Hi guys,

I’m contemplating a return to Land Rover ownership after a couple of years away.

Previous cars include a 2006 Freelander 1 td4 HSE, 2005 Freelander 1 td4 Commercial, 2010 Freelander 2 S ed4, 2014 Freelander 2 XS SD4, 2015 Evoque Dynamic SD4 - each time I have moved away from Land Rover it’s not been long until I am pining for another one!

The one I regret selling is the 2014 Freelander 2 so have started to wonder about getting another.

These are around 10 years old now and many have 100k on the clock so my query is what problems should I be aware of now? Cambelt change is one but is rust an issue? and are they more problematic at that sort of age and mileage?

Also, what are people moving into when they move on from a Freelander? There seems to be little that compares to them.

Thanks in anticipation.

Andrew

Rust can certainly be an issue . When I sold my 09 three years ago it was starting to take hold . Now for what it’s worth IMHO . the progression of rust can be related to the cars use . I used mine as a shoot vehicle for some years , it will have been plastered in a corrosive mixture of mud and animal **** ! . It had also done 12 years of Pennine winters and all the road salt that involves . So there is no definitive answer , there are Showroom Princess cars that never ever saw a bad day out , you just have to find them . As with any vehicle find one with one or two owners , ten years of service history and a stack of brakes , tyres , and repair bills and you could be onto a winner . It’s still a good car , one of the best driving positions ever .

For what it’s worth over 50 years of driving , including every German exec brand as company cars , I’ve only ever had one brand that ran up a high mileage with zero warranty issues and 80,000 miles absolutely trouble free and that’s a Subaru .. but you try getting a diesel Outback or Forester used ones are rarer than Unicorns since they dropped that motor in 2018 . In terms of other vehicles obviously Disco Sport , E Pace , F Pace are starting to be available at better prices . Rav 4 , X Trail , Quashqai I’ve driven them all and there are nice specs available . Q5 , X3 X5 …. You’re spoiled for choice in the used market really. 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 .

Hello East Ozeki. You give your location as London.
Will you not have to buy a car which is ULEZ compliant?
Something to think about. Jim A
Fl2 HSE 2010 auto
Disco 2Td5 auto 2002 gone
Disci 1 300Tdi auto 1996 gone

Many thanks MartynB. Interesting and helpful! Subaru is an interesting option. Lots to ponder.

janderson41 wrote:

Hello East Ozeki. You give your location as London.
Will you not have to buy a car which is ULEZ compliant?
Something to think about.

I've got a 2014 SE Tech with about 125K miles, had it 4 years and it's been very reliable so far, probably tempting fate to say that. Only bad thing that happened was the idler/tensioner pulley broke causing lots of belt squealing from the engine. It has very little body rust other than a small area in the rear wheel arch. Front grille paint is flaking off as discussed in another thread here. It's nice to drive.

east ozeki ranchu wrote:

Hi guys,

Also, what are people moving into when they move on from a Freelander? There seems to be little that compares to them.

Thanks in anticipation.

Andrew

Quote:

2.0 Ingenium diesel suffered DPF problems which were not totally solved until 2019

Well the new MY20 onwards floorpan is supposed to enable the DPF to be repositioned which was the issue although there is still some debate about the wisdom of two year 21k mile service intervals and informed opinion is still to get an oil change every year. For me it was a no brainer to go petrol and bypass the whole DPF and adblu issues and unless you are doing very high mileage then, what with the lower cost of petrol and no need for adblu, there isn't much in it 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Second hand petrol DS are rare, going to suggest that D240 are even rarer, and not much better on fuel. But these are the later ones to go for.

The killer for the engine in my opinion is the ludicrous 21,000 service interval. The FL2 has a 12,000 mile service interval, and oil hasn't improved that much between the end of FL2 production and the start of DS production.

Mines barely run in at 85,000 miles and has just had her 9th oil and filter change, lots of D180 don't make it to 50,000 miles - two services!

But if you are going for a newer car, and it's a diesel then it's likely to be Euro 6, and the majority of manufacturers are struggling with DPFs / EGRs (mine has two) / Adblue, especially if the car is subject to short journeys. Go for petrol.


Note D150 = Diesel 150bhp economy model, D180 = Diesel 180bhp normal diesel model, D240 = Diesel 240bhp twin turbo with different exhaust (& DPF) architecture and completely different 4x4 system. P250 = petrol 250bhp and goes quite nicely. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner