Freelander 2

[RogerP]

Has anyone got experience of Freelander 2 either in general or for towing.

I'd be opting for a Diesel Auto so any info would be good.

(Polite request - I know all the issues with 4x4s so dont need the usual lectures just honest opinions on the Freebie 2)

cheers

 

[darren_374234478]

Hi Roger,

WE looked at the new Freelander recently as we a changing our car and it gets some very good write ups, although we only got as far as oppening the boot and thought where is it. Also the price compared to other similer cars seems quite expensive. We have gone for another X trail, the aventura explora with 173 hp. Loads of kit and boot space and all for the price of a fairly basic Freelander.

But thats just my opinion.

Darren.

 

[mealsonwheels]

Hi RogerP,

LR4x4.com has a good FL2 Forum.

We bought a FL2 (Diesel Manual) five months ago and find it's a brilliant tug.

 

[DJM]

Hi Roger,

I bought a Freelander 2 TD4 XS Auto in June 07. I am extremely happy with the car and after towing our van down to Spain and back last year I'm sure we made the right choice for our needs. To date, I can honestly say this is the best tow car I have owned. My last car was a BMW 5 series touring which was very good, but not in the same league for towing. My van weighs 1500Kg and the car tows it superbly well, with what I feel is it's best quality by being extremely stable and undaunted by very strong cross winds and bow waves from lorries etc. We wanted an automatic diesel and at the time of purchase the choice was very restricted in this size and type of vehicle without going up to a full sized 4 x 4 which we didn't want. The diesel X trail wasn't available with automatic transmission at that time. However, it is now, but has a very low max tow weight capability. As Darren has mentioned in his post the boot space on the FL2 is not huge, but as there are only two of us we can drop the rear seats or use a roof box if necessary. Towing fuel economy around 21-23 mpg and 30-32 solo. We find the vehicle suits our requirements as it is very comfortable, quiet, not to big for parking etc.. and a pleasure to drive both solo or towing. On the downside the rear differential failed after 4000 miles which was a hell of a shock at the time, but was replaced under warranty and I received a fair compensation package from LR in the form of servicing and accessories. Since then no problems whatsoever and I'm very happy with my purchase. I hope this information is a help to you.

 

[RogerL]

I looked long and hard at Freelander 2 but didn't buy one in the end.

The positives are that there's absolutely no carry over from Freelander 1, except the name. Most of the design and development was done by Ford at Gaydon and it's built by Ford at Halewood. Sorry L-R traditionalists but their old reputation for unreliability comes from Solihull. The diesel engine is the PSA/Ford joint venture fitted in all new Ford, Mazda, Peugeot, Citroen and Mitsubishi models as they come out. The autobox is the Aisin, built by a division of Toyota, and used in Lexus, Toyota, Volvo, Vauxhall and new Fords. The on-road handling is as good as the best 4x4, with little compromise for off-road handling either.

Possible negatives are that reliability is unknown - it simply hasn't been around long enough, of course dealers are taliking it up.

Negatives are the price - expensive even with employees discount! - boot floor is high, boot is small with back seat in place.

If you can accept a slightly lower kerbweight and don't drive up mountains, consider the new diesel Subaru Legacy (or Outback) although the autobox version isn't available yet.

 

[TonySharon]

Hi

I have had my FL2 since sept 07 now and no problems at all it's a great car and an even better towcar with it's huge 150kg nose weight as well it 's the best towcar i have ever owned , most owners will never take their FL2's off the tarmac but if you do your in for a real treat do not under estimate this car abilitys on and off road as far as i am concerned the FL2 is in a class of it's own, the boot space is larger then the previous model and my 2 goldies fit in quite nice, you should test drive one and if you ask the dealer they could give you half day landrover experience at one of their centres before you commit to buy .

good luck with your choice

Anthony

 

[TonySharon]

