Disappointed that the Freely2 has fared badly in the 2014 Driver Power Survey - particularly for reliability and build quality. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/dri...wn-in-2014
Despite being the lucky owner of a brilliant Freely2 which has barely put a wheel wrong in 66,000 miles, I am not at all surprised by the poor results. For the Freely to come lower than the D4 is indicative of something seriously amiss. The Freely 2 should by rights rate far higher as it is coming to the end of its production run - a simpler, lighter car where everything should have been well tried and tested, any early weaknesses ironed out. Unfortunately LR have been too busy doing other things. A relentless commitment to improving component quality would have been nice. Instead we got tinkering with trivia and pointless styling changes which were supposed to "refresh" the model - "Diamond turned wheels", more electronic gadgets and such like dross. No doubt the majority of modern motorists like the toys and gadgets but to my simple mind LR would have been far better to employ a few engineers to chase out the shoddy components and improve quality. Anecdotally it appears that the Freely 2 has not got significantly more reliable over its lifetime - adding more complex electronics does not seem to have been done with sufficiently rigorous attention to reliability and durability. The latest generation Haldex Units for example do not seem to be more reliable than the early ones. The only bright side I think is that the Evoque seems to be hanging together better than expected. Sadly I doubt if I will buy another Landie - the idea of an affordable utility Landrover is a thing of the past - the company these days stands for style, sophistication and expense. Compare that with for example Mitsubishi - their ads show a Shogun well offroad - "Always capable and surprisingly affordable" - I like that better than the rubbish that comes out of LR marketing gurus. LR just don't get the "Affordable" bit.
The new DiscoSport is clearly going to be aimed at prancing about on the Chelsea school run rather than my field so my only hope is that a new Defender might keep the faith.
So here's to what may be one of the last affordable Landrover products, the neglected but worthy Freely2.


Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated

A profound observation Tradewind, and comments that I would support in particular given our own experiences with the FL2 re component failures.

Next week Wednesday her Ladyship's goes in (yet again) for a "cure" for the repeated failures of the very noisy left rear wheel bearing - this time they are changing the hub as well as having to instal yet another new wheel bearing (this will be the 5th including the production line one wheel bearing), and for a new front right wishbone. There have been many other issues: two new rear pinion bearings, rear window relay, DMF replacement inc clutch kit, steering pump oil feed pipe, both rear brake discs, headlight positioning fix, gearbox bearing re torque, front PDC ECU failure, and B pillar trim replacement all during the last 80k kms.

But the most irritating experiences are those with the so called LR trained official service workshop personnel. Out of the 4 annual services only the most recent returned the vehicle singing very sweetly indeed; previously it has been returned with actions left unattended or trim not replaced properly, damaged trim, or returned as a dustbin full of dirty oily workshop rags. No exaggeration - I have the photos to prove it.

And on the aforementioned Wednesday they will have to realign the steering to "straight on" after failing to do so after having removed the steering rack for yes - the third time to fix an oil leak on the clutch housing. Took them 3attempts to do the DMF job. First go resulted in error warning codes, second attempt resulted in oil seal leak, third attempt fine - but now steering rack out of alignment with steering wheel. Hey ho - factory trained and approved.

But - and here's the very good news - it has never dumped her on the side of the road in all weathers and temperatures in these Swiss mountains. Never in all those 80 thousand kilometres.

Here's hoping her next 80k will also be free of road side assistance

I agree entirely with (most of) what you say, Tradewind 35. The one thing I would say is that the Driver Power survey is based on the subjective opinions of owners/drivers, and the results are therefore highly suspect! The reliability data, for example, doesn't correspond to that at http://www.reliabilityindex.com, which is based on actual warranty claims handled by Warranty Direct, and which shows the FL2 still to be good against the competition, and much better than the Discovery.

I'm sure the Discovery Sport will be a very capable car, but I agree entirely that the focus is far too much on the school run crowd. Some of the new features seem suspect too - is Active Driveline really what we want in a Land Rover? And early reviews of the 9-speed gearbox (already in use in the Evoque) haven't been too complimentary, with complaints that it's slower than the 6-speed, doesn't change as smoothly, and can hunt around for gears, changing more than it needs to. Altogether not a good vision of the future for those of us who aren't looking for an Audi or BMW clone, particularly when one factors in the price hike which is inevitably going to occur.

We'll just have to hope the new Defender gives us what we need, but the noises coming out of LR in that area aren't too promising either.

