Freelanders off Road

The TD4 is very good off road, but don´t expect it to go places where a Defender goes.

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Limitation is tyres (road biased) so not so good in mud although the clever electronics do a good job to make up for that. Also ground clearance is less than a 'full blooded' 4x4 so watch for ruts.

Best bet is book yourself an introductory off road lesson where you can use a Freelander (or even your own) and find out what its limits are - making you more confident and happier about what you are doing.

Oh yes (from bitter experience) - always go with someone else coz if you do get stuck ......at least they can give you a lift home if all else fails (it was a long wait for passing truck when chassis deep in a Scottish peat bog only 30 yds off a B road one day for me!).

Have fun and let is know how you get on!

From what I saw at Abingdon 4x4 Festival the freelanders (with very brave drivers) were going most places that defenders were going however there have been some places that i have seen, mostly greenlanes with deep ruts that a freelander would have struggled in. Apart from that the Freelander owners club

Regards, Ben

Thanks for the advice and I will.

Re the tyres. I looked at them when I got it and assumed that they'd be as much use as racing sliks to he honest (Wrangler HP's) and was going to change them (although they did really well on slate and mud in north wales) . Any reccomendations, I thought about the AT/R's as they're said to be on/off road.

Cheers

Depends how keen you are to avoid scraping the underside. They're actually pretty capable off road, but you're more likely to do damage to the underside than you are with a bigger LR. Best bet is to go with a friend, that way you can test it to the limits and be towed out afterwards. We took one along Sarn Helen near Brecon, and it had no problems, even on the rocky river climb out of the stream. And that was with fairly naff tyres too.

Remember that the Land Rover Experience use the same courses for Freebies as Defenders. Not saying that a Freebie will go everywhere a Defender will, but it will go places which would still leave many a Defender driver bricking it.

David.

I ran a KV6 Freelander for eleven months including a fairly serious off-road trip in Pennsylvania where I got water *past* the doorhandles for nearly fifteen minutes.

Prepare to hear simply terrible noises coming from the undercarriage but you would be surprised how well-protected and sturdy these little guys are. The muffler is a prime impact spot... they are often knocked off their hangers but this is a feature, not a bug and you can rehang them on the trail.

Ground clearance is the problem. Some people have fit 235/75R16 tires which provides another desperately needed inch or so.

Using the HDC on a steep rocky slope is exhilarating. HDC doesn't think like a person - i.e. gentle pressure - and it will snatch-and-grab you all the way down the hill.

The traction control is simply astounding and you can see the Freebie "thinking" and switching drive wheels when you are coming out of mud.

With a low range box these little guys would really be astounding but the first gear is a bit of a creeper (and isn't part of the regular shift program, which starts in second) so it's not as bad as you might think.

I agree with you 100%,I've noticed ppl (particularly larger big boys) don't like admitting just how capable these things are, the TD4 auto is just that little bit better again off road due to Max. torque at 1750Rpm and better engine braking. As you said, the only thing that limits this little critter is it's ground clearance, being mainly the muffler. I'm going to replace it with a smaller muffler when the time comes, the TD4 rear muffler is that touch bigger again than the V6.

Scotty