why I need a vehicle that can cope with these conditions. I concluded that the Audi drove a tad better than the F2 but was pretty hopeless at attempting the hill, whereas the F2 coped admirably. So I bought an XS. In February the chap along the way bought an Q5 which in heavy snow he leaves at the bottom of the hill. Last week though I spotted him in a Disco4!! Not sure if he has bought it or trying it out.

Think I have ruled the XC60 out so now its a shoot out between the FL2 and the Q5, my brain is saying the Q5 but my heart the FL2, wonder if I can get a Q5 bodyshell and interior dropped onto a FL2 chassis - then I would be happy!!

shilen wrote:

Think I have ruled the XC60 out so now its a shoot out between the FL2 and the Q5, my brain is saying the Q5 but my heart the FL2, wonder if I can get a Q5 bodyshell and interior dropped onto a FL2 chassis - then I would be happy!!

Hi I drove a Q5 on a 460 mile round trip,my back side felt it, very hard ride much the same as my A6, Q5 is great looking inside but the outside looks like a A3 on Steroids !,lol.

I liked it and ordered one, however the sales men left and the price went up(contracts had not been signed)
So I thought I would go ahead anyway, until the the price came in for a tow bar - £ 1000 thats right 1K !!!

if you fit a witter you Invalidate the warrenty, has to be one of their own, something to do with fibreoptics.

Tried a FL2, feel in love with it within 1 hour of driving, finished the day after doing 300 + miles and didnt feel a thing.
Nuf said, I ordered one the following day and the tow bar will cost me £250

Hope this helps