Freelander popular tow car

[mealsonwheels]

We arrived on a CL last week to find three units were towing with a Freelander 2 and all agreed it was not only a great towcar but very comfortable, especially when towing long distances. The fouth towcar on site was a Freelander 1.
We'll certainly not hesitiate to get another, when the time comes to change this one.

 

[Gybe]

" 26 July 2012
Land Rover revealed as the UK's least reliable car, as 71 per cent over three years-old break down at least once a year
It has an image of hard-wearing toughness.
But Britain’s Land Rover is the least reliable car on the road, according to a study of used vehicles.
Land Rover’s luxury-car stable-mate Jaguar also scores badly."
I always had company cars to tow with until 3 years ago and our caravaning was ruled by that. Buying our first car we took lots or adviceand read tow car reviews. Our second unreliable expensive green oval car is due back from the repairers next week.

 

[MikeG2]

Freelander 2 was the best towcar I've ever had. Let down by the quality of the plastic and leather in the cockpit - but I understand LR are putting this right. Completely reliable (as was our previous TD4 Freelander 1 - now on 100k+ with our son)

 

[otherclive]

If 71% over 3 years old breakdown it could cover FL1,FL2, Disco 1,2 and 3 Defender tdci, td5 and 300tdi plus Range Rover variants. Pretty useless statistic don't you think. Statements re Jaguar seem to contradict JD Power survey where I think Jaguar came top. Breaking down once per year, does not define type of breakdown, cost to repair or time off road. You can get better reliability figures from the Warranty Direct Reliability Index which does cover the weak areas, and average repair cost. Also the figures are distance related not per year as this says nothing about miles covered.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Please don't start rattling the cages again of the anti- Landrover brigade again.
Have done with it - they are terrible, I'm only on my 3rd and hopefully not my last.
But they must be bad 'cos I would only continue buying rubbish! Wouldn't I??

 

[Gybe]

We bought our own new tow car three years ago after doing a lot of research and this forum along with PC magazine and Caravan Club reviews and comments helped us make our choice. Thank God we sold the second green oval and got shot of it on Saturday.
Two brand new cars in the last three years and a total nightmare for much of our time with them and little respect or sense from the manufacturer or dealer network, along with a break down with a new Range Rover we were loaned. We love the look of the new Evoque but it's too small for our needs and the number of bad reports and breakdowns we know of suggests the same experience we've had.
My favourite dealer service manager comment "could there be something to do with the way you drive sir"

My reply line was
"Well there could be, but I would have expected a lot of the hundreds of other vehicles I've driven to have broken down if there was and what about my wifes driving? Then again may be it's your Land Rover delivery drivers who return the car after they've been repaired and it breaks down the next time we get in it"

 

[Martin24]

We're still smiling!! Every journey an adventure. Only the next 30 years will tell how reliable she'll be!!

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

We're still smiling!! Every journey an adventure. Only the next 30 years will tell how reliable she'll be!!

just keep smiling Martin, why??
well my mate "maurice" aka mo,(local farmer) has one, a LD defender type with canvas cover that he inherited form his father (a retired farmer) who in turn bought it secondhand just after WW2 from the MOD and still uses it every day. I dont know how reliable it is but it spends less time in the repair shed than his new JCB tractor,

seriously though it is old, on a A plate circa 1963ish ( 48 years old) and yes he does use it everyday although now most of the time just on the farm, so in 30years yours should just about be run in.

ps. I can't imagine many sorentos still being around in 48 years.

 

[Martin24]

We think one of the girls will probably end up with ours if we ever give her up!!

 

[Ad]

" 26 July 2012
Land Rover revealed as the UK's least reliable car, as 71 per cent over three years-old break down at least once a year
It has an image of hard-wearing toughness.
But Britain’s Land Rover is the least reliable car on the road, according to a study of used vehicles.
Land Rover’s luxury-car stable-mate Jaguar also scores badly."
I always had company cars to tow with until 3 years ago and our caravaning was ruled by that. Buying our first car we took lots or adviceand read tow car reviews. Our second unreliable expensive green oval car is due back from the repairers next week.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-2/reliability

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

We think one of the girls will probably end up with ours if we ever give her up!!

