Phil Dinsdale said:

Hi All,

I know i havent been here long but would appreciate yur veiw on a little dilemma.

I have the option to buy a 04 Freelander Sport Premium, 71,000 and very well looked after off a friend of mine at £5300. Problem is i willl be useing the vehicle for road and lite offroad use as i go lamping most nights but its generally only down easy green lanes and across stubble fields. I cant seem to find anything like if for the price in te standard freelander.

I do intend to add a few spot lights, some underbody protection, some decent all terrain tyres and add the EGR bypass and Synergy system but serious worry about the ride hight and stiffness as i dont want to rattle the thing to bits.

Should i hold out and see if anything comes up or buy the car and see how it goes??

All advise and comments greatly recieved.

ATB

Phil

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Fur Trapper said:

Before you buy you need to check out HIPPO threads through lz search and find his words of wisdom ( 'm being nice here) as he has the in and out knowledge of gaylanders. read very carefully about the IRD and VCU. This can save you money and grief. Read before you buy

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Phil Dinsdale said:

Cheers for that, the main thing i am worried about is ride hight and stiffness.

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Singvogel said:

By buying a 'sport' model you are going to start off at a disadvantage as they are an inch lower than the normal FL ride height.

Before you spend money on AT tyres have a good think - if you are going somewhere that really needs AT tyres then you need more ground clearance too, IMHO.

I think I do similar things to what you mention - stubbly fields etc. - and my road orientated Continentals are handling off road work great - no worse than the knobbly tyres my cousin has on a similar vehicle. Also I have a quieter time on road.

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Fur Trapper said:

If you don't get stupid with it your ok You are not going to go through what a defender or disco will, deep ruts with no bottom etc:

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willh said:

If you want to make it better off road install a 2 inch lift plates and some higher profile all terrain tyres (3" lift overall). You'll be surprised how capable it is - and as the AT tyres aren't too extreme they don't make a massive difference on tarmac, and as the suspension is standard (albeit slightly further from the body!) the ride quality is unaffected.

You won't have solid axles and big diffs hanging in between the wheels at hub height like the Defender boys either!

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