- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.2DT, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
118kW, 400Nm
- Fuel
Diesel 8.5L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4XC
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2008 Land Rover Freelander 2 Se Td4 Review
My Freelander 2 is now 6 years old and has done just over 100,000 kms. I purchased it after considering and comparing the Toyota RAV4, VW Tiguan, Subaru Forrester.
- Comfortable ride, Good NVH characteristics, Excellent sound system (standard), Full size spare, Reasonable fuel economy
- Spare parts not always availability, Poor dealership customer communication
It is a great and comfortable drive. It tows my box trailer quite comfortably. I have not towed anything larger than a 750kg trailer.
I have taken it down a muddy track with a pair of ARB upgraded Hiluxes while I was in standard trim and went where they went.
It is still the best car I have driven on and off road.
Scheduled service is a bit on the pricey side, but the TD4 only requires it at 12,000Km intervals. For me that is approximately 3 services every 2 years.
Problems I have encountered since the warranty expired:
- Noisy power steering, which was fixed with a power steering reservoir and filter replacement. The dealer service quoted me a $3000 steering column replacement for this fault;
-Worn Oil filter housing which required replacement. The part was unavailable in country so there was a three week delay in getting the part in country. I thought that was pretty bad for a part that is expected to wear out;
- Intermittent problem with the engine cutting out while driving. Took it to the dealer twice with no fault found. Eventually when the problem got really bad, the dealer found it to be a fault with the crank shaft position sensor.
Part was available in country, but interstate. I had paid for over-night shipping, but the part did not arrived after a week.
In the last two service events, I have had to ring the dealership to find out whether my car was available to pick up. On one of the occasions, I did not find out until 5:30 pm on the Thursday before the easter long weekend.
Not once was I ever offered a loan vehicle. Every time I had asked, the dealer did not have one available. The service manager informed me that they give priority to people who purchased a vehicle from the dealership. I informed him that I had in fact purchased my car from that dealership to which he had no response.
Land Rover are marketing themselves as a luxury brand, but in all the dealings I have had with my local dealership, I did not feel like I had a luxury car service.
Dealer service and parts availability are definitely issues Land Rover need to fix in Australia.
I really do like the Freelander 2. It is still the best car I have ever owned in terms of driving comfort and ability.
I have friends who have remarked on how smooth and comfortable the car is to ride, one of whom was considering purchasing a Freelander 2. Because of my experience with the local dealership, I could not honestly recommend it. In all honesty I would probably not buy a Land Rover again, which is a shame because I really do like Freelander 2.
Land Rover management probably don't care, but they have lost at least 2 two potential customers and a potential repeat customer from my experience.