hello,
In short - yes, they are good. Ive got a 99 Xedi (diesel) and its fab.. tows my daughters horse and trailer to horse club no problems.. Its cheap to run (ave 36mpg), cheap to insure (£310 fully comp) and rugged..
Its never going to be a defender or disco, but a defender has NO comfort and a disco does 20 mpg if youre lucky.
As previously said, ground clearence is the biggest difference between the freelander & the disco & defender.. The low ratio box doesnt make a massive diference to be honset.. If you get a high spec pre 01 model, or any model after 2002, youll have HDC.. its not quite a low ratio box, but its not far off...
Ignore the people on here who say "dont touch it with a barge pole" that only applies to petrol freelanders..
Theres good and bad in every marque, and on forums your more likely to see posts off people bitching about their problems than saying how great their jeeps are..
Mine tows mint, is cheap to run and decent off road. Get 4 decent tyres and youll be fine in the snow..
Ive been green laning withfriends who have a Suzuki grand vitara (which also has a low ratio box) and a nissan x trail (not sure if this has a low ratio box), and it blew them both away.. I even had to pull the x trail out of a ditch it got stuck in!!
If you want something good for winter, cheap to run, good off road, and comfy to drive, a freelander diesel is for you....
If you dont care about money on fuel and insurance, and are good with a welding torch, get a dicsovery...
If you couldnt give a **** for comfort, but want to drive anywhere, get a defender..
your budget wull get you the following:
At least a 03 plate top spec freelander diesel
At least a 99 series 3 mid range discovery
At elast a 94 defender 90/110 diesel.
Each of the above has its own qualities and its own drawbacks!
Good luck