Chad66 · Dec 4, 2017

My wife is thinking of buying a Volvo XC60 but I’m trying to persuade her to go for a freelander. The problem I have is that she had one many years ago (1.8 Petrol 1999 model) and it was without doubt the most unreliable car we’ve ever had. The garage put more miles on it than we did. So.... are the new generation ones any better? (My well-being depends this). What should I be ware of? What’s the Achilles Heel with these models? and which is the best one to go for?

freelance · Dec 4, 2017

Much better, fairly sure gearbox and drivetrain is identical to Volvo, due to ford involvement

Devilish · Dec 5, 2017

You were unlucky enough to have opted for the most unreliable engine put in any form of Rover.

Chad66 · Dec 5, 2017

Devilish said:
You were unlucky enough to have opted for the most unreliable engine put in any form of Rover.

Sounds about right for me. Although it wasn’t just the engine- the viscous coupling seized, the IRD unit failed, the power steering pump failed, the abs light stayed on, the sunroof jammed open and it let water it... the 2 head gaskets and a cracked cylinder head was just the start of it all. It really was a gift that kept on giving. And all that was when it was 3 years old with less than 35k miles!! It was a nice colour tho

philclarke · Dec 9, 2017

hello,
My wife has a fl2 on a 58 plate, had it 4 years now, has been faultless in that time
think last mot it needed a number plate light, easy to service with the correct rachet spanner to remove oil filter.
never worry about the mot time of year, UNlike my defender, but would not have it any other way.
always gives me something to do working through all those advisories. 1991.90,

Harold 4x4 · Dec 9, 2017

I've had two Freelander 1, two Tdi300s and currently have a D2 and a 2007 Manual Freelander 2. The Freelander 2 has been one of the best Land Rovers on the market with some excellent reviews, however...

I bought my F2 last summer, checked it over, checked the history and gave it a comprehensive test drive. All seemed well.

Rear diff bearing went in the first week whilst driving up to Belgium (common problem).
Rear shocks failed the French MOT
ABS/Special functions failed after one month, changed a wheel bearing and sensor but still hunting the cause with a possible heavy bill to sort it.
Slight oil leak at the Turbo
Probable need a new clutch and DMFlywheel replacement.

Essentially it can be a good buy if you get a good one. Unfortunately I bought a pile of ****e which is still emptying my pockets. Given the choice I would never but another Land Rover again - unless it was a 'mint' Discovery Tdi 300

Chad66 · Dec 9, 2017

Harold 4x4 said:
I've had two Freelander 1, two Tdi300s and currently have a D2 and a 2007 Manual Freelander 2. The Freelander 2 has been one of the best Land Rovers on the market with some excellent reviews, however...

I bought my F2 last summer, checked it over, checked the history and gave it a comprehensive test drive. All seemed well.

Rear diff bearing went in the first week whilst driving up to Belgium (common problem).
Rear shocks failed the French MOT
ABS/Special functions failed after one month, changed a wheel bearing and sensor but still hunting the cause with a possible heavy bill to sort it.
Slight oil leak at the Turbo
Probable need a new clutch and DMFlywheel replacement.

Essentially it can be a good buy if you get a good one. Unfortunately I bought a pile of ****e which is still emptying my pockets. Given the choice I would never but another Land Rover again - unless it was a 'mint' Discovery Tdi 300

Thanks for your comments. Sounds similat to the dog I once had. What is the ‘abs/special functions thing’? Is that a unit? Is it expensive?
I don’t mind wheel bearings, or even a clutch but if expensive units are prone to fail, like gearboxes, diffs, abs units etc or expensive electric components, I might have to have a rethink. I don’t mind paying top dollars for the right car- low miles, full dealer history etc. but I don’t a car that’s got known design faults. I want this car as an everyday car, not a weekend hobby like my Discovery.

Harold 4x4 · Dec 10, 2017

The abs/special function is linked to an ecu under the bonnet and operated via electronic wizardry, wheel sensors and the Haldex drive transfer. Essentially it allows you to maintain abs and use the 4wd switch option for different driving conditions: snow, mud etc.

If the under-bonnet unit has to be replaced it is a €1000+ replacement.

