dorsetfreelander wrote:

It's clear now that March is upon us that 3 yr old cars are coming on the market and so in the next couple of weeks there should be a fair few to choose from.

My shortlist at present (all autos)
Hyundai Tucson
Mazda CX5
VW Toureg
Mitsubishi Outlander (diesel)
and very possibly another Freelander 2 (despite my family's advice to the contrary)

All of the far east cars have 5 yr warranty and are a lot cheaper than a LR.
I have seen various comments on most of these but not much on the Mazda CX5, anyone anything to add?

One of the problems I came across when looking for a new car was the lack of objective motoring press reviews anywhere on the internet. There are plenty of reviews,but if you read enough of them, you realise a lot of them are re-hashes, some word for word, some are a paragraph from here and a paragraph from there. Even where a reviewer has driven the car it's hardly ever a useful long term test, and the reviewer often has prejudices. The great thing when I was employed was that all the fleet suppliers negotiated the discounts direct with the fleet manager, and offered him the use of demonstration fleets . Taking a car for a week gives you a decent chance to see if it will be the thing you want to run for the next 4 years. Unfortunately It's not a facility available for private buyers as far as I know 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Just had a look at this which gives a mini review of each car. Australian but otherwise OK ( )

http://www.caradvice.com.au/videos/2015-me...-forester/ 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

With advent of 7 seats most don't have a flat load bed anymore.
, important too myself. Kuga is not bad for that in a 5 seat version but as for anything else well .........................

Anyone spotted others that are flat load beds in the newer offerings ? FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

dorsetfreelander wrote:

Just had a look at this which gives a mini review of each car. Australian but otherwise OK ( )

http://www.caradvice.com.au/videos/2015-me...-forester/

That is a really good website. It's nice to see reviews that relate to real life usage. 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Yorky Bob wrote:

With advent of 7 seats most don't have a flat load bed anymore.
, important too myself. Kuga is not bad for that in a 5 seat version but as for anything else well .........................

Anyone spotted others that are flat load beds in the newer offerings ?

Just been doing a search on the LR website across the UK for "Approved Used" Freelanders and have been surprised at how few are around. Just looked at Yeovil, Taunton, Exeter, Salisbury all have none in stock. Poole (2) and so on. Nearest one of interest to me is 100 miles away. Makes you wonder if there is some sort of corporate destocking policy to get them off forecourts? 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

With new reg a few may come in off contract over next few weeks. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

dorsetfreelander wrote:

Makes you wonder if there is some sort of corporate destocking policy to get them off forecourts?

Well off to see a Hyundai Tucson this pm. For about the same money as a 3 yr old FL2 I can get a new Tucson with 5yr unlimited warranty. My heart says get a FL2 but my head says that they are still a 10 yr old design and quite expensive to buy and run. Let's see how I get on? 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Welcome to the world of " Rice Burners" you know it makes sense  2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

I was told recently that Freelander used stock was in demand and short supply, I was tempted to go and have a look but with impending diesel doom, I held off, next car will most likely be petrol or even hybrid, can't see any sense going for diesel.

While diesel emissions are a problem, once the tabloids have found their next demon to pursue and they move on to that, I suspect that some perspective will be restored to the market.

Tabloids will move on, local councils with cash greedy mayors won't ... kerching

Well wife and I went and test drove a Hyundai Tucson, a one year old demo car with 900 miles on the clock (so 4 yrs warranty left). Auto, 4WD, leather, heated and cooled seats, full size alloy spare, more electronic toys than you know what to do with. The only slightly odd thing was that you actually had to put a key in and turn it to start it up. Drives really nicely, quiet, smooth etc. £23k. Lovely car. They offered a reasonable price for the FL2 and any amount of finance/deals needed.

We came away to think about it and got back in the FL2 which sounded more "agricultural" and solid as it pulled away and we both agreed that the Tucson was very nice but we couldn't get excited enough to actually buy it. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE