Discussion
Hi,
Looking to replace my current car and I like the idea of a Freelander 2. I looked at them when I purchased my current car but couldn't justify it. To be honest I can't really now, but you only live once! I'd love a Defender or a Discovery but parking restrictions where I park at work mean they are both out.
I also like the idea of being able to fit a decent roof rack to it for carrying sheet material and timber.
Is there anything I should really look out for when viewing/test driving them? I'm probably looking at buying one from around 2008.
I'd prefer petrol as my commute into work is less than 10 miles, although most weekends I do get on a motorway or two. Do the TD4 suffer much with low mileage DPF/EGR problems?
Any help would be most appreciated!
Looking to replace my current car and I like the idea of a Freelander 2. I looked at them when I purchased my current car but couldn't justify it. To be honest I can't really now, but you only live once! I'd love a Defender or a Discovery but parking restrictions where I park at work mean they are both out.
I also like the idea of being able to fit a decent roof rack to it for carrying sheet material and timber.
Is there anything I should really look out for when viewing/test driving them? I'm probably looking at buying one from around 2008.
I'd prefer petrol as my commute into work is less than 10 miles, although most weekends I do get on a motorway or two. Do the TD4 suffer much with low mileage DPF/EGR problems?
Any help would be most appreciated!
Petrols are rare, although seem to be sought after.
We’ve had three and all have been great in terms of cost and reliability.
A couple of LR mechanics I’ve spoken to in the past rate them as the most reliable LR car.
Economy on the SE 2007 manual easily hit 40 mpg on a run, whereas out current 190bhp Metropolis with the auto gearbox averages around 32, with 37 achievable on the motorway.
Specification varies widely, some models are pretty basic, others are almost Range Rover spec.
They benefit from steel springs, and the drivetrain is pretty robust. I’ve heard of rear diffs wearing, but are straightforward to fix.
Freel2 is the website to visit for more information
We’ve had three and all have been great in terms of cost and reliability.
A couple of LR mechanics I’ve spoken to in the past rate them as the most reliable LR car.
Economy on the SE 2007 manual easily hit 40 mpg on a run, whereas out current 190bhp Metropolis with the auto gearbox averages around 32, with 37 achievable on the motorway.
Specification varies widely, some models are pretty basic, others are almost Range Rover spec.
They benefit from steel springs, and the drivetrain is pretty robust. I’ve heard of rear diffs wearing, but are straightforward to fix.
Freel2 is the website to visit for more information
Thank you for the replies so far.
Discovery, and the sport version, were considered but the entrance to my parking area at work has a height restriction. The Disco wouldn't fit, the sport would fit but isn't really what I'm after. Ultimately this will have stuff loaded on a roof rack and towing a trailer.
MickyveloceClassic thank you for the information, general consensus from people I've spoken to confirm what you have said regards to reliability.
I think I'll book in to view a few diesel variants that are local. The petrol, although on the cards at first may be a tad too thirsty I think. I will just make sure to give it a proper run every few hundred miles.
Discovery, and the sport version, were considered but the entrance to my parking area at work has a height restriction. The Disco wouldn't fit, the sport would fit but isn't really what I'm after. Ultimately this will have stuff loaded on a roof rack and towing a trailer.
MickyveloceClassic thank you for the information, general consensus from people I've spoken to confirm what you have said regards to reliability.
I think I'll book in to view a few diesel variants that are local. The petrol, although on the cards at first may be a tad too thirsty I think. I will just make sure to give it a proper run every few hundred miles.
Freelander 2s are good value for money these days, both petrol and diesel will take quite high miles but as someone mentioned the rear diff is a weakness on them but easy to spot on test drive if it's noisy and not prohibitively expensive to replace if needed; boot switches also fail quite regularly but are easy and cheap to change. They don't seem to mind short drives, but the diesels in particular do not like to be run very low on fuel and if parked up for weeks at a time then driven hard they have a habit of dropping into limp mode with turbo actuator and EGR faults.
If you can find an early petrol one at sensible money & miles they are worth seeking out, they are available in the £6-8k price range and hold their value well. I was recently told by a LR specialist dealer in the Midlands who sells them that they qualify for the ULEZ in London, which makes them in demand.
If you can find an early petrol one at sensible money & miles they are worth seeking out, they are available in the £6-8k price range and hold their value well. I was recently told by a LR specialist dealer in the Midlands who sells them that they qualify for the ULEZ in London, which makes them in demand.
They qualify for the ULEZ? How mixed up is that, I had seen this mentioned in an ad recently and thought the dealer must have had a MiniStroke or something, ours does 15-18 mpg in normal town driving, not exactly low anything (except maybe petrol gauge) on a long run it’ll return 30 mpg if asked, but for all that I would not change it, the Si6 engine is a gem, very smooth, quiet and powerful (considering it’s not turbo’ed).
The rear diff has been mentioned, and although I don’t wish to jinx mine it has done 109Kmiles and is silent, but be careful with tyres, any kind of mismatch or uneven wear and you will get droning which will sound like wheel bearing/worn diff/prop bearing wear.......which it’s not, but your local garage will happily spend days charging you for investigating the problem, check the tyres first, the FL2 seems very picky in that respect.
Great car in every way though, and yes it is LR most reliable vehicle!
The rear diff has been mentioned, and although I don’t wish to jinx mine it has done 109Kmiles and is silent, but be careful with tyres, any kind of mismatch or uneven wear and you will get droning which will sound like wheel bearing/worn diff/prop bearing wear.......which it’s not, but your local garage will happily spend days charging you for investigating the problem, check the tyres first, the FL2 seems very picky in that respect.
Great car in every way though, and yes it is LR most reliable vehicle!
Thank you for the replies.
I found a FL2 last Friday at a local dealer and have put a deposit down. Should be picking it up Saturday! Getting quite excited...
I'll probably replace all 4 tyres as I think it had a mix on when I went to look at it, I'm quite fussy when it comes to tyres. I'm a strong believer in having decent tyres as they make a huge difference to the braking and handling, although possibly not so much on the handling on this car!
I went for the diesel in the end, I wanted something that would do a few more MPG than what I get from my current car. HSE spec although I didn't make note of every extra.
Will give it a full going over once I get it back home, I'm mechanically minded and have worked on cars all my life so will do a full service/inspection irrespective of if they say it has been done, as I then know everything has been done.
I found a FL2 last Friday at a local dealer and have put a deposit down. Should be picking it up Saturday! Getting quite excited...
I'll probably replace all 4 tyres as I think it had a mix on when I went to look at it, I'm quite fussy when it comes to tyres. I'm a strong believer in having decent tyres as they make a huge difference to the braking and handling, although possibly not so much on the handling on this car!
I went for the diesel in the end, I wanted something that would do a few more MPG than what I get from my current car. HSE spec although I didn't make note of every extra.
Will give it a full going over once I get it back home, I'm mechanically minded and have worked on cars all my life so will do a full service/inspection irrespective of if they say it has been done, as I then know everything has been done.
Great, you’ll love it I am sure, regarding the handling don’t forget the FL2 was designed and signed off under the auspices of Ford, handling was and still is a large part of their DNA, the FL2 gained from this and is surprisingly agile for a 4X4 and maintains a good ride along with it.
Oh yes with respect of the tyres, you can go up to 255/55x18 on the standard 8” rims with no issues, I changed my Pirelli/Goodyear mix match to a set of Michelin Latitude Cross, really very nice tyres which are quiet and M&S, and if your likely to do any light off reading they will handle that easily also. 
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