Colthebrummie · Dec 10, 2017

I guess you could go on any car forum and ask the same question and get very similar answers. There is a pig of a vehicle in every so many thousand of any make. Landrover does seem to have more pigs than average but maybe that just seems so because the folk on here are very vocal and have a love hate relationship with the brand. When you spend time on here reading the woes of disco and rangie owners, it's enough to put you off buying one but I have a neighbour who is on his fourth disco and there worst problem he has had was a puncture. Sometimes cars break and they need to be fixed, fact of life. The trick is to know at what point do you say enough is enough. I only have old cars, over ten years old because that's all I can afford so you would expect that I would have more problems than an average owner but I don't. I have a rule, if my vehicle costs more than £500 in a year to fix, it's time to get rid. Currently, I have a series 3 station wagon and a 2003 freelander 1.8. I love them both.

Col

raywin · Dec 10, 2017

Like philclarke we have an fl2 and a defender they are totally different animals the fl2 is a joy to drive quiet comfortable with the added confidence that you get with your wheel drive.
In 18 months I have just changed oil and filter plus diesel filter and air filter.
We are well pleased with it.

Chad66 · Dec 10, 2017

Colthebrummie said:
I guess you could go on any car forum and ask the same question and get very similar answers. There is a pig of a vehicle in every so many thousand of any make. Landrover does seem to have more pigs than average but maybe that just seems so because the folk on here are very vocal and have a love hate relationship with the brand. When you spend time on here reading the woes of disco and rangie owners, it's enough to put you off buying one but I have a neighbour who is on his fourth disco and there worst problem he has had was a puncture. Sometimes cars break and they need to be fixed, fact of life. The trick is to know at what point do you say enough is enough. I only have old cars, over ten years old because that's all I can afford so you would expect that I would have more problems than an average owner but I don't. I have a rule, if my vehicle costs more than £500 in a year to fix, it's time to get rid. Currently, I have a series 3 station wagon and a 2003 freelander 1.8. I love them both.

Col

Thanks for your comments. I totally agree that all brands can have ‘Friday’ cars. For example my wife bought a new Renault Zoe (electric) 2 years ago... it’s broken down 8 times. It’s currently back in the dealership now. Fortunately we have our 14yr old discovery td5 to fall back on. That’s been trouble free for the 6 yrs or so we’ve had it! It owes us nothing. I only service it, no breakdowns to date. That’s why we keep it. It’s not worth selling it now for what it’s worth. I’ll keep it until either it disintegrates or something expensive fails! Then I’ll use it as a shed

Chad66 · Dec 10, 2017

raywin said:
Like philclarke we have an fl2 and a defender they are totally different animals the fl2 is a joy to drive quiet comfortable with the added confidence that you get with your wheel drive.
In 18 months I have just changed oil and filter plus diesel filter and air filter.
We are well pleased with it.

Thanks for your comments. From what people tell me, the FL2 seems a much better car than the FL1. I know a lot of people slate the D2, but I’ve had no problems with mine at all in 6 years/161,000 miles! I don’t mind routine servicing & the ocassional repair. I’ll start searching for a FL2 and see what I can find locally

2017-12-08-VIDEO-00000155.mp4

Hippo · Dec 10, 2017

The FL2 is totally different to the FL1. It was built differently from scratch. It's a more modern vehicle designed/built with a more up to date approach. It's the most reliable vehicle LR make. Yer can always get a bad vehicle but on the whole they're good. They do suffer problems with the rear diff and haldex but some of that can be reduced by propper service and maintenance + thinking ahead. These days it's difficult to get hold of a new vehicle without complex electronics. The newer LR's have gone mad with this. The FL2 is very capable and has a bit less electronics than the newer ones. We'll get to know them all eventually and understand how they work. Buy yerself a diagnostic and get the error codes to help yer fix it... that's half the battle.

Chad66 · Dec 10, 2017

Hippo said:
The FL2 is totally different to the FL1. It was built differently from scratch. It's a more modern vehicle designed/built with a more up to date approach. It's the most reliable vehicle LR make. Yer can always get a bad vehicle but on the whole they're good. They do suffer problems with the rear diff and haldex but some of that can be reduced by propper service and maintenance + thinking ahead. These days it's difficult to get hold of a new vehicle without complex electronics. The newer LR's have gone mad with this. The FL2 is very capable and has a bit less electronics than the newer ones. We'll get to know them all eventually and understand how they work. Buy yerself a diagnostic and get the error codes to help yer fix it... that's half the battle.