Hi

I have had my FL2 since sept 07 now and no problems at all it's a great car and an even better towcar with it's huge 150kg nose weight as well it 's the best towcar i have ever owned , most owners will never take their FL2's off the tarmac but if you do your in for a real treat do not under estimate this car abilitys on and off road as far as i am concerned the FL2 is in a class of it's own, the boot space is larger then the previous model and my 2 goldies fit in quite nice, you should test drive one and if you ask the dealer they could give you half day landrover experience at one of their centres before you commit to buy .

good luck with your choice

Anthony

Forgot to mention check out this website dedicated to the FL2

www.freel2.com hope this helps

 

[otherclive]

Hi,

I have heard that the FL2 has quite poor economy. Seeing Grimbos figures I am amaazed that his f2 is giving mpg figures that are slightly worse than my Sorento auto which is a significantly heavier car than the FL2. I tow 1400kg and have the car well loaded too. I'd be looking at the Outlander, C-Crosser or X-Trails. Citroen Factory Outlet have new C-Crosser VTR+ at

 

[WilliamTups]

Had a HSE TD4 one for just under eight weeks last year, it spent just over four weeks back at the dealership, in the end made Land Rover buy it back, and would have to say that I would not touch one again. My replacement car was a 2 year old Volvo XC90 D5 that proved to be better tow car, more practical and nearly the same on fuel.

 

[DJM]

Had a HSE TD4 one for just under eight weeks last year, it spent just over four weeks back at the dealership, in the end made Land Rover buy it back, and would have to say that I would not touch one again. My replacement car was a 2 year old Volvo XC90 D5 that proved to be better tow car, more practical and nearly the same on fuel.

Hi William,

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with the FL2. I also looked at the XC90, but like you I would have had to buy a second hand one, because of the price. However, I decided against doing this because the XC 90 is shortly due for an update and in the USA there were reports of engine bays catching fire due to electrical faults. I believe there has now been a recall to rectify this problem on certain models. Like you I was so deflated when the diff failed on my FL2, but I speak as I find and since then I have to say it has been faultless and a pleasure to own and drive. Happy vanning.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi i had a look at them like them but the kerb weight is only 1555kg so to tow our new van which is 1600kg we would be running at 102% so we deceided on the santa fe cdx7 auto which kerb is 1893 so we are running at 84.5% what a perfect match and a fantastic car.

jo-anne

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Roger P

I'd look to Asia, South Korea in particular for a reliable 4x4.

Value for money is excellent and so far reliability seems one of the best. LR vehicles are way down the bottom in the Top Gear mag yet Korean is way up top.

Your wallet and choice. Good luck.

Cheers

Alan

 

[Mikey1]

Hi Roger

The Freelander is highly rated and LR make towing one of their top priorities so it will be good.

Everyone has their own opinion and no-one wants to see their pride and joy slated so will defend them so possibly giving a biased view.

My last car was slated ,but i never had a single problem in the 3yrs i owned it,towed great and couldnt fault it.

Have a look on whatcar.co.uk and click on the 4x4 section ,they rate every car with a star rating 1-5 this will give you an idea what the car is like etc,also you get an idea on residuals it all adds up to the overall running cost of the car.You could buy a car for 20k with good mpg only to find its worth only 35% after 3 yrs good if you plan to keep your cars not so good when you want to part ex.

Test drive the cars you like and you wont go wrong.

 

[DJM]

Hi Roger,

Here's a bit more back ground information for you. I work in the Middle East and my job takes me off road and into the desert most days. My company has a fleet of 4x4's which are all petrol driven engines and the most reliable and best performers offroad are without a shadow of a doubt the Toyota Landcruiser Amazon and the Nissan Patrol. Both of these vehicles are awsome off road and are the undisputed "Kings of the Desert". Coming up third is the LR Discovery, fourth VW Toureg, fifth LR FL2, sixth Mitsubishi Pajero / Shogun. We have also had Kia and Hyundai 4x4's but after a fairly short period of hard use offroad they started to have drive train failures on a regular basis and are no longer purchased by our fleet manager for us to use. Based on the offroad use and experience of driving the FL2 I decided to buy one for myself for towing my caravan around Europe when I am on leave. Sure their are alternatives to choose from at cheaper price but in the rough stuff the FL2 has performed admirably so far.

