Been happily driving a Subaru Forester for past 5/6 years but am having issues with hip and knee that is making getting in/out uncomfortable. Looking at a Freelander but a couple of questions please; this would be my daily drive and my commute is about 6 miles e/ w. Our annual mileage however is around 9/10000.
Are there going to be any problems with the low daily mileage? Never previously owned a diesel and you do hear stories about filters playing up unless the car is given a decent run.
At relatively low annual mileage, is it going to be worth my while going along this route. Economy is not my main reason for the shift in marque. After all, you'd never put Subaru ownership in the same pocket as economy motoring. We like to travel into Europe and have relatives in Switzerland so the 4 wheel attributes of the Foz have certainly been useful over the years.
Finally, likely to be any issues with the Freelander no longer being produced? Would love a RR (would love a Roller as well) but sadly a budget of around £18k is putting a stop to that, hence my thinking of going with the Freelander

Last edited by Sidthecat on 8th Oct 2017 3:40 pm. Edited 1 time in total

You need to chat with MartynB as he owns both of these cars.

Low mileage cars never getting hot will benefit from a good burn out monthly. No need to blow the budget on all the toys as the MY13 onwards GS has full leather so one speced up a tad is not a bad car if its low miles and LR service history. You need a good warranty though whatever model.

The FL2 is seen by many as the best Land rover to own for reliability and build quality.

Servicing at LR agents is not cheap but many reduce the cost when pushed once outside the factory warranty period. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

If you are expecting Subaru reliability from a Land Rover you are going to be very disappointed, my advice would be look at a 4x4 from Toyota Suzuki Huindai or a Honda

I had a Forester before my FL2. IMO the Freelander is much nicer, and in the 5 years I've had it it has proved more reliable than the Forester!

Interesting to hear the differences in perceived reliability compared to the Subaru. I had an Impreza before the Foz and indeed apart from routine servicing and replacements, neither has ever caused me any real concern. Fuel costs have been the constant niggle but then again if you want economy, you don't buy a Subaru. Petrol costs certainly outweighed by huge grins especially with the Impreza.

I suppose that I should have added that my budget, perhaps £18000, would probably get me a later, lower mileage model. I did read somewhere there were changes from 2013-2014? and wondered if it was worth concentrating on something from those years and onwards?

Sorry, another question. Have seen on line, at the same dealership, a 2.2 TD4 GS on a 2014 plate for £13K and yet a 2.2 TD4 XS on a 2013 plate for £17k - similar mileage, so was wondering why there should be such a significant difference. Nothing of note stands out from their summary so can only assume its down to specification? If that's the case, what make the 13 plate worth an extra £4k?

MY13 on are same build as an Ewok with a lot of subtle up-ratings (many you dont see) . You pay a lot more for the toys above GS spec but gain nothing in performance and reliability, in fact you pay more just for more to go wrong and once off warranty it can be costly. If you like the idea of bigger wheeels (worse ride) nice cream leather and sun roofs go for high spec but if you have allotments and kids do you want nice cream leather.

I had no intention of keeping my GS this long but nothing has come along to tempt me and now now sunk a lot into preventative maintenance so wont be switching to a low mile last run model but a Met does look nicer.

The 2013 plate could be a MY12 of course. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

I was so satisfied with 5 years of running a 2010 XS SD4, I have exchanged it for a 2014 Metropolis.

I am hoping that my new Metro' is as reliable as the XS has been.

We found the XS was comfortable, easy to drive, and very good motorway cruiser. I also have tried the 'Land Rover Experience' in a car with the same chassis and I was impressed with the off road ability.

I have loaned a Discovery Sport on a couple of times, when my car was in for routine servicing, and I preferred the Freelander driving position and ride. So I kept an eye on the Autotrader Website for the latest model Freelander I could buy.

I bought the Metro' from a LR Dealer (some 150 miles away) and was very pleased with the service I received.
When delivered the Metro' looked new (16,000 miles), with a fresh service, MOT, and 2yr Manufactures Warranty.

