DEFENDERS/DISCOS/RANGIES RULE.

My fender is the bestist and has:

comfortable seats.
Comfortable suspension.
Enough power to accelerate 0 to 60mph in a certain amount of time.
Brakes that actually work. 67 to 0mph eventually
Space for 2 passengers to travel in comfort.
Air conditioning (hole in the bulkhead)
A heater that works.
Smooth manual gearbox with optional low range mode and diff lock.
Headlights that actually light up the road ahead.
No rust.
A radio you can hear when stationary.
4 wheel drive.
Skill.
NBS. (No BS)
The appropriate gear.
Brakes.
Boot space big enough to put in everything I need.
A diagnostic socket I can use to plug in my ipod.
windows and mirrors that won't go wrong.
A PROPER roof rack with spots and a ladder.
Go anywhere ability oft road.
Enough power to tow a caravan.
Can actually steer round corners and follow the road ahead.
Doesn't have any water leaks.
Looks smarter and is more presentable then gaylanders
Doors that dun't fall oft.
Functional on long journeys.

Up yours aussie surfers. :bounce:

I have had my so called Gaylander as you put it for five years now and it is twice as good as the things you have put and I still have all the doors on the vehicle that open and close it is also very comfortable on long journeys.

roshe25 said:

I have had my so called Gaylander as you put it for five years now and it is twice as good as the things you have put and I still have all the doors on the vehicle that open and close it is also very comfortable on long journeys.

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This was only a reply to this post:
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/i-would-just-like-to-say.225175/

I've owned Land Rovers since 1994. Bought my first, a S3 Lightweight before I passed my test that same year at the age of 24 and had Land Rovers ever since.
9 Lightweights both S2A and S3.
Hybrid coilsprung 88"
2x 109 S3 exMilitary
3x 110
2x 90
4x Discovery
4x Freelander.
Currently own 2x Freelanders and 1 Lightweight
All have had their merits and all their own downsides.
Disco's were great, comfy and commanded the road. But 7 seats were wasted on just me and my partner.
110's were great, Got all my kit in and could sleep in them so never needed to pay for accommodation . Slow, noisy and heavy on fuel.
90's were too big for the small load capacity. Great fun, but impractical.
Lightweights, see above. + Horrendous fuel consumption but great fun.
109's again as above.
Freelanders. I've owned Freelanders for 9 years now.By far the longest time I've stuck with any particular Land Rover type. I've modified them with roll cages etc etc and have had more fun in them than any of the others I've owned. They tick all my needs boxes (as modified vehicles, not so standard) and I'd recommend them to anyone looking for a small practical off road vehicle .
Would I go back to any of the other Land Rovers ? Why not, I like all Land Rovers for different reasons. I recently bought another S3 Lightweight despite the impracticality and fuel consumption as I've always loved them and they put a smile on my face every time I drive them, But I couldn't use it as my every day vehicle. And that's my point.The Freelander I can use every day, practically, even with it's roll cage and bucket seats.99% of the time it's just me in the vehicle , so a 110, Disco etc makes no practical sense for me. If my situation changed, then maybe I'd go back to a Discovery (D3 this time though). But for now at least, there's no point.

RealBeale said:

I've owned Land Rovers since 1994. Bought my first, a S3 Lightweight before I passed my test that same year at the age of 24 and had Land Rovers ever since.
9 Lightweights both S2A and S3.
Hybrid coilsprung 88"
2x 109 S3 exMilitary
3x 110
2x 90
4x Discovery
4x Freelander.
Currently own 2x Freelanders and 1 Lightweight
All have had their merits and all their own downsides.
Disco's were great, comfy and commanded the road. But 7 seats were wasted on just me and my partner.
110's were great, Got all my kit in and could sleep in them so never needed to pay for accommodation . Slow, noisy and heavy on fuel.
90's were too big for the small load capacity. Great fun, but impractical.
Lightweights, see above. + Horrendous fuel consumption but great fun.
109's again as above.
Freelanders. I've owned Freelanders for 9 years now.By far the longest time I've stuck with any particular Land Rover type. I've modified them with roll cages etc etc and have had more fun in them than any of the others I've owned. They tick all my needs boxes (as modified vehicles, not so standard) and I'd recommend them to anyone looking for a small practical off road vehicle .
Would I go back to any of the other Land Rovers ? Why not, I like all Land Rovers for different reasons. I recently bought another S3 Lightweight despite the impracticality and fuel consumption as I've always loved them and they put a smile on my face every time I drive them, But I couldn't use it as my every day vehicle. And that's my point.The Freelander I can use every day, practically, even with it's roll cage and bucket seats.99% of the time it's just me in the vehicle , so a 110, Disco etc makes no practical sense for me. If my situation changed, then maybe I'd go back to a Discovery (D3 this time though). But for now at least, there's no point.

