Recently I received a panicky message from a mate. I quote: “My Land Rover Freelander, which has done about 130,000 miles, looks like it’s about to give up the ghost. It keeps losing power and, having just spent £450 on it at the garage getting the problem fixed only to have it resurface again today, I am thinking: ‘Is this the moment I decide to stop pouring good money after bad?’” It’s my job, then, to suggest suitable alternative banger-price small 4x4s.
First of all, I pointed him in the direction of the Kia Sportage, which I’ve always had plenty of time for. It isn’t hardcore, but it’s fine on the road. I found a 2006 2.0 XS petrol model with 102,000 miles; it seemed very tidy, and all for £2390. It must have been good indeed, because by the time my mate got around to contacting the seller, it had been sold.
I found another Kia in the shape of the Kia Sorento, which is a bigger and rather tougher beast. This was also a 2006 car, which meant that it had a full upgrade and, being a 3.5 V6 XT model, permanent four-wheel drive. With 92,000 miles on the clock, it was quite possibly a 4x4 too far, despite costing a tempting £1995.
Something a bit more handily sized would be the off-road order of the day, so one of those super estates from Subaru. The Forester is a perky thing, and I found a 2007 2.5 XT petrol with 110,000 miles, a full service history and a recent cambelt change up for £3490. That seemed to go down well with my mate as a serious contender, although the running costs, even without breakdowns, might eclipse those of the Freelander.
A more conventional alternative to an exotic Subaru would be a Chevrolet. Well, a Vauxhall Antara with Chevrolet badges, anyway. The Captiva’s third row of seats may be useless, but its part-time four-wheel drive is all my mate needs. What’s more, the one that I found was up for £2400 – very reasonable for a 2010 2.0 Di LTX with just 65,000 miles. It also had an MOT with no advisories, so it was definitely a contender.
Going to the proper banger end of the spectrum meant going fairly ancient: a 2001 Toyota RAV4 with the reliable 1.8-litre VVT petrol engine in funky three-door format for less than £1500 with just over 106,000 miles. It might need more doors, but it’s better-looking than most modern 4x4s and simpler and cheaper to live with. Indeed, I went and found plenty of multi-door alternatives.
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What about an early model X-Trail? On a recent 4xoverland livestream, Andrew St Pierre White recommended it as a budget overlanding vehicle and I believe he'll be doing a video on it soon.
If I'd just spent £450 on a fix that immediately failed. my first instinct would be to go back to the repairer and ask for the job to be done properly. I can't help feeling that purchasing another 10-15 year old replacement isn't the answer. Granted an early Freelander isn't the most dependable of vehicles, but you you could end up just swapping one set of problems for another. Better the devil you know!
The Subaru, Suzuki and certainly Toyota are better alternatives to the LR Freelander even when new. You take these cars off-road and never return on foot.