My XS did about 33mpg (tank to tank) which is shows about 34.5mpg on the trip computer.

Hi, with a DPF fitted a six mile commute is not ideal . You will need a regular high speed constant run as well . As the Freelander 2 is basically a Ford " Bitsa " I doubt there will be any spares issues for years to come . Also plenty of these cars are now finding their way into specialist breakers and there are loads of aftermarket generic parts as well .

In terms of keeping it maintained , a LR franchise will be more expensive like for like than a Subaru Franchise will be for your Forester. There are plenty of good independent LR specialists about . I suspect a major component will be cheaper like for like than a Subaru . Of course you don't worry about that sort of thing in a Subaru do you

It's a biggish very comfy car ideal for a nice long cruise down to Switzerland , buy the auto version , buy late model , low mileage full service history , get a LR extended warranty . If you buy from LR and something goes pop out of warranty , they will generally offer some support towards a major repair on a newish vehicle from their network . 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Well that's answered a few questions I had. I now realise Ewok is to Evoque as Squish-Squash is to Qashqai 😊
Think my only nagging doubt before proceeding is the issue of the short daily commute, which I can't really do much about, save for making a day trip of it 😄 and at 5:30 in the morning I'm not really in the mood for road trips to work . . . . alternatively we move farther away? I don't go in every day, my rota only has me doing 4 consecutive days or nights at most, so perhaps if I gave the car a run on the days off that might help? Trouble is, you ask these questions of most dealers and they'll leave you coming away thinking there'll be no problem. That's what a club forum's all about I suppose 😀
If I'm reading Yorky Bobs post correctly, I'm assuming the price differential in the 13 and 14 plates I'd seen on line then is really down to spec alone so unless I want all the whistles and bells, the 14 plate GS would do me just as well, for a £4K saving.
Thanks everyone, will try and get along to the dealers before we go away to see how comfortable the car is to get in/out of, which was basically my initial intro to this forum.

When looking through the used car ads there are a few things to look for.

For myself, I believe that for the Land Rover 'experience' you need an automatic box, with leather seats and armrests.

Also the XS has Sat Nav, and parking sensors, a good starting point.

The winter pack is handy with heated windscreen, and super quick demisting.

All of the above can be found at not much extra cost if you look around at the ads.
Most LR dealers will deliver if you spot the 'right' car some distance away.

If you are doing 10,000 miles a year, I would not think that the DPF will cause you any problem, and by the way the LR exhaust system seems to last a long time.

The GS doesn't have sat-nav, otherwise I don't think there are major differences. As you have seen, the top-end models command a premium price, and yes, there are more things to go wrong and some (eg sat-nav) can be VERY expensive to put right. I haven't heard of any problems with the UK market DPF. Some of the early export ones gave a bit of trouble. The LR Experience cars do a lot of short journeys, and have no trouble, although I was told that running them on premium fuel helps avoid problems. The engine does not suffer from the oil dilution as a result of DPF regeneration which seems to be affecting the new Ingenium engine.
I would go for the most recent lowest mileage I could find with a good history and warranty. If you buy from a LR dealer I think the LR extended warranty is available, at a price, up to 10 years/100 000 miles (but check my figures) once the dealer warranty has run out. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

Good advice Past master but they do have some EGR problems on some MY13 build year. Probably a bad batch. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Been keeping an eye on LR sites but have yet to see anything suitable - budget, locality, model etc. Have now come across an SD4 HSE on a 63 plate which has been taken in as a px at a local Mazda dealership. It looks in good order, 49k miles, Orkney Grey. Website shows it was up for £22495, but now down to £17995.
Hoping to get out to see it later today or tomorrow. Embarrassed to admit to being someone that has little idea of what goes on under the bonnet so what should I really be looking for? I'm not easily going to be able to crawl around underneath it.
As for its price? Is it reasonable, where's the best place to check? Parkers suggests £16 to 16500

Just trawl through used car pages, that tells you whats fair or not. As for checking ask to see the service records and establish if it comes freshly serviced, with new MOT and long good warranty. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current