Is the Freelander rubbish?

[Dr. Sebastian Clarke]

The fiancee is all damp over a car she found on a local stealership's lot. It's an '02 or '03 Land Rover Freelander, SE model. It seems like a nice enough car. Granted, she likes it because its "cute", but I like it because it seems good for poor weather, and somewhat safe. Granted, it will use gas like a sieve, but it's not my money.

My concern is reliability. A little research finds complaints all over the internet, that the Rover 2.5L DOHC V6 and the Jaguar X-Type automatic used in this model are about as rugged as a Faberge egg. I don't want her broken down in some rough neighborhood, so I encouraged her to pass. She won't budge. She wants the cute little Range Rover.

If she was even remotely practical, she would be searching for a Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4, or Subaru Forester. This I know. I like doing some light reading, but I definitely don't want to spend my time doing it in a garage's waiting area. Is this thing going to help me catch up on a few books?

[Aston Martin]

I loled the first time i looked under the bonnet of one, to see the K-Series engine about 4 feet down in the bay.

For that reason alone i'd stay away.

[Spectre]

Over here, the Freelander is considered to be absolute crap, despite the fact that they even re-engined it (IIRC) for the US.

Yes, even in SUV-mad America, we won't buy them. They've been a colossal failure over here. I've driven a few, and to be honest even the crappiest old Suzuki Samurai is a better vehicle for anything you'd care to do. The few that were sold (mostly to women, surprise) have turned out to be mechanical nightmares - remember, I *like* British vehicles, and I'm telling you this.

Also, the Freelander has other problems that have resulted in a lawsuit in the UK:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/localtv/int/...ebe&story_head

[jetsetter]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Over here, the Freelander is considered to be absolute crap, despite the fact that they even re-engined it (IIRC) for the US.

Yes, even in SUV-mad America, we won't buy them. They've been a colossal failure over here. I've driven a few, and to be honest even the crappiest old Suzuki Samurai is a better vehicle for anything you'd care to do. The few that were sold (mostly to women, surprise) have turned out to be mechanical nightmares - remember, I *like* British vehicles, and I'm telling you this.

Also, the Freelander has other problems that have resulted in a lawsuit in the UK:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/localtv/int/...ebe&story_head

I also know someone who has one and I have driven one quite a bit I have to agree. While driving you felt no connection to the road, the wheel and the pedals felt delayed. After only a few miles parts started to fall off in the interior.

Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4, or Subaru Forester

Anyone of those, of any year, would be a much better choice.

[KaJuN]

Ah the Land Rover Freeloader. I love Landies but I'd rather drive almost anything else to avoid that piece of garbage on wheels. Although I hear the new version is quite good.

[Peter3hg]

Supposedly the new one is 1,000,000 times better. I would stay away from the old one, especially if it isn't a diesel (the TD4 is a quite good engine).

[bartboy9891]

What you are saying is that she's not going to listen to what you have to say. A Ford Escape that's a few years old looks similar-ish. Though I don't know how the reliability is, chances are that it's going to be better than the Freelander.

[gtrietsc]

I had one for a rental a while back. Dog slow, road noise, materials quality seemed lacking...and all of that is compared to my girlfriend's Ford Escape. The Escape was way preferable to the Freelander.

The new one though...maybe better?

[edkwon]

Over here the Freelander is the wannabe LR for ppl who cannot afford real Land Rovers. and they end up getting what they paid for, a cheap piece of crap.

[T'booTed]

doesn't teh freelander come with 106 major faults or something like that, I remember in a mag a few years ago that ran a big story, TG or Evo maybe, that it had all the major problems and was an basically a car on the way to an accident...

[BlitzR]

After some googling : http://www.landroverclub.net/Club/HT...r_problems.htm
And thats seems to only some of the problems.
Another issue seems to be head gasket problems on early petrol models.

[C53A_4G63T]

It's an expensive Ford Escape. Enough said.

[Spectre]

No, the Escape was/is better.

As for how bad the new one is - the local LR dealer resorted to a "test drive an LR, get entered to win a Freelander."

They got two entries, and neither wanted the free truck.

[jetsetter]

Originally Posted by C53A_4G63T

It's an expensive Ford Escape. Enough said.

The Escape is based on the Ford CD2 platform, which is in turn based on the Mazda GF platform, which was used by the Mazda 626. The Freelander was based on crap.

[British_Rover]

The LR2/Freelander 2 is a million times better then the old freelander. The original freelander is so bad that our dealership refuses to sell them used anymore. We stopped selling them a few months after we finally sold our last new one.

[GraemeH]

Our neighbour has two Freelanders.

Let me paint the rest of the picture for you;
-As well as the two freelanders they also own two of the other worst built and most unreliable cars available; they own two Clios and two 206s.
-The man hates his wife and takes every excuse he can to spend time in his garage away from her, which I reckon is why he buys such unreliable cars.
-He seems very happy with his Freelanders. It has been so unreliable he always has an excuse to spend time in his garage with his tools.

In short, unless your fiancee has a fetish for engine oil and dealership visits, be a man and just buy her a Forester.

[Wizegui]

I wouldn't recommend early Freelanders. I've heard too much horror stories with the K-Series engine problems and build quality.

[Dr. Sebastian Clarke]

I drove it today.

The interior designer apparently had a dozen pints in his stomach when he laid out the interior. Bilateral gloveboxes would be a wonderful touch, but the drivers side one is just another cover for the fuse box, and bashes your knees when you open it. I guess, PERHAPS you could put half a biscotti in it.

I've owned watches with dials larger than the gauges. And the controls are labeled by someone who has never left the Midlands, apparently. Thank you for the little button above the gauges that has a "motorway" symbol on it. That's very descriptive, thank you very much.

The engine really couldn't be more wrong for this vehicle. Don't get me wrong, a 174hp aluminum DOHC 2.5L V6 is all good in a sedan or small wagon, but not in an SUV. There is very little low-end torque, and revving it is little help. Trying to get the RPMs up on this engine is like asking it for rent money. It revs so slowly and just feels like its struggling to breathe.

The transmission is completely schizophrenic. Moving along on level ground at a steady 40mph, accelerator pedal steady... and... VRRR! Oh, I guess you wanted to be in third. Also, when coasting to a stoplight from speed, the transmission feels as if it somehow downshifts from at least 9th gear. Impressive from a 5 cog auto.

It's very, very smooth. Easily Golf smooth. It feels nothing like an SUV on the freeway, aside from a little wind noise. Handling is acceptable for a small SUV. Braking is actually very impressive, considering the drum brakes on the back axle. The AWD system binds if you try a tight U-turn, unlike any AWD system from Subaru, Mitsubishi, Volvo, etc.

Maybe with an extended warranty it wont be so bad.

[Donington]

Freelander: terrible

Freelander2 : Great. Doesn't deserve to look like the old one.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sebastian Clarke

Maybe with an extended warranty it wont be so bad.

Most of the extended warranties out there do not cover most of the stuff that goes bad. And you might want to check for a quote on them first - you may not be able to get more than bare engine and transmission coverage with no electronics covered.