 

[John_374224558]

Hi Roger,

I have had mine just over a year now, and have nearly 11k on the clock.

To date it has been back to the dealers just once apart from its first service, and that was for a software upgrade.

Mine is a manual, and now the engine has loosened up a bit I can get between 27 and 29 mgg towing, and well into the 30's solo.

I agree that the boot could have been a bit bigger, but as an overall package I think it is great and drives like a dream, both solo and towing.

 

[Alan_374342797]

Roger

Prior to buying my new 4x4 I had a top of the range LR Freelader 2 diesel on hire for 4 weeks. I found it drove well and seemed well built, However, In view of the fact that the previous Freelander was one of the most unreliable car's on the road, steer well clear until they have proven themselves reliable. The previous Freelander had good press with testers turning a blind eye to issues because it was a LR.

Take a tip from a vehicle Engineer, I DRIVE THE NEW Honda CRV Diesel, Its completely free from delivery faults, painless to own, I think very cool in black, more roomy, does approximately 8 mpg more than the Freelander I had in real life driving, check out the co reading difference, the Honda is the greenest 4x4 on the market.

If the Honda is too underweight for your Caravan, go for a Toyota Landcruser, all the Nissans including X Trials have Renault Diesels engines with many Turbo problems reported in forums and trade.

Good Luck, everyone has their own opinion.

Alan

 

[TonySharon]

kerbweight of the FL2 is 1776

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

anthony is correct the kerb weight of the free2 is rom 1770kg. that cuddles site is pants it says kerb 1552kg or near enough and the 85% is 1350kg or near that (of the top of my head ). that would put people of buying one for towing.

jo-anne

 

[Dustydog]

Jo-anne

According to LR site all FL2s have a kerb weight of 1770kgs. 85% is 1504kgs so I guess quite a few caravans are within its capability. However , have you seen the prices , before any discount?

Basic 2.2TD starts at

 

[MikeG2]

I looked at the CRV - but was put off by the shape and the in your face facia lighting. Honda seem to be trying to make it look like an inflated estate car, and the interior lighting is too flash for my conservative taste. One look at the Freelander was enough for me, and once I had driven it I was hooked (excuse the pun).

As for reliability - nearly one year on and no problems - and at this stage, you can't buy one that isn't still in warranty.

It's a delight to drive - Tows incredibly well - and looks like a Land Rover (it's not anonymous).

I love it.

 

[RogerL]

Cuddles doesn't give any figures for FL2 - the 2007 figures it gives are FL1

 

[Dustydog]

Just reading my CC mag and saw the write up on the new Kia Sportage. Kerbweights from 1696 - 1842kgs. Priced from

 

[RogerL]

FL2 is more expensive than FL1 because Ford believes it's better than soft-roaders in that it has better performance off-road and better comfort on-road. Ford are (were in view of Tata) moving FL2 upmarket to allow room for a soft-roader underneath.

Whether the "market" shares their view remains to be seen.

 

[Dustydog]

A Land Nano perhaps?

Cheers

Alan

 

[RogerP]

many thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

Reason for original post is ;

I have a Merc ML270 and the wife has a Freelander1 and we both love our respective cars.

Her Freebie is now very tired and needs replacing , I may have to change the ML as my business mileage is going to increase and my employers have just changed the mileage rate which would make it uncost worthy for me to use the ML.

The ideal solution is the wife has the ML and I get a.n.other car. However she thinks the ML is too big for her to drive and she wants another Freebie. (although she loves the ML)

She thinks Freebie 1 seems a bit small for towing and prefers us having a larger vehicle hence the Freebie 2 being the compromise. (Dont ask - she was very worried about us towing and wants to be ultra sure and safe).

Watch this space ,as they say!!