I notice there appear to be 2 variants of Freelander 2 (in among the plethora of Model and Engine specs)

Can anyone tell me what these initials stand for and their significance?

been wondering that myself and could be in the vin number ?
mine is SALFA2 So could be either ?

someone must know ? and looks like you have just got a freelander 2 same as me.

Sure have, 2011 SD4 HSE Grey. Obviously s/h but runs nice . Fairly new to me at the moment and follows two Honda CRV's.

I will have a look at my V5 and see if it makes sense of these letter groups. Meanwhile, thanks for the reply. maybe we will get to hear from another member with a bit of 'insider' knowledge ?

This might help

According to http://www.landroverresource.com/docs/LR_VIN_Coding.pdf there is not a FA or LF in the 4th and 5th location although mine is SALFA and http://en.vindecoder.pl/ did decode it correctly

Try entering the complete number into http://en.vindecoder.pl/

Thanks for that I checked my V5 and It says @ D.1 Make - Land Rover Then @ D.2 Type LF is this where the issue emanates from I wonder ? I 'guess' the LF = Land Rover Freelander ? Goodness knows what FA would equate to as a type.
The spreadsheet on VIN Codes was very helpful and proved to be accurate to my vehicle. Thanks folks.

Leccietech wrote:

Sure have, 2011 SD4 HSE Grey. Obviously s/h but runs nice . Fairly new to me at the moment and follows two Honda CRV's.

I will have a look at my V5 and see if it makes sense of these letter groups. Meanwhile, thanks for the reply. maybe we will get to hear from another member with a bit of 'insider' knowledge ?

Hi Captin

I think you may be right. My CRV's were a 2009 iCTDI Manual followed by a 2012 iDTEC Automatic. Neither gave any trouble at all !00% reliable. The auto was brilliant and a real pleasure in Motorway traffic stop/start scenario's. I then had, briefly, a Volvo XC60 D5 Auto R-Design. Lovely car but had sports seats and suspension which gave my good lady grief (recovering from a severe hamstring injury) so it had to go. Hence the need for a change of motor. I had a Freelander 1 a few years back but was not impressed by its build quality and the quirky back door opening. The 2 version is a big improvement and I really love it so far. When I can get my wife up and about I hope she likes this one I ramble too much .By the way, Air Horns are an easy fit on most cars and improve the standard Pip Squeak enormously.

Cheers

Given that the 'variant' code is given as LF could it be that someone has simply read their VIN number wrongly?

As far as I'm aware all FL2/LR2 should have VINs starting SALF, with the SAL indicating Land Rover and the F the model FL2/LR2. (That string ends with LF, which is why I suspect someone simply misread a VIN.)

The next character is the vehicle class - this is explained in the link Taz gives above, but basically for non-NAS vehicles indicates 4WD/2WD, and for NAS vehicles indicates the trim level (SE/HSE/etc).

So UK-spec 4WD FL2s should, I believe, always have VINs starting SALFA. UK 2WD SALFB, etc.

Right. However the details were taken directly from the V5C and not just imagined from a list. Someone, probably from Land Rover, has given the DVLA this erroneous information at some point and it has stuck. I think I need to get on to LR and ask them why the DVLA call it a LF as type. Unless it is, simply, an abbreviated form of "Landrover Freelander" ? I will post the response from LR to address any misconceptions.

The VIN code is attached to the body shell and can be seen through the windscreen, from the outside on the passenger side of the vehicle. I would be checking that against what the V5C states, if they are different then the car and V5 are not matched then I would be very suspicious about the authenticity of the V5.

Well, as the V5C came from the DVLA I have no reason to suspect any foul play. I also have antecedents of the vehicle so nothing is amiss. May just help to know that in one of my past employments I was a Police Officer and still have the suspicious mind that job engendered. Always double check everything when I buy a car

You still haven't told us why you think there are two variants LF and FA, whether or not the VIN on your v5c matches the car, and whether that VIN starts SALFA. Without that information there seems little point in commenting further.

You say field D2 on your v5c is type = LF - just FTR type on my v5c is broken down into two further fields, variant (6 chars) and version (4 chars) neither of which are or contain LF or FA. So I wouldn't bother trying to make sense of this field - it's nothing straightforward, and I can't find anything online which gives a key for it!

I'd double check it's a freelander and not a Suzuki Swift with a Land Rover badge then

pab wrote:

You still haven't told us why you think there are two variants LF and FA, whether or not the VIN on your v5c matches the car, and whether that VIN starts SALFA. Without that information there seems little point in commenting further.

You say field D2 on your v5c is type = LF - just FTR type on my v5c is broken down into two further fields, variant (6 chars) and version (4 chars) neither of which are or contain LF or FA. So I wouldn't bother trying to make sense of this field - it's nothing straightforward, and I can't find anything online which gives a key for it!