'Give her up' - one of your girls or the Defender?????

 

[Martin24]

I'd give them up first, the Defender is cheaper to run!!

 

[xtrailman]

I've always liked the looks of the FL, but every time I've considered one yet another reliability study comes out, so that idea gets shelved again.
I do think the difference between the best and the worst isn't that great, a bit like a F1 grid time?
I looked at the stats for MPG recently, and a real mile per gallon of 32mpg came up, so lost interest again.
Perhaps if LR gave reassurance with a 5 year warranty, convince would increase, although that doesn't compensate for time of road for repairs.
But it appears LR reliability is still on the ropes, only a couple of months back an Evoque owner had is car totally replaced for another after the dealer failed to repair is car, after weeks in the garage!
That was a readers clinic article in what car.

PS i don't seem to see many LR towcars on sites i use, all manner of cars but never lots of LR, CRV seems common, and i once saw three Toyota LC arrive together, looked really good as well.

 

[otherclive]

Just blandly saying LR is UK least reliable make is not very useful. what faults are being looked at, do they cause downtime, what is cost to repair, which models etc etc. for what it's worth the FL2 has a good record times better than FL1 and yes D3 is poor. I dare say someone will now counter with FL2 horror stories. Look in Warranty Direct reliability index for data on cars over 3 years old.
FL2 has a reliability figure far better than Land Cruiser and repair costs are far lower, in fact it's well above the average and near the top. It comes out above Sorento, Rav 4 and x trail and not far behind CR-v

 

[Gybe]

A lot of caravanners buy pre owned cars, that makes the warranty direct and what car type surveys very valid. You would hope that all new cars would be trouble free for the first year or two. In our case we've had two new green ovals that failed in the first and second weeks with numerous other failures and solicitors involved, finaly we're well rid of the second car.
Until we owned the two Landrovers I've never met such a stuck up ar????le bunch of dealer-manufacturer staff. Bad enough that your expensive newpride and joy has failed and let you down, but the attitude that LR are doing you a favour and you should expect failure and being messed around is an alien concept to my wife and I.
Near neighbours wife fell head over heels for the Evoque and pre ordered before it was released, She took delivery of one of the first ones as her husband took delivery of a new model Audi. The Evoque has been in and out of the dealers and another in the village has been exchanged after months of wrangling, the replacement failed on the M4 on the second day out. LR "what do you expect" attitude about a new model doesn't really cut it when it's living alongside another new model from another manufacurer.
What we've gleaned from LR ownership is that there are some that seem faultless and other's that love the dealers workshop. And you also get the LR green blooded owners who see their cars as faultless even though they have regular 'teething problem'

 

[Tony_5041742]

I like the look of several recent LR models, and I've got several friends who drive LR's of all sorts of ages. They do seem to attract polarised views though, ie people seem to either love or hate them. However, what's stopped me buying one is the dreadful reputation LR still has for quality, and that's not just based on a few horror stories. Look at the Warranty Direct reliability index. The top 3 ratings are Japanese makes, no surprise there really, with Ford and Kia in at numbers 4 and 5. However, Land Rover are down in last place, at number 35. Which does tend to look like objective evidence that makes some sense of all the horror stories we read about LR products. To add insult to injury these are actually quite expensive cars as well ! So I'm afraid to say I really don't "get" why people still buy them when there are plenty of competent alternatives, eg from Kia, which have a 7 year warranty.

 

[otherclive]

I like the look of several recent LR models, and I've got several friends who drive LR's of all sorts of ages. They do seem to attract polarised views though, ie people seem to either love or hate them. However, what's stopped me buying one is the dreadful reputation LR still has for quality, and that's not just based on a few horror stories. Look at the Warranty Direct reliability index. The top 3 ratings are Japanese makes, no surprise there really, with Ford and Kia in at numbers 4 and 5. However, Land Rover are down in last place, at number 35. Which does tend to look like objective evidence that makes some sense of all the horror stories we read about LR products. To add insult to injury these are actually quite expensive cars as well ! So I'm afraid to say I really don't "get" why people still buy them when there are plenty of competent alternatives, eg from Kia, which have a 7 year warranty.
[/quote

The evidence only points to the low position of LR as a marque. If you take time to look at the figures you will see FL2 has better reliability and lower repair costs than Land Cruiser, Rav4, xtrail and Sorento. As the original question posed by the poster related to Freelander surely it is more helpful to try and give an objective answer not just generalisations. I write as the once proud owner of a Disco2 which was dire and was moved on just before it came out of warranty.