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I understand. See the comment i posted before hand? Now you understand why i did this

ProcrastinatorFraser said:

I understand. See the comment i posted before hand? Now you understand why i did this

Click to expand...

It's nice of you to create a fred in ere in response to me "I would just like to say" fred. We had this happen before but it's been lost in time. May I also take this opportunity to welcome you to the Freelander section. We get a lot of tratterers in ere. They secretly want to know more about Freelanders. Some would say reading about our electrical problems makes them feel betterer for not having any.

Edit: spellin

ere tis:
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/i-would-just-like-to-say.225263/

Hippo said:

It's nice of you to create a fred in ere in response to me "I would just like to say" fred. We had this happen before but it's bee lost in time. May I also take this opportunity to welcome you to the Freelander section. We get a lot of tratterers in ere. They secretly want to know more about Freelanders. Some would say reading about our electrical problems makes them feel betterer for not having any.

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Pretty much xD i've never had electrical faults, only the rare spot of mechanical bother. BUT: i don't want to know anything 'bout freelanders, i know all. Freelander=stuck on a pebble
Fender= climbs anyythhiiinnngggg
Freelander: Stuck in the garage for repairs all day. Fender= Running all day every day

Until the main shaft splines wear
Or the cam belt throws itself off
Or the prop ujs disintegrate
Or the wheel bearings collapse
Or the chassis/bulkhead/foot wells/door pillars falls to bits

ProcrastinatorFraser said:

Pretty much xD i've never had electrical faults, only the rare spot of mechanical bother. BUT: i don't want to know anything 'bout freelanders, i know all. Freelander=stuck on a pebble
Fender= climbs anyythhiiinnngggg
Freelander: Stuck in the garage for repairs all day. Fender= Running all day every day

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Freelanders and their owners get a lot of abuse on ere. It stems from a general dislike of any other vehicle that may be just may be something betterer than they would like it to be. I'm not really too sure why I started the original fred. Some of it was to take the ****. Some to highlight facts about Freelanders. Some to start a discussion on why we're abused because of a vehicle we drive/own. Some of it general banter and the ups yours factor can't be excluded anorl.

I've been oft road in my Freelander so there's no point in the usual rhetoric they can't go oft road. It's not a monster truck and I don't expect it to be. It's not what a lot of none FL owners want it to be. But why would I want it to be a tratter? Why would I want my daily drive to be a tratter? Many who despise Freelanders have never driven one. I've driven several tratters. Me dad also owned them. So I do to some extent have a knowledge of them, what they're like to drive/own.

LR created the FL as a new vehicle to enter an emerging market for smaller 4x4's. The FL was Europe's best selling 4x4 for many years. It outsold LR's expectations and lead a new wave of vehicles produced by LR which meet market needs. Those are the needs of the buyers, not the critics who don't buy them. I just don't see why tratterers go on so much about why FL's are so bad... and they should never have been produced... It gave employment to LR staff existing and new. It made a profit for LR at a time when they were still struggling from the effects of the british car manufacturing, whilst ford/bmw owned it. It's as if tratter owners regret the FL ever being produced, and would prefer them to have gone bust later this year when they stop building tratters, having never produced the FL or any of the newer vehicles which appeared after it.

Some of the abuse we get is just daft. "You can't tow 3 ton" Why would we want to? "You can't stand on the bonnet" Why would we want to? The list continues. I've met tratterers at oft road events and been confronted with friendly chant, banter, **** taking, abuse and to the more extreme of chucking stones from a distance. Some have wanted to sit with me when driving round to see what FL's are really like. Some choose to stop to block a route so I have to reverse out. It really is that daft sometimes.

I don't understand the problem of FL's breaking down. Tratters do it anorl. The tratter section is full of freds about breaking down or something not working. Yer head gaskets fail anorl. If it makes yer feel betterer about yer own vehicle by picking on us then it's only short lived. You still need to get yer tratters fixed anorl. That's when yer not posting yer "I've pimped me tratter" freds or showing oft the latest piece of jewellery yer bolted to yer "truck".

