I had a mk1 freelander 1.8 , I had a lot of daft wee things go wrong with it . I had it for over 3 yrs , I then bought another mk1 this time the TD4 (bmw engine). Great car , kept it for 4 yrs . Both cars bought from new.
I have had my FL2 since September & I love it even more than my old TD4 , granted it's only done 2500 miles (can't get out to play in it much as I have a broken ankle) .
In the past I looked at an xtrail but in the end it wasn't for me , I also looked at the Hyundai, but to be brutally honest it's a Hyundai. Do it now ! Your a long time dead !!

I owned my FL2 for 3 years and covered 60k in it. The only things it needed were a new steering rack and a new battery.

I found it to be very reliable.  Freelander 2 2007 TD4 Manual HSE Tambora Flame
Discovery 3 2006 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver
Previously: Freelander 2 2007 TD4 Manual SE Santorini Black

Im considering one at the moment as well. The dedicated LR magazines describe it as the most reliable Landrover ever.
Ive had my Discovery 2 for 8 years and although it has had some issues, not enough to make me think of going elsewhere.

I've had 2 FL2s in the last 14 months. I lost the first one in a non-fault collision. Apart from a blocked fuel filter causing a problem, I've had no issues with either car touch wood.

I looked at a wide range of SUVs before buying and I don't have any regrets with the choices I've made. I love the FL2!

Every car will have issues if you read the forums for each model.

That said, Freelander 2 is by far the most reliable car LR currently makes, along with the Evoque.

I had 6 1/2 years with my first Freelander 2 with no issues, and 14 months in to this one has been fine as well so far. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Very true - I knew that the RB320 Impreza was prone to head gasket failure and it was common knowledge that it WOULD fail eventually - but I bought one anyway and just upgraded the internals when it failed last year

So much for Japaneese reliability


We also bought a Volvo C30 new 2 years ago because my partner Susan wanted something good looking, reliable and still fun to drive daily - so a 2.0 150bhp R Design was supposed to fit the bill perfectly.

Before it was a year only it had had two aux belt tensioners and a starter motor - plus the doors kept freezing shut!

From new it ticked when cold, and got worse. Reading other forums I was convinced it was oil starvation on start up. 6 months of arguing that there wasn't a problem Volvo eventually took it in and stripped the engine down.

3 weeks later I got the car back and it was worse! No power below 2k RPM, fuel economy went through the floor and it still had that bl!"£*% tick! Dealer didn't want to know so at just over 2 years old with only 12000 miles it was swapped for the current FL2 XS - and it instantly feels better in every way

So much for that rock solid Volvo reputation


Then there's my current daily driver - my 2001 Tomb Raider Defender 110. Every time you close the doors a new chunk of rust falls off The whole thing is slowly dissolving

So much for British build quality... on hang on a minute

Gutted looks like she has bottled it sadly after speaking to the garage and they still have the 07 car on 27k miles and was viewing Friday.

My money pit Bmw has again failed us and she has quite rightly said we cannot afford two money pits

I will talk to her again in the morning

I had a Lancia in the 80s, it had been serviced by a dealer. What a disaster that was. It was not maintained. The coolant was never replaced. I had to replace the water pump and two complex metal plumbing pipes between the engine and radiator. I ended up getting them fabricated from aluminium myself for 2 cases of beer. Saved $600 on 2 steel originals. Head gasket needed replacing. Brakes were going to cost a fortune, plus a pile of other stuff.

It was worth keeping the car for a few years even though it was still relatively expensive to maintain, simply because it was a great car to drive. Only got rid of it because I got a company car and my Peugeot 504 was cheaper to maintain and I did not need or want 3 cars. The Peugeot had a very comfortable ride, almost as good as the Freelander!

I looked around and found a local mechanic. He was less than half the price. Still using him after almost 30 years. I have been around long enough to hear of problem cars from every manufacture. Every make will have it's issues.

In Australia over the decades there has been an awful lot of problems with the big manufactures. They are not immune from problem free cars.

If one owns a car it would be wise to budget for 1 major issue every few years plus the usual standard items. It's the same if you own a property, it needs maintenance and one needs to budget and plan for this. If you own and live in a block of Units, in Australia NSW a 10 year budget maintenance plan for the building is required by law.

A similar personal saving plan for one's car would be worthwhile so one has the funds at hand for repairs. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

No matter which brand you pick there's always the risk of getting a dodgy one and certainly no guarantees of getting something that will never break down. With some brands/models the risk is higher but I really wouldn't consider a Freelander 2 as a high risk of becoming a money pit.

Go test drive the Freelander and see what you'll be missing if you go for one of those lesser options...

Get rid of the BMW and buy two Freelanders! Problem solved!

Newer LRs are really not unreliable if you know what you are doing. You can get great advice on these forums which can save you a fortune. Freelanders, being lighter, don't share the expensive wear and tear on components that the larger LRs do - this is actually where nearly all issues originate with Discos and Range Rovers.

I wouldn't think of a FL2 as being likely to become a money pit at all.  Freelander 2 2007 TD4 Manual HSE Tambora Flame
Discovery 3 2006 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver
Previously: Freelander 2 2007 TD4 Manual SE Santorini Black

The D4s biggest downfall, great car but just too heavy. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200