Manual or Auto

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E Barton Freelander

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Hi Please can I ask some advice
I would like to buy a Freelander TD4 2004 onwards Mk 1 Face lift model
Can you advise me on IS a auto okay on snow and Ice and does the auto gearbox have a setting for Snow/Ice
I have to drive through a forest area (on road) to get to work and I am unsure if an auto would be okay as never owned one
Many thanks
 
E Barton Freelander said:
Hi Please can I ask some advice
I would like to buy a Freelander TD4 2004 onwards Mk 1 Face lift model
Can you advise me on IS a auto okay on snow and Ice and does the auto gearbox have a setting for Snow/Ice
I have to drive through a forest area (on road) to get to work and I am unsure if an auto would be okay as never owned one
Many thanks
Click to expand...
i own face lift td4 auto it goes any where no problems.wouldnt change to manual i much prefer auto.
 
I dont really go off road but I have a manual & do wish I got an auto

I see some threads on mpg & such but not sure it's enough to make a difference or put me off.

Man do I hate 1st & 2nd gear on a manual. Makes it quite the chore for me as I mostly drive short distances.
 
Thanks for that
You can get really confused with everything that is on the web. I was concerned as I owned a manual TD4 a while ago and was pleased with it but never drove it in snow or ice
My journey takes me through a forest area maybe i am panicking as we dont get that much really bad weather never having owned an auto I was unsure
 
A well cared for [ regularly serviced] auto will be great - some have commented that the auto FL1 is superior in its 4WD capability than a manual as the auto can compensate for the lack of a low range in the gearbox. Fuel wise an auto may use a wee bit more but I don't think that would be by much. The crucial thing is the 4WD system is in good working order, and that is dependent on: a set of matching and correctly inflated tyres, and the VCU being serviceable. You will need to carefully check that out with a test drive and / or the one wheel up test.

"So does a Freelander Auto have a snow/ice setting button
sorry that sounds a bit basic"

No snow / ice button - you would find that in a FL2 which is a later vehicle. However a FL1 will have a Hill Decent Control [HDC] 'button' which will keep the vehicles speed below 5mph in 1st or reverse gears - very useful when going down steep / slippery slopes...
 
htr said:
Fuel wise an auto may use a wee bit more but I don't think that would be by much.
Click to expand...
Going by whats reported on here, that wee bit may be as much as a 20% hit in mpg, or extra liter in for every 4. Depends on type of road though - motorway and clear open roads should return the same as a manual
.
I'd have thought in a manual you are looking at figures between 35 and 40mpg, in an auto 25 and 40. What is it you've had out of your 1.8 petrol? 38mpg on a run using cheaper fuel than diesel? Makes the K very attractive.

Anyway, shouldn't you be on a picket line somewhere?
 
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The benefit to driving an auto is easier driving as it changes gear for yer. Yer can apply power more slowly when pulling away, which helps oft road. In a manual yer would need to slip the clutch more than normal to do the same.

Driving on snow won't be any different with an auto instead of manual. It will only accelerate if yer ask it to with the accelerator pedal.

Hill starts are easier on an auto.

The higher running cost of fool on an auto can be oftset against the cost of clutch changes required on a manual. So yer kind of don't loose out on higher fool costs if yer keep it for a lot of miles and go past the stage where a manual would have needed a new clutch, if yer had a manual.
 
E Barton Freelander said:
So does a Freelander Auto have a snow/ice setting button
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. A 4WD like the Freelander doesn't need a snow and ice setting.

Only 2wd vehicles need a snow/ice setting and all that does is keep the vehicle in a higher gear than normal to minimise wheel slip. The Freelander's 4WD does that, so no need for a snow/ice setting.

My own TD4 auto went up and down a 20% hill in the snow this year without any problems.

The Freelander uses LR's Command Shift, which allows the driver to manually select whichever gear they wish, as long as it's within the rev range of the engine.

Personally I'd go auto only on a vehicle like the Freelander, leaving manual boxes for saloons and sports cars instead.
 
Last edited:
The snow and/or ice setting changes the characteristics of the traction control, on vehicles which have it.

All it does is try to reduce wheel spin quicker than normal traction control settings, to improve grip. If auto it will try to stay in a higher gear.

Where 2 or 4 wheel drive is electrically selectable it will select 4 wheel drive permanently as opposed to only selecting it when required during normal road traction control settings. This is betterer than reactive systems like the VCU which needs wheel spin to occurre before 4 wheel drive is applied.

It has its benefits but needs the right type of snow...
 
E Barton Freelander said:
So does a Freelander Auto have a snow/ice setting button
sorry that sounds a bit basic
Click to expand...

GrumpyGel said:
Going by whats reported on here, that wee bit may be as much as a 20% hit in mpg, or extra liter in for every 4. Depends on type of road though - motorway and clear open roads should return the same as a manual
.
I'd have thought in a manual you are looking at figures between 35 and 40mpg, in an auto 25 and 40. What is it you've had out of your 1.8 petrol? 38mpg on a run using cheaper fuel than diesel? Makes the K very attractive.

Anyway, shouldn't you be on a picket line somewhere?
Click to expand...

Been and done that picket!
38mpg - I haven't been able to get that again, but can get 35 easily enough with a little effort / lights foot. Commonly getting 33/34mpg now.
 
Honestly, buy the one you prefer to drive - and the Freelander in the best condition you can afford (unless you're after a project). The manual versus auto argument is otherwise largely a case of swings and roundabouts (plus points versus the negatives) and a question of personal preference. Neither is a "bad" option :)
 
Lets say you average 10,000 miles / 16,000 kms a year and base on Parkers quoted economy figures of 36mpg (7.85l/100km) manual and 32mpg (8.83l/100km) auto - essentially the auto is costing a liter per 100kms.

Over the year that's 160 liters of heavy oil. If it costs £1.25/l (dunno what it is in in the olde world) then the auto is costing £200 per year. I'm pretty sure you'd be very unlucky to need to change the clutch (or its slave) every 3 years in a manual - more like 10. So that's 3 and a bit clutch changes for driving an auto. That's before you consider the costs of complex fluid changes in the auto, at periods like every 3 years, and worn/broken clutches/solenoids/wiring in the auto.

Even the F2 with the more modern auto box is quoted as having the same economy difference between manual and auto on Parkers.

As Rob says though, the biggest deciding factor is probably what you prefer, but depending on how many miles you do and what type of driving you do the cost of running an auto may be significant. Ironically the more attractive an auto is (eg city driving), the higher the cost of running one is.
 
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