There's nowt wrong with FL's. It's a different vehicle for a different section of the market. If I wanted a propper oft road I'd get a unimog or a mountain goat.

Hippo said:

LR created the FL as a new vehicle to enter an emerging market for smaller 4x4's.

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LR created the FL as a new vehicle for surfers and handbag swingers.

You see freds about tratters all the time, cos they can be repaired yourself. My dad's disco has done a modest 250,000 miles WITHOUT fail. In fact, the chassis is also, still in very, very good nick. Not a spot of corrosion anywhere. The body, on the back, it's rotten and the sills are starting to go. Mechanically, after all those miles, it's still fine. It could keep going on for a very long time, now he wants a 'fender too. The fact is, it's the same tech. You can repair a 'fender or disco yerself, most of the time FL's probly go to the garage to get electronic faults sorted out. Just also would like to point out, FL's are going for pennys on a second hand site what i know of. Usually you'll see a FL, going for around 500 euros, bout maybe 350 quid, and you see HUNDREDS. Everyone wants shot of 'em. You know why? probly cos they let them down, mechanically. If you get rid of TC and HDC, which, let's be honest, will fail within the first 100 miles, the FL really won't be any better than a renault clio off road. Trust me
The fender also has tradition backing it up. It's allways had live axle suspension. It's allways had, a bolt on body construction. It's allways had a ladder chassis system. It's allways had basic mechanical properties. It's allways had a basic wiring system. It's allways been slow. You know why? Cos it works! and that fantastic reliability has been with it up until today. The FL DOESN'T have live axle suspension. DOESN'T have a bolt on body construction. DOESN'T have a ladder chassis system. DOESN'T have basic mechanical properties. DOESN'T have a basic wiring system. DOESN'T have... slowness. It's a break away from how LR have allways done stuff. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It weren't broke, SO WHY BLOODY FIX IT. That is why fender owners, or fender wannabe owners hate FL's. Cos in their mind, they are a wiring loom, some tin foil, bits of rubber with surf boards on the top of it. I hope this clears things up

disco_mikey said:

Until the main shaft splines wear
Or the cam belt throws itself off
Or the prop ujs disintegrate
Or the wheel bearings collapse
Or the chassis/bulkhead/foot wells/door pillars falls to bits

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Me GB is in good nick, thank you
Cam belt, admittedly needs replacing, will get done.
Props and UJ's are in good nick
Wheel bearings have done i think about 500 kilometers, they are fine.
Chassis/bulkhead/footwells/door pillars have all been restored, and look beautiful, free from rust, and will be for many years.
And if and when all of that happens, you know what i will do, I'll fix it up yours roadlanderers

may I ask have u ever driven a freelander ,

can only answer from my personel experiance, owned mine 5 x years , a td4 auto with the bmw engine, has got 180,000 miles on the clock and found it very good,

went from a series to a freelander due to an accident, wished to remain with land rovers but the fender , I agree is a great motor , but needed an automatic , also wished a more up to date vehicle that had extra equipment , so looked around and then saw the freelander

owned land rovers for over 25 years , like all motors different models serve different needs according to what u want the car to do and of course what u like , some models u don't like and some u do

have been able to do everything on the hippo myself , find it very easy to drive, does 40 mpg on a run , quiet, air con , nice down the motorway with the cruise control on, very capable off road, but off course has the restricted height clearance , mine has the Tc and hdc ,

recently went to Land Rover event , which included 70 miles of greenlaning , some people came up to me and admitted they was very impressed with what the freelander done on the lanes , realise it hasn't got the greater height but served me very well for what I want it to do

a few series and fenders got stuck where at that place I was able to get through no problem , did get stuck on some bits but was only down the ground clearance , not due to loosing traction and the tc worked very well

don't know why u would think the electrics would fail easily and also only a garage can fix them , now range rovers are surely the true one to have electrical faults, more complicated they are , more to go wrong

bought a hawkeye diagnostic reader which due to the amount of sensors etc it has helps with the fault finding and been able to fix everything on mine ,

at the end of the day it's all down to what a person wants , just because they don't like a model doesn't mean it's a crap

agree though the fender is a good motor , but has its faults , like all motors , just saying my hippo has been really good, and each to there own

personally think after having mine 5 x years it has indeed got me through what I wanted it to, but if I wanted to do more extreme off roading admittedly would buy a disco. as I feel the fenders are too dated now

hope this doesn't come across as rude as that's not my intention but feel the hippo is a good landy to have and would have another one , maybe the 1.8 petrol model has given the hippo a bad name ,

wonder what the new landies will be like in a few years time , for reliability etc , only time will tell , lol

what do u think of the something like the disco 4 as I know they eat fenders for breakfast ,

ProcrastinatorFraser said:

LR created the FL as a new vehicle for surfers and handbag swingers.

