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Now I know this will come down mostly to personal choice, but I'd be interested to hear views on either of the above.

I've got a '53' Freelander td4, and the possibility of buying a '54' 2.7 Terrano. Both are a perfect match for our Bailey according to towcar. Problem is, I find the steering lock on the td4 a touch, well.......wide!! Bit of a nuisance cos I just can't seem to get the hang of 'fine' manoeuvering.....that and the lack of seat adjustment are becoming really irritating.

So, does the Nissan beat the Freelander at all??

ta!

Just to lose the bluey......

I would guess that the nissan is going to be longer than the freelander, and that will make the fine stuff harder when towing, even if it does have a better steering lock. The optimum is for a short tow vehicle, with a short distance between rear axle & hitch and long trailer.

More worrying though is the fact that Nissan deisel engines are from renault, a sure recipe for heart & wallet ache. On the upside I am not sure exactly when this started.

Freelander will hold long term value better than the nissan I think, and isnt as much a ford as the nissan is.

Quote: Originally posted by dirtydisco on 25/7/2007

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More worrying though is the fact that Nissan deisel engines are from renault, a sure recipe for heart & wallet ache. On the upside I am not sure exactly when this started.

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I think you'll find the Terrrano had a Nissan engine, IMHO it is a better car than the Freelander in terms of reliability.It also has a low-high ratio transmission which can be useful, also probably heavier than the LR. 

I agree on the lack of  Freelander seat adjustment, we tried one, insufficient legroom for me  and the seat was too high.

Freelander 2 is a totally different car we are quite tempted but want to see how they fare in reliability!

Nothing wrong with Renault diesels, a work colleague has had several and loves them, his current Espace has done a very high mileage and is still going strong.

My Terrano has a Nissan engine, nothing but good words for it.

London black taxis now use Nissan Diesel engines as found in the 2.7 TDi it is a good solid reliable unit.

I test drove the new Freelander and it is a tall luxury car, the Terrano is much more basic and the Land Rover has much more gadgets, Traction, Hill descent etc....

.....more to go wrong, I'll stick to the reliable Jap.

Chewie 

Quote: Originally posted by Chewie on 25/7/2007

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I test drove the new Freelander and it is a tall luxury car, the Terrano is much more basic and the Land Rover has much more gadgets, Traction, Hill descent etc....

.....more to go wrong, I'll stick to the reliable Jap.

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Oh the irony, someone stating that because it is more basic with less gadgets that a jap car is more reliable :)

Quote: Originally posted by dirtydisco on 25/7/2007

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Quote: Originally posted by Chewie on 25/7/2007

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I test drove the new Freelander and it is a tall luxury car, the Terrano is much more basic and the Land Rover has much more gadgets, Traction, Hill descent etc....

.....more to go wrong, I'll stick to the reliable Jap.

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Oh the irony, someone stating that because it is more basic with less gadgets that a jap car is more reliable :)

Just call me old fashioned; but i do like my electric windows to go up and down when I want them to....

......not when they feel like it.

 

Chewie 

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Quote: Originally posted by shudawudacuda on 25/7/2007

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I also quite fancy a terrano 2 se but my wife is only 5 ft small,would she cope o.k with the 7 seater? is there enough seat adjustment etc? also are you better off buying a pre 2002 because of the road tax?what are the pro's &cons with them sorry for the hi-jack glyn

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My wife had similar fears, but she has managed with our Terrano very easily, ours is only a swb though.

seats are OK, we have a 98 Terrano 2 SE and the car tax is the same as any other car over 1600cc.

we have had ours a couple of months now and we love it, and we changed from an Audi A4.

Pros - Excellent towing ability, Nissan reliability, decent kit in SE spec, great driving position. Cheap

Cons - Thirsty, a bit agricultural, tall car means corner roll,

Chewie    

Interesting thoughts on the subject folks - thanks very much!! Gonna have to take a drive of one I feel, as I'm not sure if the one I'm offered is lwb or swb (didn't know there was an option!!!!).

Was fully expecting Nissan engine though, wasn't aware Renault supplied Nissan (as you can see, don't know a lot about them!!). Will have a drive then think some more!

thanks again            

ps - no worries shuda!

Renault saved Nissan from bankruptcy, 1999 I think it was.  I believe it is only the next generation of Nissans that will have the Renault engines in, like the new X Trail coming out in September.  I belong to a Nissan forum and so do some of their employees and I am afraid they have nothing good to say about them these days.  Anything Renault sourced is cheap and cheerful and utterly unreliable.

I am on my umpteenth Nissan and probably the last until Renault leave the scene.  I do not like what I read and when it comes from people involved in building and repairing them I have no reason to doubt their word.

There are a lot of negative comments on the net about the Terranos which you will find if you google.  Go to parkers, honest john etc as I can't remember the exact details but I have a feeling it was engine probs of some sort.  I believe they are also quite agricultural to drive.

Ali

very agricultral to drive we use them on our sites great off roaders far better than the freelander we had by the way terrano and ford maveric same veh both came in SWB and LWB spec . We find our 2.7 diesel very thirsty 26 to the gallon solo mind you it does tow well we have had 2.5 ton on the back no problems ,

power steering pipe work has been aproblem seems to be fragile and VERY expensive to replace engines very good so is the high and low ratio gear box

David