Thanks for your comments. They seem a decent car from what I’ve read & been told. I’ve been to the Volvo dealership today to look at the XC60, but we going to the LR dealers this week to see what FL2’s they have in, and have a look at the Discovery Sport. Problem is tho, to get the right spec in the DS your talking serious money, so the FL2 HSE is sounding very favourable at the minute. Funny how you don’t get pestered by salesmen when you pull up in a 53 plate D2 lol

Hippo · Dec 10, 2017

Chad66 said:
Thanks for your comments. They seem a decent car from what I’ve read & been told. I’ve been to the Volvo dealership today to look at the XC60, but we going to the LR dealers this week to see what FL2’s they have in, and have a look at the Discovery Sport. Problem is tho, to get the right spec in the DS your talking serious money, so the FL2 HSE is sounding very favourable at the minute. Funny how you don’t get pestered by salesmen when you pull up in a 53 plate D2 lol

Sales brochures over ere:

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-2-sales-brochures.271984/

When the FL1 was first sold, it sold quite well. Sales surpassed what they eggspected. Also the average buyer spent over £1k in optional eggstra's. This got LR thinking... BMW wanted to increase the range of vehicles LR sold, so they did by allowing eggsisting models being developed to continue. When Ford took over they had the same idea. They took the idea of the FL1 and pushed the design more up market as they envisaged a gap int market for it. They were right. Hence the more premium feel of the FL2 over the FL1. Sadly FL2 production stopped in October 2014 (in the UK and probably similar in overseas build) so prices have settled nicely.

freelance · Dec 11, 2017

They were in the design stage when Ford were the owners, and more reliable because of it !

Chad66 · Dec 18, 2017

I spent the weekend viewing/test driving a range of cars: the Volvo XC60, the Discovery Sport, and the Mercedes GLC. Conclusion- Volvo looks stunning, well equipped but numb to drive. And the engine can be heard from 1,500rpm! Gearchange (auto) is slow. Steering is too light imo. The Discovery sport sadly seems out if its league. It’s old fashioned inside- drab almost and the engine feels harsh. Doesn’t look, feel or sound like a £38k car.
The merc by comparison seems a much better car than the others & certainly better value for money- but I think it’s a tad ugly? Unfortunately no late model FL2’s can be found in my location. Looks like I’ll have to travel to the midlands ...but could be the best option considering the price tag of a well spec’d 4x4 these days. And I thoroughly enjoyed pulling up to the dealerships in my old mud splattered, salt covered D2!

norseman · Dec 20, 2017

Interesting comments & comparisons. Over my 'driving' lifetime I've owned five series LR's & four RRC's, if you can keep on top of the corrosion I've found all of them generally reliable. I have no desire to own any of today's LR products & if I want modern technology in a vehicle I'd go for another manufacture's products.
LZ is not only a great site for technical help, it also serves to highlight for me at least the models to avoid like the plague

Chad66 · Dec 20, 2017

norseman said:
Interesting comments & comparisons. Over my 'driving' lifetime I've owned five series LR's & four RRC's, if you can keep on top of the corrosion I've found all of them generally reliable. I have no desire to own any of today's LR products & if I want modern technology in a vehicle I'd go for another manufacture's products.
LZ is not only a great site for technical help, it also serves to highlight for me at least the models to avoid like the plague

I agree- mechanically, the old LR models were simplicity in themselves. Easy & cheap to fix for the keen DIY’er. My first RR was similar to the one shown in your thumbnail photo. It was a 1984 3.5v8 on twin strombergs. Gold. We loved it at the time. But not the 12-14mpg! The last RRs I had was a 2010 3.0tdv6 hse. By far the best car I’ve ever had. It was perfect for me. But- on its last service I was told that a dynamic suspension device that controlled body roll was showing signs of wear. Replacement was going to cost.. wait for it... £8000. Body off chassis job apparently. So needless to say I sold it- pretty firkin quickly! I owned the car about 2.5 years, and lost almost £17,000 depreciation. And that was without anything going wrong. By contrast I’ve still got a D2 which we’ve had years, and it’s cost next to nothing to run! And people say they are unreliable?! I can fix most things with a hammer & a pair of pliers lol and my wife & I just love it. It’s seen newer cars we’ve bought come and go & it’ll be with us forever no matter what other cars we buy. And no one ever parks too close to the D2 in the car parks

Chang · Dec 20, 2017

Volvo very good car. I have volvo 740 naturally aspirate in china when I live there. Very cheap for europe luxury sedan. Did not do much for chinese ladies but I didnt care becuase it had the power and I was in luxury when I ride down the street to go to work.

I would go volvo because landrover is for enthusiast only like me. I work very hard on my model 3 1977 to get it going, and is lot of fun and hard work but not suited to woman who wanted to just go to work. WOuld not work very well so I would just go with volvo ok good luck

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