LR Freelander 2 - a good purchase?
Discussion
Crumpet said:
I’ve currently got a 2014 Metropolis - the top of the range run-out model.
In short, it’s a very good car. Has been great on wet and muddy grass where German and Swedish ‘4x4s’ have got well and truly stuck. Comfy enough, 825w stereo, heated steering wheels / seats and retro-fitted CarPlay. It’s got everything you need, really. 190bhp is pretty decent and gives it 0-60 in about 8 seconds, so it can keep up with modern traffic.
Reliability wise it’s been fine; had to replace the wiper motor which was a 30 minute job for £100 and have replaced all the calipers as they were shagged - I think the fronts were something like £35 each! Boot latch was also another fault but that’s peanuts as well.
For various reasons - mainly due to attempted thefts - I’ve gone backwards in my cars, so from D4 to D5 to an F-Pace SVR and then to this. It’s nowhere near as ‘good’ or as refined as any of those but it’s better in so many ways. I can’t see me selling it!
Yes, we bought a Metropolis new in 2014 to replace a 2006 FL2 SE manual. In short, it’s a very good car. Has been great on wet and muddy grass where German and Swedish ‘4x4s’ have got well and truly stuck. Comfy enough, 825w stereo, heated steering wheels / seats and retro-fitted CarPlay. It’s got everything you need, really. 190bhp is pretty decent and gives it 0-60 in about 8 seconds, so it can keep up with modern traffic.
Reliability wise it’s been fine; had to replace the wiper motor which was a 30 minute job for £100 and have replaced all the calipers as they were shagged - I think the fronts were something like £35 each! Boot latch was also another fault but that’s peanuts as well.
For various reasons - mainly due to attempted thefts - I’ve gone backwards in my cars, so from D4 to D5 to an F-Pace SVR and then to this. It’s nowhere near as ‘good’ or as refined as any of those but it’s better in so many ways. I can’t see me selling it!
Both were great cars. We did 70,000 in the Metropolis, and no issues at all. We sold it in 2020 and I was happily surprised at the px value at the time.
Speaking to LR mechanics, it was the most reliable car in the range.
Highly recommended.
My wife had 3 FL2s as company cars. Put lots of miles on them and didn't have a single problem. She had 2 manuals and an auto, which I would go for.
She went on to have a Disco Sport and a couple of Evoques, but the FL2 is the one I preferred. Infact, if it wasn't for the silly ulez nonsense I'd probably buy one.
She went on to have a Disco Sport and a couple of Evoques, but the FL2 is the one I preferred. Infact, if it wasn't for the silly ulez nonsense I'd probably buy one.
Owned a 2010 TD4 GS E ( stop start which means cheaper tax) till recently and ran it for about 18 months/25k miles during pandemic years.
Bought at 109k for £3400, needed a full service, handbrake shoes and rear discs and pads, a cambelt and water pump kit, a front near side ball joint and a couple of bulbs a battery pretty and MOT straight away as the servicing had been let slip ( typical peak district farmer owner) so not the best start but the servicing, bulbs and rear brakes I did myself so outlay minimal on those ( about £500 for the cambelt to be done same as most cars these days) then spent the next 25k miles using it on the road and green lanes ( Set of all terrain tyres was around the £450 mark) in all weathers and it never missed a beat, always started and deal with small family and dog with ease ( bar shopping days) and never got stuck in any rut or snow.
The only thing it wanted for outside of the above was 2 set of boost hoses (don't buy cheap eBay specials they split very quickly lesson learnt!) which had spit though age ( again fitted myself ) and the rear pinion bearing on the diff started whining, I was budgeting to get the diff sorted by the specialist down in Worcester who does an exchange while you wait service but a change of job and 1000's of more miles meant the 40 ish mpg didn't really cut it so had to sell it so it went to a neighbour whos still using it locally.
On subject of rust check the rear arches and door shuts, rust creeps in due to the rubber seals and protectors fitted from factory and dirt can be trapped behind the plastic body protectors and I have seen some for sale wioth no rear arches left and full reatil value on ebay!!!
If you do go ahead with one and get a rust free example, get the trims off ( for the sake of a set of plastic clips its a no brainer ) and clean and waxoil/lanoguard the sills and arches.
Annoying things: stupid slot key push to start set up on left hand side dash grows short very quickly after driving cars for a lifetime of right hand steering column keys, boot space disappointing for a largish car if shopping with pram, no roof rails as standard on my model and kit is expensive, swan neck tow bar not nice on your shins...
However...
I'd buy another in a heartbeat now kids are older as I just clicked with it.
Bought at 109k for £3400, needed a full service, handbrake shoes and rear discs and pads, a cambelt and water pump kit, a front near side ball joint and a couple of bulbs a battery pretty and MOT straight away as the servicing had been let slip ( typical peak district farmer owner) so not the best start but the servicing, bulbs and rear brakes I did myself so outlay minimal on those ( about £500 for the cambelt to be done same as most cars these days) then spent the next 25k miles using it on the road and green lanes ( Set of all terrain tyres was around the £450 mark) in all weathers and it never missed a beat, always started and deal with small family and dog with ease ( bar shopping days) and never got stuck in any rut or snow.
The only thing it wanted for outside of the above was 2 set of boost hoses (don't buy cheap eBay specials they split very quickly lesson learnt!) which had spit though age ( again fitted myself ) and the rear pinion bearing on the diff started whining, I was budgeting to get the diff sorted by the specialist down in Worcester who does an exchange while you wait service but a change of job and 1000's of more miles meant the 40 ish mpg didn't really cut it so had to sell it so it went to a neighbour whos still using it locally.
On subject of rust check the rear arches and door shuts, rust creeps in due to the rubber seals and protectors fitted from factory and dirt can be trapped behind the plastic body protectors and I have seen some for sale wioth no rear arches left and full reatil value on ebay!!!
If you do go ahead with one and get a rust free example, get the trims off ( for the sake of a set of plastic clips its a no brainer ) and clean and waxoil/lanoguard the sills and arches.
Annoying things: stupid slot key push to start set up on left hand side dash grows short very quickly after driving cars for a lifetime of right hand steering column keys, boot space disappointing for a largish car if shopping with pram, no roof rails as standard on my model and kit is expensive, swan neck tow bar not nice on your shins...
However...
I'd buy another in a heartbeat now kids are older as I just clicked with it.
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