You see freds about tratters all the time, cos they can be repaired yourself. My dad's disco has done a modest 250,000 miles WITHOUT fail. In fact, the chassis is also, still in very, very good nick. Not a spot of corrosion anywhere. The body, on the back, it's rotten and the sills are starting to go. Mechanically, after all those miles, it's still fine. It could keep going on for a very long time, now he wants a 'fender too. The fact is, it's the same tech. You can repair a 'fender or disco yerself, most of the time FL's probly go to the garage to get electronic faults sorted out. Just also would like to point out, FL's are going for pennys on a second hand site what i know of. Usually you'll see a FL, going for around 500 euros, bout maybe 350 quid, and you see HUNDREDS. Everyone wants shot of 'em. You know why? probly cos they let them down, mechanically. If you get rid of TC and HDC, which, let's be honest, will fail within the first 100 miles, the FL really won't be any better than a renault clio off road. Trust me
The fender also has tradition backing it up. It's allways had live axle suspension. It's allways had, a bolt on body construction. It's allways had a ladder chassis system. It's allways had basic mechanical properties. It's allways had a basic wiring system. It's allways been slow. You know why? Cos it works! and that fantastic reliability has been with it up until today. The FL DOESN'T have live axle suspension. DOESN'T have a bolt on body construction. DOESN'T have a ladder chassis system. DOESN'T have basic mechanical properties. DOESN'T have a basic wiring system. DOESN'T have... slowness. It's a break away from how LR have allways done stuff. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It weren't broke, SO WHY BLOODY FIX IT. That is why fender owners, or fender wannabe owners hate FL's. Cos in their mind, they are a wiring loom, some tin foil, bits of rubber with surf boards on the top of it. I hope this clears things up

Click to expand...

You have a lot more to learn about Freelanders. They can be fixed at home. Where electrical items require computer diagnosis... you can buy a Hawkeye or similar to do that. Example video in the link below:


This device will read, clear and show live data. This helps with diagnostic. Yes it's more technical than older vehicles but that doesn't make it any lesser a LR product. FL's are reasonably easy to work on. The IRD and rear diff for eggsample as simple mechanical devices. Electronics started to appar in vehicles when they wanted optimal precise timing on the engines to to meet USA regulation for emissions. This spread around the world. The engine management systems of today adapt to the engine and also produce a higher power output too. This is all down to modern technology. Technology is a good thing.

TC failing after 100 miles... simply not true. Ma hippo is 14 years old and it's still working. TC was added to many vehicles years ago as an aid to driving. They fit TC to tratters anorl but it doesn't work as well as sometimes it causes the tratter to bounce due to hard suspension when on axle twisters.

Renault clio oft road... I assume you haven't watched ma vid's below:
Bala 4x4 Land Rover Freelander 1 v6 Off Road

LRO Show 2010 part 1 of 2 Land Rover Freelander 1 v6 Off Road

LRO Show 2010 part 2 of 2 Land Rover Freelander 1 v6 Off Road

These are eggsamples of ma hippo oft road. They're not up to the standard of the russians with their 8 wheeled trucks, but fun for us hippo owners. We don't want to damage our vehicles and more often than not it's our daily drive so we need it to work again after going oft road at the weekend. Not everyone wants to go oft road. Some buy FL's because they want one. Some want the additional space or levels of comfort. As long as they're happy i don't see why tratterers have to apply the same of crap of disliking a vehicle which made LR a lot of money, and helped keep the LR in business.

Defender tradition is over. LR are stopping it. They could have replaced it or improved it to pass the tests but they chose not to. It's not as if they don't know how to design/build new vehicles. LRO have discussed this to death over the last 20 years. Since then the D2 D3 D4 FL1 FL2 RRS RRS2 RR3 RR4 Evoque and DS have been designed. That must have cost a fortune to do. I'm sure they must have the money to design a new apple cart if they wanted to. Some tratterers dislike newer tratterss as they don't like coils springs. FFS they're not happy with anything.

