Hi there,
Well we have had our 57 plate Freetrack now for 18 months and really cant find any major fault with it.
As above, yes the engine is a bit rattly but ours has now done 27K miles and would say that if anything its quieter and smoother now than it has ever been. Granted on a cold morning it still sounds like a tractor !! but it soon goes away.
Not had any problems with the haldex system at all so would also be interested to hear what you have heard. Ours has been great in the snow the last couple of weeks and hasnt got stuck once. The new tyres on the front really made a difference this year as last year it was struggling with the deeper stuff on an incline.. but this year... its been sailing through..... still... if I wanted uber grip in the winter, could always put on semi off road or snow tyres !!! which you dont really need with it.
By the way...Our next door neighbours have an X-Trail and they got stuck.. (we didnt) and our house has a steeper drive than theirs.
Its also a great load lugger, comfortable on ong journeys, reasonably economical and with the ipod connected to the screen in the back, the kids are happy enough on a 6 hour journey to the in laws !!
Gets 36-38 mpg or so on a motorway run with 80 dialled in on the cruise control.
