Time to talk to the experts

[bogart]

Wife has decided we need a new car, is fed up with Freelander 2 cutting out. To be fair has been good car since we got it 7 years ago, she is just now nervous, wife not the car. Once had a V70 plus lots of 940s but am confused as to which model etc. If one reads this forum that forum this review etc one is told Buy do not Buy D3, D4 ,D5. I am at a loss as to V70 or XC70 for starters let alone which engine, and then there are the trim levels. Maybe the Freelander is ok!

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by bogart

Wife has decided we need a new car, is fed up with Freelander 2 cutting out. To be fair has been good car since we got it 7 years ago, she is just now nervous, wife not the car. Once had a V70 plus lots of 940s but am confused as to which model etc. If one reads this forum that forum this review etc one is told Buy do not Buy D3, D4 ,D5. I am at a loss as to V70 or XC70 for starters let alone which engine, and then there are the trim levels. Maybe the Freelander is ok!

First question would be do you really need all wheel drive? If so, then the XC70 is the one to go for.

If you don’t need all wheel drive, then a V70 will do fine.

The SE Lux is the one that will have basically all you need & that’s the one I’d go for personally. The SE is also well equipped, but won’t have xenon headlights.

As for engines, the D5 is the best one to go for in my opinion. Depending on the year of car you’re looking at, some models like “D3” for example are actually five cylinder engines… the name is a bit misleading in that sense & it can be a bit confusing.

What year are you thinking/what’s your budget?

[bogart]

Definitely do not need 4WD, never ever needed it on the Land Rover though again never got the choice was permanent 4WD. Yes the D2,D3 etc is designed to confuse a buyer. As nothing spectacular is needed I read the D3 is actually quite a decent unit with £30 tax and good mileage. Comparing engines on Autotrader there seems no logic with a D5 being lower insurance and £30 tax as opposed to a D4 at £130. Looking around 5years oldish budget can go to £20K

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by bogart

Definitely do not need 4WD, never ever needed it on the Land Rover though again never got the choice was permanent 4WD. Yes the D2,D3 etc is designed to confuse a buyer. As nothing spectacular is needed I read the D3 is actually quite a decent unit with £30 tax and good mileage. Comparing engines on Autotrader there seems no logic with a D5 being lower insurance and £30 tax as opposed to a D4 at £130. Looking around 5years oldish budget can go to £20K

So you’re looking at a very late model then. V70’s/XC70’s were made up until 2016. Then they were replaced with the V90 estate & V90 cross country.

The D3 is a good choice, providing its a 5 cylinder D3. Basically, the 5 cylinder D3 is a detuned D5… still a great engine, but with less power. There’s also a 4 cylinder one available, but that’s a different engine & doesn’t have the same grunt, power etc as the five cylinder. Its not a bad engine, but I think the five cylinders are the most reliable & the ones to go for.

If you’re looking on AutoTrader, click on the advert of the car you want to have a look at & then just underneath you’ll see “Specification”, click that & then click on “Performance”. Then you’ll be able to see the number of cylinders the car has. If its a 4 cylinder, that’s the newer VEA engine (four cylinder). The true 5 cylinder ones will say 5 cylinder under “performance”.

Also, if you do view one in person, open the driver’s door & read the sticker where the tyre pressures are. It’ll tell you the bhp of the engine.

For the five cylinder D3 (2013-2016), the sticker should say “136PS”.

The four cylinder D3 (2015-2016) will say 150PS.

As you can see, you can easily get the wrong engine if you just assume the car you’re looking at has a five cylinder engine because more than one engine option was available in the years you’re looking at.

If you don’t need 4WD, a V70 will be fine for your needs.

[bogart]

One final question manual or auto preference?

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by bogart

One final question manual or auto preference?

That boils down to personal preference, but I prefer auto in a big luxury car. It just makes the driving experience more relaxing.

Each to their own, but I’d suggest having a drive in a manual & auto to see which YOU prefer. I don’t think I’ll have a manual again… I love auto.

[bogart]

I am okay with either, suppose is time to go out and look at a few. Thanks for the info.

[yostumpy]

Having had mine for about 4 months, and knowing what I’ve learnt in that time, I would plump for a Euro 6, XC70, D5, with as lower mileage as I could find, seen some around 30k miles. I know you don’t want need AWD, but watching all the videos on YouTube, it is an awesome car, that will get you out of trouble should the weather turn bad. I say XC rather than V as I believe the residual resale value will be more, should you change your mind. You bought the Freelander,but didn’t need awd?. So I’d say an XC 2016 model, the NAV version is cheaper, but has more stuff than I could ever imagine. Should be able to pick one up for 16-20 k. Good luck.

Ps. I’ve just driven from Kent to Cornwall, in one go, took about 8 1/2 hours, traffic was terrible, readout say 46.2 mpg, and more importantly, I’m not broken. I feel great, no aches stiffness,and it was a pleasure, either blasting up inclines over Bodmin moor or stuck in endless queues around Stonehenge. Best car I’ve ever owned.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by yostumpy

Having had mine for about 4 months, and knowing what I’ve learnt in that time, I would plump for a Euro 6, XC70, D5, with as lower mileage as I could find, seen some around 30k miles. I know you don’t want need AWD, but watching all the videos on YouTube, it is an awesome car, that will get you out of trouble should the weather turn bad. I say XC rather than V as I believe the residual resale value will be more, should you change your mind. You bought the Freelander,but didn’t need awd?. So I’d say an XC 2016 model, the NAV version is cheaper, but has more stuff than I could ever imagine. Should be able to pick one up for 16-20 k. Good luck.

Ps. I’ve just driven from Kent to Cornwall, in one go, took about 8 1/2 hours, traffic was terrible, readout say 46.2 mpg, and more importantly, I’m not broken. I feel great, no aches stiffness,and it was a pleasure, either blasting up inclines over Bodmin moor or stuck in endless queues around Stonehenge. Best car I’ve ever owned.

XC also costs more to buy. Catch 22.

There’s no point buying AWD if you don’t need it. There’s extra costs come service time, like Haldex fluid changes etc. Then people moan that it costs more to maintain.

I don’t see the point in having an AWD just for the sake of it, particularly if you live in a city area. If you live out in the sticks or in a place with bad roads/inclines, I can see the need. Lots of people buy the XC for the higher driving position, yet they have no intention of ever going off road with it! 4x4’s are the same.

[eternal optimist]

Originally Posted by yostumpy

Having had mine for about 4 months, and knowing what I’ve learnt in that time, I would plump for a Euro 6, XC70, D5, with as lower mileage as I could find, seen some around 30k miles. I know you don’t want need AWD, but watching all the videos on YouTube, it is an awesome car, that will get you out of trouble should the weather turn bad. I say XC rather than V as I believe the residual resale value will be more, should you change your mind. You bought the Freelander,but didn’t need awd?. So I’d say an XC 2016 model, the NAV version is cheaper, but has more stuff than I could ever imagine. Should be able to pick one up for 16-20 k. Good luck.

Ps. I’ve just driven from Kent to Cornwall, in one go, took about 8 1/2 hours, traffic was terrible, readout say 46.2 mpg, and more importantly, I’m not broken. I feel great, no aches stiffness,and it was a pleasure, either blasting up inclines over Bodmin moor or stuck in endless queues around Stonehenge. Best car I’ve ever owned.

That’s a ridiculous amount to pay; I’d be waiting for new car supplies to improve and waiting for the prices to go back to where they were. Last November I got close to buying at 18 plate V90 with 40k and a Selekt warranty for £17950. The same spec now is about £24k. The value of late V and XC70’s has followed the price of V90’s as the supply of new cars has tightened.