Freelander 2 - Petrol or Diesel?

[djhampson]

Hi Guys,

I made a trip up to Toowoomba Land Rover today and negotiated a price on a new Freelander 2. Basically when its all said and done there is 2 grand difference between the petrol and the diesel.

Having driving both engines I'm pretty happy with either and at that cost the savings in diesel economy are going to out weigh the extra initial cost.

Another plus for the diesel is the low down torque should help compensate for the lack of low-range.

Is servicing costs going to be more with the diesel? What about life - longer or shorter? Anything else I should consider?

So what I'm asking is what would you do? Petrol or Diesel? No Freelander bashing please :D - A Disco 3 is too big and a Defender to truck-like for what I want.

Thanks guys, I'm looking forward to becoming a Land Rover owner very soon! PS: Anyone want a 98 VT Holden Berlina? Its for sale to help me fund the Freelander :P

[Blknight.aus]

diesels cost more to service yes but are cheaper to run.

Diesel engines are also better engineered so in thoery now (used to be a guarentee) the engine will last longer.

[djhampson]

Significantly much more? Like more than double?

[Defender=1st]

I'd go Diesel

[Blknight.aus]

in the older times yes now Im not so sure, the basic theory as to why they should is the same but the reality is every thing is built down to a cost not up to a standard.

[101RRS]

Definitely the diesel - increased resale will offset any increased initial costs.

[sniegy]

You wont go wrong with the diesel, fine fine engine.
Heaps of torque & very responsive for its size.

Conrats on your purchase.:)

[abaddonxi]

Considering the past reputation of the Freelander petrol I'd go the diesel just to avoid the carryover bad rep when it comes to selling.

Not that I've heard anything bad of Freelander 2 petrols.

Cheers
Simon

[Malduin]

For what its worth, I have a Freelander 2 and opted for the diesel engine for both economy and the torque - the petrol was far to thirsty for my liking. So far (1,500 ks) I am delighted with the performance, pick up was beyond my expectations and you would not know you were driving a diesel it is so smooth on the highways. Not much experience off road as yet but it kept up with a friends Disco 2 easily on long stretches of sandy beach with some fairly soft dunes to traverse.:)

[djhampson]

Diesel it is!

I've paid a deposit and it should be with me in a 3-4 weeks. Very excited!!! :D

[camel_landy]

Diesel it is!

I've paid a deposit and it should be with me in a 3-4 weeks. Very excited!!! :D

Auto???

M

[djhampson]

Yep Auto. You don't get a choice with what LR are bringing into Aus.

[Malduin]

I am sure you will be delighted with the Freelander2, the quality of build is becoming more apparent to me every day and it is a joy to drive. I am so pleased I didn't go for the Jeep Cherokee. My only very very minor gripe so far is that I am only averaging 9.2 litres per 100 not the 8.5 advertised - I do live in a hilly area though. However, I have heard that fuel economy on diesels improve after they have run in for a bit - time will tell. :)

[djhampson]

I am sure you will be delighted with the Freelander2, the quality of build is becoming more apparent to me every day and it is a joy to drive. I am so pleased I didn't go for the Jeep Cherokee. My only very very minor gripe so far is that I am only averaging 9.2 litres per 100 not the 8.5 advertised - I do live in a hilly area though. However, I have heard that fuel economy on diesels improve after they have run in for a bit - time will tell. :)

I'm coming from a Holden Commodore which has been averaging 13-14L\100km so anything under 10L\100km is a huge improvement.

Also my sister just bought a Mazda Cx7 which is averaging 13L\100km.... in a 2.3L 4 cyl engine :o. She was also coming from a Commodore and was hoping for better economy.

[Shaman]

I have an "old" Freelander 2004 diesel and it took around 20-25k kms before consumption found where it wants to be. In city traffic, it started out with 11 litres and quickly dropped to 10.5. Eventually it became about 9.8-10 litres for 100km. Out in the open it sheds another 1.5 litre or so but it's been a while since I measured that.

How quickly the wear-in happens depends on the engine oil, as well. With fully synthetic oils it takes longer.

I used to ride motorbikes (not diesel, he-he) and it was not unheard of to initially use non-synthetic oil, to allow the engine to wear in. Then, at the first oil change, switch to the high quality stuff. The theory was that the top quality oil did not allow the engine to wear in properly. I think this is one subject where people would argue over endlessly but I'm not an expert...

Recently, I found better fuel but that's for another thread...

Cheers,

Shaman
===============
Freelander TD4 2004

[D3Jon]

Diesel is the way to go for sure, especially with only $2K difference in price. You'll soon make that up in cheaper fuel running costs, not to mention the extra re-sale value when it's time for it to go.

The difference in price is so small on the Freelander 2 :o Especially compared to a Disco 3 where the difference between V6 SE ($63K driveaway deal at the moment) and TDV6 SE (over $80K driveaway) is nearer $20K :o:eek::eek:

[djhampson]

The difference in price is so small on the Freelander 2 :o Especially compared to a Disco 3 where the difference between V6 SE ($63K driveaway deal at the moment) and TDV6 SE (over $80K driveaway) is nearer $20K :o:eek::eek:

Yeah it doesn't make much sense does it.