freelander

[michael stonehill]

hi,does anyone tow a caravan with a freelander diesel around the 2.0 ltr mark.my caravan is 1400kg,i have been told that the freelander is not very reliable is this true.

 

[MikeG2]

I know the anti-green oval brigade will wade in soon, but my experience with the TD4 (the the previous Rover diesel variant) was of a reliable and capable towcar/general transport - there aren't many cars out there that have a 140kg noseweight limit. I sold mine to my son after four years and he has had a further eighteen months of fun with it - in fact it's still on its original tyres. There are horror stories around all cars, it's unfortunate that Land Rover gets tarnished whereas Kia/Toyota/Honda have their own problems - but you need to look to find them (this forum has a few).

I would expect a full service history - and of course, buy the latest year you can afford.

I liked my Freelander so much I bought the new version - which is a dream.

 

[RogerL]

Freelander 1 petrol versions have an appalling reputation for reliability - diesel versions have typical old school Land-Rover reliability, ie they suit owners who enjoy fixing their vehicles.

Freelander 2 is very, very different - but all the hard work was done by Ford!

 

[JD6620]

Hi Michael, I have owned a Freelander TD4 for over seven years, very capable tow car, a bit sluggish on acceleration but once the speed is up it will comfortably sit in 5th gear no problem. A very comfortable ride towing and solo. Yes Freelanders do have reliablility problems but as MikeG said so do other cars. Faults I've had with mine were cam sensor, 2 brake calipers, 1 injector and two electric window mechanisms. Steer clear of main dealers for servicing and parts as they are very expensive.

 

[GillC1]

Michael,

We have a TD4 and tow a caravan 1450kg, no problems at all. It has done 130,000 but is kept serviced. The only problem we have had is a new clutch which is not to bad considering. I would certainly buy another one.

 

[RogerP]

Hi Michael

We've owned 2 Freelanders (the wife still has a 2003 with 85k) and I currently have a Freelander 2.

As mentioned go for the newest car you can afford and deffinately make sure it has full service history. Dont believe the negative hype. Yes some early cars were poor but thats predominantly the 1.8 Petrol not the TD4. (the TD4 is a BMW unit so a lot more reliable).

We haven't towed with a Freelander 1 so cant comment on that but as an every day car its very capable.

We've only had Auto gear boxes and they have all been very smoothe and for such a car , solo , they are fairly swift as well.

If your budget will stretch try to get a post 2003 vaient as they have the face lift changes and look loads better. Also if you come across a Sport varient you'll need to consider that although it has larger alloys it also sits slightly lower and the suspension is stiffer than other varients.

Finally if you can stretch your budget the Freelander 2 is an even better car than the original (but dont be tempted by the base 'S' model its not worth it)