Two interesting articles in April's 4 x 4 Magazine (www.4x4i.com).
The first is about the Wales Rally GB where the Regional Organiser uses a Freely 2 to punt around the course in.
The second article is a fairly comprehensive review of the Freely 2 entitled "Forgotten Favourite".
I like their summary "The Freelander 2 is still a superb compact luxury SUV, available and affordable with it..."

I take issue with two points - they say they are "underwhelmed by the styling" - "a somewhat bland road biased design lacking off-road cues...."
Well for sure styling is a personal preference - but to my eyes it has always been just right - to my eyes a far better styling job than any of the (well ugly?) cross overs and soft-roaders. (And incidentally a much better looking vehicle than the Evoque - dare I say it!)
Secondly I think they are wide of the mark when they say that the petrol 3.2 offers an affordable way into luxury SUV motoring with lower overall long term maintenance costs than the diesel - they later go into some detail about diesel engine problems. I would dispute their conclusion there and am more than happy with the diesel - I certainly would not have bought a petrol even if it had been the same price.
Robin

Hi Robin, I don't have the magazine, I would be interested if you could outline their points against Diesel engines. On a different hobby of Narrowboats I have many friends running 1930s - 1950's diesels. My own is 1951 and its still running on its original crank and shells and with original heads valves etc. So what's wrong with Diesels?
.
Kind regards from Fred 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva

Sounds like the typical "cut & paste" plagiarism that counts as modern journalism today. Useless article, out of date, and poorly researched (if at all!) Foraging near Gaydon....
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MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Hi Fred,
the mag refers to "possible problems with the earlier turbodiesel, from clogging dpf to failing high pressure fuel pumps..." They say there are "horror stories of TD4 engines self-destructing with broken camshafts and seized high-pressure fuel pumps" - related they say to missed oil changes or low quality fuels.
I am not convinced that the diesel in the Freelander 2 is any more troublesome than any other car diesel engine and can't see any case on that anecdotal information to steer anyone towards seeking a petrol one as the choice for lower overall maintenance costs. In any case there are so few 3.2 petrols about in the UK that it would be difficult to get a valid comparison. Although I think the imposition of poorly designed diesel particulate filters has caused a lot of headaches for many diesel motorists I think the case for a diesel engine in a fairly heavy car such as a Landy is overwhelming.
And in a boat there is no contest - give me a diesel any time - thank you Mr Yanmar for giving me lovely diesel engines - fantastic!
Robin

Without reading the article I would tend to agree with the comments about poorly researched, cut & paste etc.

The early TD4 diesel engine in the Freelander 2 did not have a DPF filter. DPF became standard on UK spec models from 2011MY when the engine options changed to 150bhp (TD4) and 190bhp (SD4). I've not heard of the current TD4 engine suffering from self-destruct problems although have heard of it on the TD4 in Freelander 1.

The 3.2 petrol engine was dropped from the UK line-up back in late 2010 (ish) and there is currently no petrol option available in the UK although there is a 2.0 litre Si4 engine available in some overseas markets.

DPF is Freelander doesn't generally cause problems even when the vehicle is used on relatively short journeys. Our work Freelanders spend most of their time off-road and at slow speeds with the occasional longer journey and we've not had a problem with the last 6 we've had.

I had a read of this forgotten favourite article, didn't buy the mag however I can vouch for the statement that it is still an affordable option, however the article was encouraging in the statement that the Freelander 2 was still holding it's own against the modern day line up of increasing SUV's.

Quote:

the article was encouraging in the statement that the Freelander 2 was still holding it's own against the modern day line up of increasing SUV's

Viewed purely as a road car the above statement is true enough, but it misses the real point of the FL2. (As does every other article I've ever read about it - and, sadly, as do the vast majority of buyers.) The FL2's USP isn't its powerful engine, or its sharp handling, or its crisp looks - it's its off-road ability. So if you want a 4x4 sports car, sure, buy the X3. But faced with the situation below I can't think of a single car this side of the Discovery I'd rather have been in. In fact, I can't think of a single car this side of the Discovery, other than the FL2, I'd even have dared take up there in those conditions - and even in a Discovery I'd have been worried it would break down before reaching the other end!

And yes, that really was taken yesterday on a remote track in the Pennines - someone has forgotten to tell the Pennine weather gods that it's spring!