 

[Tony_5041742]

otherclive is right in saying that the reliabilty index for the latest Freelander is much better than any other Land Rover product. I guess everyone needs to make their own minds up if this is enough to overcome the dire LR overall performance, high price, and 3 year warranty against the 7 years offered by other marques. Each to their own etc.

 

[Martin24]

Had a FL2 for a couple of days this week while the Defender had her first service! Swmbo was thinking of one to replace the focus but we won't be going with one as it felt very skittish much above 60 and didn't inspire confidence at all.

 

[yorkykev]

Hope I'm not tempting fate but here goes.
We bought a brand new FL2 HSEe in March 09 as a replacement for our Ford Maverick 2.0l XLT - it was OH's idea.
In the 3 and half years / 60,000 miles since then it has only been in the workshop 3 times - for its annual service & MOT. It has only needed tyres and brake pads replacing - each time the service we have received from the 3 different LR garages has been excellent.
OH uses it everyday as her drive to work vehicle, It has pulled our Lunar van plus 3 adults and the rest of our gear to various parts of France over the past three summer holidays plus various parts of the UK without any problems/difficulties.
Yes it was expensive but it has been worth every penny.
When the time comes to replace it there will have to be something very special on the market which can compete with it both in terms of performance & comfort to stop us ordering another one.

 

[otherclive]

I went on a LR Experince at Honiton and the car was a FL2 auto. To start with the instructor took it onto a very narrow muddy lane (private) with high Devon hedges he then just hit the throttle and with minimal steering input he accelerated hard down the lane. Very impressive. When we got to the public roads I took over and both on lanes and dual carriageway it felt very planted. Then the instructor told me to go round a smallish island as fast as I could. There was no other traffic and the road was wet so off we went to circuit the island. Well at just over 50 mph I could not feed in steering fast enough to go any faster. I said to the instructor that I was impressed with the stability control and he then told me that it hadn't even operated so the car was doing it just using normal suspension and its FWD. a most impressive car and then came the off road session..... Awesome!

 

[Gybe]

I went on a LR Experince at Honiton and the car was a FL2 auto.

Oh my, oh my. Sounds like Honiton has a top secret model with F1 race tweaked handling

The reality is that FL2 may be very able to cope well with a bit of off roading. But for a pricy car it's well known for a wallowing - bouncy ride on country roller coaster undulating type roads, cornering prowess is somewhat limited and can be unnerving in to bends due to roll angles, the steering is a tad slow and vague at speed.
And yes, I have driven a few and towed with two. It's not a car for the faint hearted in a tightening bend, especially with a bit of pace!

 

[Gabsgrandad]

I went on a LR Experince at Honiton and the car was a FL2 auto.

Oh my, oh my. Sounds like Honiton has a top secret model with F1 race tweaked handling

The reality is that FL2 may be very able to cope well with a bit of off roading. But for a pricy car it's well known for a wallowing - bouncy ride on country roller coaster undulating type roads, cornering prowess is somewhat limited and can be unnerving in to bends due to roll angles, the steering is a tad slow and vague at speed.
And yes, I have driven a few and towed with two. It's not a car for the faint hearted in a tightening bend, especially with a bit of pace!

Sounds like your one of the "faint hearted" then?!

 

[Gybe]

My Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time 8.497 minutes with 4 wheels and 9.982 on 2 wheels.
Come back and ask about faint hearted when you've done sub 10 minutes there Gabsgrandad

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Been round the Nurburgring on a bus! But I don't suppose you would count that? Wouldn't do it in the Freelander and van though 'cos I don't suppose it would get there!