FL's are cheap as there's a lot about for sale. More often than not the cheap ones have problems which is why they're cheap. Cheap doesn't mean it can't be fixed. Cheap means it's cheap due to market value being applied. Look at the inflated FL2 prices some dealers are selling no the FL2 has stopped. Price has no judgement on the vehicle. It's imply supply and demand. New vehicles are cheap when compared to the late 90's when I got me first car. They come with loads of modern features and the ability to get credit is easy. Hence why so many older vehicles are scrapped when still road worthy and have a lot of use left. Hence why so many get exported to markets where they want them.

We've got owners who have gone past 200k miles. It's possible with a well serviced FL and some luck. Not many people want to drive old cars which is why they upgrade to new ones.

Tratter owners may want to drive tratters but we Freelanderers don't. We choose not to drive a tartter. It's daft to consider a FL is not a LR or LR product just because it's not got live axles etc. Whilst there's banter... some on ere and within the trattering world are hell bent on being nasty to FL's and their owners. It's no different to the LR v Jap thing. The one thing LR has got that the Japs don't is snobbery. It's silly to outcast Freelanderers just because they don't like their vehicle. In the same way some on ere say the RRS is crap and has no power (variable vane twin turbo 3L 6 cylinder diesel) because they just want to say it to feel big about themselves, when they haven't driven one and never will. The statistics speak for themselves. Whilst tratterers may feel they have the right to make constant nasty comments towards FL's and their owners... there's no point. We int gonna go out and buy a drafty damp biscuit tin so we can suffer the poor drive quality on the motorway. Never before has a vehicle been so good, that it needs so many mods to make it bearable to live with...

me Lord hippo , just added a like for u , as well said that man

u know us hippo owners have to stick together ,

ps

meant to say , got 42 mpg on a run the other day , weird really as the mpg has improved 1-2 mpg since putting the silicone intercooler and air intake hoses on ,along with the wide t clamps , the old hoses were really soft , to be honest don't think they had anything to do with the improvement as it could have been the weather , road, driving conditions , etc ?? , just coincidence I think

gstuart said:

me Lord hippo , just added a like for u , as well said that man

u know us hippo owners have to stick together ,

ps

meant to say , got 42 mpg on a run the other day , weird really as the mpg has improved 1-2 mpg since putting the silicone intercooler and air intake hoses on ,along with the wide t clamps , the old hoses were really soft , to be honest don't think they had anything to do with the improvement as it could have been the weather , road, driving conditions , etc ?? , just coincidence I think

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I've licked your post anorl.

The only way to know if mpg has improved is to measure it continuously over a period of time by filling it full to the top each time. It may be the case you had a small problem and the hose change has fixed it. I got 62mph the other day which I thought was quite good but after giving back the keys it's dropped back to 18 again.

Yea, you plug an expensive machine in to your, dare i say it, land rover. That costs you money. I use mechanical skills and awareness to find and fix me problems. Costs me bugger all

ProcrastinatorFraser said:

Yea, you plug an expensive machine in to your, dare i say it, land rover. That costs you money. I use mechanical skills and awareness to find and fix me problems. Costs me bugger all

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Yer but no but electronics is all around us. Are you using a pc or phone to view this fred?

Me hawkeye diagnostic has saved me more money than it cost me to buy, in helping to repair ma hippo. It can't fix wheel bearings be we use mechanical skills for that too. Electronics in ma hippo means I get more power from the engine, which controls it's emissions betterer, and with age and improves efficiency for the power I get. If it didn't have electronics then it would be a lesser vehicle. If your into electronics then it doesn't bother you much. If yer not then it can be scary.

I admit you save atleast .5 of a penny on a full tank fuel consumption wise. I like to think i'm OK with electronics, i did refit a wiring loom someone had tampered with to no end back in to me 90 few months back. i'm using a pc wat i built myself.

I've done all my work on my Freelander myself, and I can 99% of the time keep up with my bro in his 100 when we're out laning etc ... I don't do major off roading in it like pay and plays cus I need it to go to work in as it's also my daily runner. it's loads more comfortable than a defender, and with my mods it has got more ground clearance.

However, I have just bought a D2, it's a lot bigger and is more capable "Off Road", and I also need a hawkeye / nanocom to find fault codes with it, so even discos use electronics.

I like my Freelander, I like my D2, I like my bro's 110, I like my dads D3 and i like my mums S2A, i liked our light weight as a toy, I liked my dads 1st LR, a 109 S3 station wagon with 12 seats (no mods and did really well at billing on the off road course back in the 90's).

All land rovers are awesome in their own way