Ok, we have a Freelander and have also driven the terrano and had a crv in new zealand.
Terrano... Waste of time. Big, heavy and boring. Could get stuck on a dry bowling lawn, let alone proper off roading.
CRV... Lots of space, nippy, has a cool feature... the floor of the boot is actually a table! But not fantastic for real off roading.
Freelander... The best off roader of its class, hands down. The boot isn't that big, but the back seats have great leg room and head height.
We use it to pull a horse trailer and it is fine (just don't pull too much weight). We have the diesel automatic (autos best for offroad, obviously) and it can be nippy and the tiptronic gearing helps.
To be honest, I prefer our range rover over the above 3... but given the choice... if you are going to go offroad, choose the freelander (it also has a lot of historical class behind it). If you are going to just drive it as a car... choose the CRV
Cal