I agree with tradewind about Land Rovers becoming too expensive. When you compare new prices you have to be really dedicated to pay for a Land Rover these days. Although my FL2 has been perfect for nearly 7 years and 63000 miles It will probably be my last Land Rover(this is my fifth new Land Rover).The dealers are just rubbish and too expensive and who blatantly lie to you.Before I had a new battery fitted last winter due to poor starting I enquired about having new glow plugs fitted under my extended warranty if it was not the battery.Oh no sir, that is not covered under the warranty they said!When I got home and read through the warranty,it turned out that they are covered! Stornaway grey SE auto with 18" alloys

I think it is all a load of crap to be honest. Freelander 2 represents the lowest percentage of warranty claims for all current Land Rover models.

You have to bare in mind with these surveys that it is mainly people who have issues that offer the information. Not many take part when they have nothing to bitch about.

These surveys are nothing but crap! Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Last edited by Mav71 on 16th May 2014 7:12 am. Edited 1 time in total

Talk to LR Assistance and they will tell you that the Freelander 2 is the vehicle they get called out to least.

Three years old from new, 30,000 miles, no rattles, no failures, no issues, never had anything done under warranty. the most reliable car I have owned, out of about 25!

I agree with Mav71 - there is very little wrong with the Freelander 2 they are good cars. Of course there are problem cars out there and you hear about them on this forum, that's what forums are about, but they are in a very small minority.

My other car, a Mercedes, is far more trouble.

I agree that the Driver Power survey is subjective but rather than dismiss all such surveys out of hand I believe it can give us some insight, particularly if read in conjunction with other surveys, Warranty Claims data, What Car, (Motoring)Which etc.
I think the Freely2 is a great car - mine has been the best car I have ever owned - I just don't think LR appreciated it enough and LR probably don't appreciate duffers like me who would like to be able to afford a Landrover in future.

It is nice to see we all have a realistic view of these surveys.

My last Freelander 2 was an early 56 plate which most know I had for 6 1/2 years and never ever let me down in 64000 miles.

My current one was 10 months old when I bought it, and I have had it for 6 months already and is proving to be just as reliable.

The service manager at the dealer I use told me that Freelander 2 represented just 7% for warranty claims at the dealer for 2013. That is quite an achievement! Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

My last Freelander 2 was an early 56 plate which most know I had for 6 1/2 years and never ever let me down in 64000 miles


apart from frying the clutch , thats a caravan inflicted injury. but it still happened and cant be ignored in a reliability survey At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Of all the surveys I think Which( motoring) is the most unreliable, they choose the years they cover and compare them to their favourites, you will find LR's mostly cover up to 3 or 4 model changes whereas their favourites rarely cover more than 4 years some less. They lump stupid things like a door lock solenoid sticking as a breakdown. All surveys need to state the definition of a breakdown a fault and a niggle, we then maybe may have base to work from, driver ignorance of a cars technology may also be included as a defect. It ain't bust, they just don't know how it works.  my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Tradewind 35 wrote:

... LR probably don't appreciate duffers like me who would like to be able to afford a Landrover in future.

Sure the Which reports have to be read carefully and again are not the whole story Dartman - they may be biased, I don't know - but I would not actually disagree with them on some of their criticism and their broad conclusions. They criticised the quality of some aspects of the Freely2 when they first tested it, asking why for example the glove locker catch failed on a car costing nearly £30k. Can't disagree with them - is that a "breakdown" - well not really but enough to get a de-merit surely.
The UK utility, off road and lower cost markets are tiny for LR and their focus groups no doubt tell them to max out on the super affluent and sophisticated sectors where bling sells.
My concern however is that Landrover has been of of the most loyally supported brands in motoring history. There is no 4x4 hate for LR Defenders chugging along country lanes or in use by the emergency services - quite the opposite. It is a recognisable and cherished brand with much retained loyalty - even amongst those who cannot afford them. Quite right Pab, following the money makes sense to marketing geeks. What that misses however is that this rich customer base has no retained brand loyalty - they will hop to whichever brand is currently fashionable and will change cars as easily as they change their socks. I fear Landrover are de-basing the brand and in the long run rich boys and girls toys are thrown away - Landies of old lived forever.

Agreed, but we also have to accept that Land Rover is no longer an independent entity (it hasn't been for some time). It is now a subsidiary of an Indian multi-national, and their focus is inevitably going to be on the bottom line. They're not really going to care about LR's heritage and history beyond how they can use it to make money (which they're doing very well, it has to be said). And without someone like Tata LR would not have the cash to succeed on its own. So whether we like it or not, the old Land Rover is dead. The new Land Rover is a very different company, but also a very successful one. Companies exist to make money for their shareholders, not to serve their (past) customers, many of whom will unfortunately have to look elsewhere for their next purchase.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover's design director wants to make the new Defender replacement very affordable. There will be versions that are very elemental in terms of what's inside them.