Thinking of purchasing 2009 Freelander 2 -> advice / good idea?

[rossciv]

Can someone offer some pros and cons in regards to purchasing a 2009 Freelander 2? Happy with some reviews online but the usual Land Rover reliability issue comes up when speaking with people. I currently own a 1981 Series III however it isn't too compatible with the new baby seat / first on the way otherwise wouldn't change a thing..! I was set on the Freelander 2 until a salesperson just told me it is the worst car I could buy [and then preceded to try and sell me an X5 but we're not quite the BMW type..]

Yours sincerely.

[WillD]

Hey,

I've been getting around in an '09 freelander 2 TD4 SE for a while now. Have put about 35 of the 70K km on it.

The guy who tried to sell you an X5 is a retard. No argument.

The freelander is amazing. On long drives down from the blue mountains or to Canberra/ snowy mtns I've had the fuel economy averaging 7L/100km, which is just phenomenal for something the shape of a brick. Headding down the mtns to Sydney I've even had it running at 6, but once you hit traffic fuel efficiency def takes a hit. A real world average is about 8-9L/100km.

It drives like a small car on the road, with great vision all around and parking sensors to help with the tight city car parks. Yet it's big enough to make people get out of the way.

The turbo diesel pulls immensely well from really low down, making gaps in city traffic easy.
Higher speed acceleration i.e. overtaking at highway speeds is a bit poor, but the SD4 with 140kw would handle this better then my TD4 (only 110kw).
Sometimes the turbo lag can catch you out, but simply augmenting your driving style i.e. predicting the traffic more and keeping a touch of throttle pressure takes care of this.

I just took the dogs out to the coxs river for a picnic with the missus where the freebie 2 handled the (50-60cm) water crossing fine.
Then the windy country roads back home were even enjoyable, thanks to the strong brakes and the cruise back to the city was frugal to boot.
On previous trips it took a 1.5-2ft ledge on a really steep hill to halt the freebies progress. My dads P38. Rangie struggled, but made it up.
It is in these situations that the clearance issues rears its ugly head.

My major issues with it are the clearance and off-road range. There's nothing in the class like it, unless you wanted to get an FJ-cruiser, but they're only available in petrol V6 and diesel is definitely the way to go- cannot stress that enough!

A nice set of 28-29 inch Micky Thompson MTZ or whatever they are, are all that's the freelander needs to make it much much more capable offroad. They're on my wish list!

My other main issue is the seemingly sparse availability of aftermarket mods.

I'd really like to get a snorkel, wee lift and bigger tyres. But the lack of a low diff makes mods mostly useless anyway.

The all-terrain traction response system is actually pretty amazing! It's no low diff but it's pretty damn effective.


Honestly I cannot think of a better car for day to day usability, weekend warrior-ing, looks and affordability.

Also, there's a bloke called wade at coopers landrover specialist who can chip the diesel to get it from 400nm to a whopping 480!!!!
The engine is less then half the size of my dads p38 Rangie and had just as much power!!!

Again, awesome car!!!


As you might pick up I'm damn enthusiastic about this car and I hope what I've written here helps. In case you were wondering I am in no ways affiliated with landrover in any way, I just actually love it that much.

On that note though, reliability has been fine for 70K Kms.

Hope this helps!
Actually looking to trade this one in for an SD4 HSE. Another plus is the phenomenal resale value.

[camel_landy]

Freelander 2 is brilliant... Get one, you won't regret it. ;)

All I'd say is get the TD4 Auto. :cool:

M

[rossciv]

Hey WillD, thank you very much for the reply (and vote of confidence!). My partner and I both really like the freelander 2 and are now both pretty set on the purchase. We are also about to have our first child and have 2 dogs so will need a bit of space as we make regular trips from Newcastle to Leeton in the Riverina. Happy to hear the Freelander is a great all rounder -> I don't think we will need too many of the after market mods at this stage, more likely to put some fat tyres on the Series III to take to stockton (although it still tackles the dunes no worries at all with the light truck tyres we have on it!). Definitely going to get the diesel. Thank you again and all the best with the upgrade! Kind regards, Ross.