T4R vs Freelander

[Aaron Raney]

in you guys opinion-
whats a better off road vehicle
a stock 2003 land Rover freelander SE or a stock T4R limited v6 with a toyota front skid plate(only mod)
and why?
just curious as I own both and am thinking about getting into some off roading

 

[RonMAIDEN]

You seen the reliability ratings on a LR? If you want to have something that doesn't have a rep for breaking down then go with the Toyota.

Only H2s I think are rated worse than the LRs.

 

[Aaron Raney]

i already own both the lr and toyo, just wanted to see which one you guys thought was a better off roader and why
i agree the lr is very unreliable

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Oh,I'd still take the Toyota since there's less chance on being stranded on a trail and the rims on most of the LRs I've seen seem a bit low on the rubber profile even if they are rated as being quite off roadable that's just asking for rim rash.

 

[Thai]

Aaron, see this long thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17255&highlight=freelander

 

[Aaron Raney]

will do
thanks

 

[Thai]

Aaron, sorry about my brief post above, but here are the reasons why 4runner is better than Freelander:

- 4runners are more reliable...by far.
- Rear axle...better wheel travel. Freelander is pretty limited in it's suspension travel...it's more or less a car suspension. Freelander does NOT have the cross-linking suspension that you see in Range Rover (and LR3).
- Body-on-frame design...better at absorbing punishment off-road and cheaper to repair if you damage it.
- LOW range...Freelander does not have a transfer case...and having LOW range is a major plus off-road...it gives more power and control off-road.
- Stronger engine + LOW range = much better than Freelander.
- Clearances...i am not even sure if the Freelander has skidplates. 4runner has more practical clearances than Freelander.

The Freelander is for mild off-roading only...so, it's better than a Honda CRV or Ford Escape (and other crossover vehicles), but there is no way it can keep up with a 4runner.

 

[Aaron Raney]

thanks Thai
thats what i was looking for
got the LR in a divorce with my ex and dont really like it hence my new four runner purchase but i figure i already own the LR might as well get some use out of it
will definitely take the four runner off roading
ATR

 

[josh220]

LR's are horrible. Enough said.

 

[pipspeak]

They look nice but I'd never buy a British-made car or truck (and I'm a Brit!)

 

[snow4rnr]

my only reason why we bought our 4runner. traded our Land Rover for it. If u decide to buy the freelander invest on a flatbed too.:

 

[CannondaleMan]

They look nice but I'd never buy a British-made car or truck (and I'm a Brit!)

Well there you go.

The original Land Rovers were a true off roading/outdorrs sort of vehicle. I mean look at the use they have had over the years in Africa and Southern Asia. The UN (and I loathe to use them as a reference) used to use them because of their tremendous capabilities and bare bones-ness (is that even a word?)

Now you look around, and in Africa, Asia, and other hardscrabble areas, you see one of two brands of vehicles in use by the population and relief agencies - Toyota and Mitsubishi, but mostly Toyotas.

LRs and RRs are ridiculously overpriced status symbols - and as such are crap vehicles, like most of them.

Besides, up until recently Land Rover was owned by Ford. Need I say more?

 

[cmar]

I think the 4runner is just overall better. on road and off.

 

[pipspeak]

The original Land Rovers were a true off roading/outdorrs sort of vehicle. I mean look at the use they have had over the years in Africa and Southern Asia. The UN (and I loathe to use them as a reference) used to use them because of their tremendous capabilities and bare bones-ness (is that even a word?)

Now you look around, and in Africa, Asia, and other hardscrabble areas, you see one of two brands of vehicles in use by the population and relief agencies - Toyota and Mitsubishi, but mostly Toyotas.

Too true... many of the old LR's from the 50s and 60s are still going strong in India where they have a cottage industry keeping them going -- not hard because the old engines were pretty simple and the body panels are aluminum so never rust. The current Defenders are also still OK... the British military still uses them and they're still the vehicle of choice for many landowners/farmers in the UK.

The worst mistake LR made, IMO, was the Discovery, which came out in the early-mid 1990s I believe (when LR was still British owned). I remember seeing them in use with many aid agencies on TV at first then within a few years they'd all vanished from the scene, probably because they were too unreliable. My Dad had an early model and I hated it. Ford could apparently do no better when it took over in 2000 -- made the posh models look better but they're still unreliable under the skin.

The British car industry (RIP) excelled in only two things over the last 30 years IMO: making expensive, unreliable cars to compete with the Germans and making cheap, unreliable cars to compete with the Japanese.

 

[vando45]

Yup, too bad about the British auto industry. I've had 3 British cars over the years, a '59 MGA 1500, a '66 Austin Healey 3000, and a '68 Ford Cortina 1600GT, still have the Healey. They were great "hobby" cars, but not reliable transportation. Most of the problems were a finicky fuel delivery system and electrical (Lucas, Prince of Darkness) problems. Ah, yes, lots of good times on the side of the road in the days before cell phones.:awais:

 

[pipspeak]

Lucas, Prince of Darkness

At least British auto electrics provided some entertainment value... in hindsight!

Ah, the memories of a turn signal taking out the headlights. What fun it all was.