Over the years I've owned many different makes of cars, different styles and different ages. Some of these were never a problem and in fact, I never hesitated in jumping in some of them and driving across Europe. I always look after my cars and service them as and beyond the schedule.

But a handful of the cars I have owned have never been particularly problematic, but for some reason I have never had a full confidence in their reliability. My Freelander 2 is one of these. Yes, it always starts and runs OK, but it always feels on the edge of breakdown. So many little niggles, random quirks and intermittent faults.

Right now I also run an 08 Ford Focus. It's not the most fancy of cars and is afterall a Ford, but if I had to choose one car to trust on a journey I'd pick the Focus everytime.

When the Freelander is challenged with conditions (snow, off road etc) it is stunning. It deals with stuff ina way like no other. It's just I have no confidence in LR (ouch). I had a 4 year old RR Sport (TDV6) that needed a complete new engine at 70K miles - again, up until that point, it was stunning car- very capable but obviously un-reliable.

So my question is, how many Freelander 2 owners walk out to their car covered in snow and drive away with 100% confidence that they will complete their journey EVERY time?

Yes there are good and bad in every car and Fri or Mon builds, but on the whole, I have never felt so torn with any other car (except RR Sport). Aweseom when it works, but no confidence that it will always do so.

Thoughts - experiences....

Four years with mine, and the worst I've had is a failed tailgate latch and a back door which doesn't always lock/unlock. It's always started first time, even when it's been standing for a couple of weeks in freezing temperatures, and done everything I've ever asked of it. Off-road and in the snow it's superb. Yes, I have complete confidence in its ability to get me there!

My list of actual wobbles;
- Hesitation when weather is warm, sometimes very abrupt - (yes been through whole dealership in/out/in/out) - now just accept that it does it from May til Sept.
- Empty tank reading when full - risk of 'engine reduced power' and shutdown. Panic last year when 600 miles from home. On off reading all way home - next day OK. Dealer 'no fault found' - week later same again - still un-resolved (maybe I should pay to swap connectors etc - but expensive to do on a haunch).
- Stop/Start function works randomly - despite new AGM last year. (even when conditions are met).
- Actual stop start button sometimes won't start or stop car.
- Rear park sensors very slow to start - no confidence in them.
- Clutch burning smell when pushing the car only a little bit. for example over a curb or small bump.
- Sometimes no controls work on steering wheel or radio at all. Turn car off and on and all works.
- Oil leak from rocker gasket.
- Belt squeek when cold / under load.

Worries not yet experienced, but terrified from forum;
- Haldex
- DMF clutch
- Rear axel

I am not easily scared by forum cases, but with the frequency of some of these more major issues, it's concerning. Warranty ran out at end of 2015. Car has only done 35k miles - was hoping to hold on to it as a second car, but right now, I don't know if I dare.
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Don't get me started, just about to buy another extended warranty so that I can sleep at night. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Look at your past list and problems - are you crazy to still own one?!?!?!?

My wife thought I'd gone off my head choosing a FL2 after an epic RR Sport failure. You have no excuse with that history!! Unless you're working on the percentages game?

But, if you need something for the deep and slippery stuff off road there's nothing that even comes close, I agree.

Both our cars have over 100,000 miles on them and I wouldn't think twice about taking either of them on a 2,000 mile trip. Mine, Saab convertible
Hers, MY08 GS auto

100% confident vote here but I would just add that I can't actually think of a better car to do the 2000 mile journey in if it was a mix of floods/torrential rain/ice/snow/rough potholes/muddy tracks/mud covered B roads etc. The Freely2 has got to be one of the most roadworthy cars for adverse road conditions - a D4 would be better in extremis but too big and heavy, and too heavy on the wallet!

Just done 1500 miles round trip to the alps, apart from 32 mpg everything fab.

Over 8 years now..And still not had a problem apart from boot lock...Long may it continue..

Not had anything go wrong with mine as yet, not this one anyway, but its only done a couple of thousand miles.
My last one had a diff, flywheel, clutch, and wheel bearings but it still didnt put me off having another, theyre great cars and you feel safe in them too, oh unless the brakes fail.

Four years and over 30,000 miles done and up until May last year I'd have ticked the "100%" box. Then the turbo went duff and cost us over £1,600. Shook the confidence somewhat.

Everything was fine again until two weeks ago, when it went into "Reduced Engine Performance" mode again. Fault codes indicated that it was the turbo or the actuator again - cue naughty words. Fortunately our local independents (take a bow Dave at High Lanes Garage in Perranporth) discovered that a missing circlip had allowed the actuating rod to drop out. £48 and it's fixed!

Somehow a broken circlip and dropped-out rod seems like a real-world Land Rover problem. I can relate to that sort of technology!

So - it can only get an 80% vote from me. But I agree with the comments that I've never had a car that I'd rather set out in to do the 2,000 mile trip. Comfy, quiet, powerful, go anywhere in any weather - what's not to like? It's also comfortably the best caravan tug I've had, including Shoguns and BMW. Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
Tricia's - 2006 Royal Blue Beetle Cabriolet Auto
Mine - 2014 Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport Matt Black
Ours - 2007 White Bailey Pageant Champagne

Three new Freelanders since 2009 and apart from niggles nothing has gone wrong, 2014 towing my caravan around France at 2000 miles home to home. 2015 towing caravan through Austria to Slovenia, over 2000 miles and this year to Italy and on to Slovenia, again hoping for a trouble free holiday. Only had a temperature related sort of misfire with this one that was cured by a software update and re-calibration of some hardware, so at the moment I have complete faith in our towcar for the upcoming holiday.

This is my third car. Had the previous cars for 19 years each. They each went through a phase of needing more maintenance, clutch (slave cylinder on Peugeot every few years), head gasket, radiator (Peugeot), water pump, fuel pump, ignition leads etc, CV joints, shocks, thermostat (a few times on each), but then they became more reliable. I don't expect anything different from this one.

They each had close to a quarter of a million km on the clock. I always got them serviced properly & the instant there was a problem out of the blue I got it looked at as soon as possible. Replaced the battery every 4 years.

Hopefully this will last until I need a wheelchair! 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

Great comments and experiences guys, keep them coming.

What appears to prevail is that they do what they do so very well, we excuse them of the inexcusable. If reliability (or perceived reliability) wasn't so poor, then it may well rank as the perfect all purpose car.

Let's face it, with any other brand an engine failure costing 8 grand (GBP) to replace, leaving me stranded in a foreign country, would have ended my brand loyalty in an instant, but it didn't.

I still yearn for a new RRS or Evoque and wax lyrical about the LR capabilities. It's exactly like those girlfriends (or boyfriends) of old, that you knew were bad for you, but you just couldn't walk away from

Leaning a bit more towards keeping as a second car - maybe

If anyone is interested my geologist son is now working in Chilean Andes up in the Atacama desert. He says that the only vehicles he has seen so far have been Japanese like Toyota and Mitsubishi. He hasn't seen any sign of LandRovers in his travels. He is working at over 4,000 metres and the air is so thin that unless the land is very flat (there are few roads) you have to drive around in low range all the time or the engine cuts out. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE