My son spends a lot of time driving off road for his work as an Agronomist and I asked him the other day how he was getting on given that he replaced his Freelander with Mitsubishi L200 double cab pick-up a couple of months ago. This isn't meant to be a comparison of the two vehicles in terms of comfort, road holding etc but more about the off road capability. The main differences
1. it's a 2.4 diesel with a lot more low end torque than the FL2
2. it's got a diff lock
3. there is a hi/low ratio gearbox
4. more ground clearance
5 selectable 2/4 WD

what it doesn't have is a fancy state of the art terrain response 4WD electronic system like the FL2

Bearing in mind that he visits the same farms every couple of weeks and follows the same routes I thought it might be a good comparison.

Generally his view is that it's not quite as good as the FL2 on slippery surfaces like wet grass but it's OK. What is good is that it has more ground clearance and that with the extra torque and low range it's easier to keep your momentum up and it just keeps going on muddy stuff and up hills. He misses hill descent control but overall it's as least as good off road and in some cases better due to the low range and difflock. He doesn't miss the terrain settings which he often disagreed with anyway.

On road it's comfortable on motorways but on twisty windy roads the FL2 is much more comfortable. Oh and he is getting about 40mpg overall. I wouldn't expect anyone to go and buy one as a family car but it does show how you can get by off road without the fancy traction control and haldexes etc. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

How much difference is there in the ground clearance? I saw a new L200 the other day and didn't think it looked like an awful lot more than a FL2 underneath.

It's noticeable when you climb into an L200 how high off the ground it is compared to a FL2. My son reckons that it has more ground clearance and he notices that when he drives down the same farm tracks he doesn't hear the bottom scraping on the ground so often. Overall as a work vehicle he reckons it's better off road although he still gets stuck at times and he does miss the hill descent control.
I was talking the other day to a LR salesman and he made the point that for most LR customers (ie the school run) they don't want to have to think about high and low ratios and diff locks and things. To me the likes of L200, Toyota Hilux and Nissan Navara are where LR should have taken the Defender years ago and it will be very difficult to regain that sector. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Though the question is, would they want to to even try? Toyota, Nissan et al have taken the lower value / fleet / large discount end of the market. If it's possible to be a big player in the higher value and more profitable end of the market (with plenty of market share left to grab - even the relatively feeble X5 outsells the Disco, worldwide, 5:1!!), where would you sink your investment cash for maximum ROI?

When I took my first FL2 manual on a day out, led by the people that run the LRE in Honiton, I was shocked to find that the FL2, with M+S tyres and "only" traction control, got up a really evil mud slope with slightly more ease than an instructor with a Defender on all terrains! The instructors weren't too surprised - traction control can be better than diff locks in quite a few circumstances, especially if they show you how to get it to work to best effect

Height into the cab isn't necessarily an indication of ground clearance, so much as the sign of it having a separate chassis.

My neighbour runs L200's and it never ceases to be a surprise to see that, under all that shiny paintwork and lashings of chrome, it still has leaf (cart) springs! The last time that I owned a car with suspension that medieval was in an Astramax van in 1986! They put in sterling service in Morris Minors and Marinas too.

Having said that, it's definitely got its place and the owners seem to rate them and tend to keep buying them

The Freelander 2's stated ground clearance is 210mm or 220mm depending on year model. The L200's ground clearance is 195mm on the standard model and 205mm on the high rider. They are called Triton's out here and I've been on a lot of trips with them. The rear over hangs a lot and the chassis bends if you load it and travel rough roads at a decent speed. They need a lift to be any good and if you turn on the rear diff lock it turns off the traction control to the front axle. The Freelander 2 sounds like it's scraping because of grass scratching the front bash plate which makes it sound louder. I doubt the L200 has anything down there standard. There are certainly a lot more modifications available here to make the L200 (Triton) a very handy off road weapon that would leave a Freelander 2 a long way behind, but standard I'd rather the FL2.

As I said earlier this isn't supposed to be a vehicle comparison, just his experience so far. From my son's point of view he needs a vehicle for work that can do 500 miles a week travelling on motorways and across fields. He and a lot of people who work like him had Freelanders but the question is what do you replace them with that is reliable, rugged and cheap? For £25k (inc servicing package) he gets a new L200 with leather seats and all the toys versus nothing suitable from LR.
My other son is a geologist and has worked in Zambia, Botswana, Moretania, Peru, Chile etc and says that he can't recall the last time he saw a LandRover. Everyone drives Hiluxes, L200, Navarra or Landcruisers . He sent a picture this morning from the Atacama desert in the Chilean Andes at 4000 metres He had to dig it out by hand as there are no trees around to attach a winch.

Click image to enlarge

That clearance sounds about right! I've been in a mates l200, it does feel higher to get into. The ground clearance must be measured off the bottom of the rear diff on the l200, must be the lowest point.
I must admit, I can't see Land Rover going back to anything quite as rugged as the Defender. I reckon the new "Defender" or whatever it's going to be could be more a suitable replacement for the Freelander if anything, albeit better offroad?

The problem with the L200 etc.is the lack of weight over the back axle which is the main driving one.
When the bad weather stated to approach we always used to put 2 kerbstones on the load deck which
solved the problem.
Now our original shape Shogun with a 3 litre V6 motor would see off Disco's, RR's and most other 4x4's
anytime. Plus which it was an excellent tow car.


Bill Life Honorary Member of Wallasey Motor Club.
Licenced MSA Radio Operator for 35+ years.
Rallying is the only sport.

No 4x4 ever so this off,awesome car that towed caravans, horse box,rally car,was offroaded and green laned and only ever stuck once when every other car was being towed off field by big 4x4 tractor but I used my f1 with mud tyres on to assist disco and caravan

dorsetfreelander wrote:

As I said earlier this isn't supposed to be a vehicle comparison, just his experience so far. From my son's point of view he needs a vehicle for work that can do 500 miles a week travelling on motorways and across fields. He and a lot of people who work like him had Freelanders but the question is what do you replace them with that is reliable, rugged and cheap? For £25k (inc servicing package) he gets a new L200 with leather seats and all the toys versus nothing suitable from LR.
My other son is a geologist and has worked in Zambia, Botswana, Moretania, Peru, Chile etc and says that he can't recall the last time he saw a LandRover. Everyone drives Hiluxes, L200, Navarra or Landcruisers . He sent a picture this morning from the Atacama desert in the Chilean Andes at 4000 metres He had to dig it out by hand as there are no trees around to attach a winch.

Click image to enlarge

The worst thing about those pickup's is the rear diff, Im pretty sure the freelander has more clearance when that is taken into consideration. Also the overhangs dont do it any favours. A couple of my mates have them and I just cant get used to them, they feel like vans. 2011 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE
2007 Freelander 2 TD4 SE - Gone

@ Jules the red vehicle is actually a Toyota Hilux, note the dent under the right hand side door. These vehicles have a hard life driven by all sorts of people miles from anywhere. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Just an update on my son's L200. He bought it as a demonstrator in January at 6 months old 3.5k miles. It has just had it's first service at 12.5k miles and the engine (2.4L) has got much quieter. In fact I went out in it today and it's a lot quieter than my non ingenium FL2 and he is getting over 40mpg. Verdict so far, very good on motorways and open road, a bit bumpy on uneven surfaces and excellent off road with low range and diff lock. The one thing he does miss off his FL2 is the hill descent control which he used a lot on some of the farms that he regularly visits. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

He should be able to put it in low range and knock it down to 1st gear manually and let it go down any hill nice and slow. Personally, I prefer that to hill descent control any day. I usually have to accelerate down most hills in my Jeep low range 1st.

trouble with pickups is the cabin height, you end up sat low in a legs forward position, then your ankle becomes more involved in working the pedals, but it cant because your in wellies/work boots because your at work,
nobody in their right mind uses on for leisure - hence you see quite a few towing caravans 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