Faults:

Since day one I have had cooling system problems.

I open the hood and the coolant tank was empty!!!

The LR dealer that sold me the card didn't even check the coolant level before delivery.

After 1000 km (76k effective), have had to replace the heater radiator. Covered by dealer warranty.

After 3000 km (79k effective), have had to replace the cooler tank. Covered by dealer warranty.

After 5000 km (81k effective), have had leaking from the new cooler tank. Replace it again. Covered by dealer warranty.

After 10000 km (85k effective), have had to replace the cooling radiator. 20 days waiting because the parts are not available in this country. Covered by dealer warranty.

Didn't cost me anything because it was covered, but this car sucks!!! Waiting warranty expiration to give up and buy a Nissan again...

General Comments:

Poor fuel economy. 2500cc that needs 18 liters/100 km in town. On the freeway it needs 12 liters/100 km.

Pretty comfortable.

Gets stuck on snow with standard tires.

Poor air conditioning.

Rear windows open randomly during raining days!!!

Horrible dealer service.

Faults:

The head gasket blew after 68,000 miles and cost an absolute fortune to resolve.

After the head gasket was fitted, the cylinder liners dropped rendering the engine useless and a new engine had to be fitted at immense cost.

Tracking on the rear wheels has never been in alignment since the day we purchased the car.

Fuel economy has gone down ever since we purchased the car.

Clock / Radio display failed soon after purchase and we have just not bothered to waste more money on getting it fixed.

Solenoid controlling the rear door handle has failed leaving us with a freelander that has a back door / boot which cannot be opened.

Air conditioning discharged after 70,000 miles and even after recharging has never blown cold.

General Comments:

A very poor car in which anything and everything can go wrong. My advice would be don't buy one and if you do, then please ensure you have sufficient funds to constantly upkeep the vehicle.

Many things tend to go wrong with these cars and as ours was a 4 door, the chassis even seems to be out of alignment as one of the rear doors will not shut properly!

Faults:

The LCD display had to be replaced, what else is new?

The a/c motor failed, after being flooded with engine coolant. It seems to be a common problem. Coolant descends trough the electric wires and gets into the motor. I cleaned up the motor using solvent for electric motors, and it was like new, then sealed the hole trough where the coolant was getting in. I never had that coolant smell again.

Sometimes the level on the coolant container goes down, and a few kilometers later comes back up misteriously, if I had filled it up meanwhile it would have blown up.

I got stuck in mud once, and was pulled out by a friend. That small hook on the front bumper is only there for decoration, it's not strong enough and will twist and bend deforming the plastic around it.

When going uphill, tell the guy that follows you to keep a safe distance of at least 50m, if you let the engine go off, you will instantly loose all brake power and go backward without any brakes at all until you manage to start the engine again, I don't know if other SUV's behave like this, this can be very dangerous.

The mirrors won't bend and stay bended, which means that you just can't go trough certain narrow places. Eventually a mirror will be taken out by a bus or a tree, and it will cost you 150€.

The real big problem with the Freelander are the maintenance costs. It's not hard to find a shop specialized in Land Rovers, find a serious and experienced private mechanic or sell the car, just don't go the so called 'official' shops. Changing the engine belts will cost you 900€ and a week without the car. I found a local guy who replaced the 3 belts and all bearings in one afternoon charging 150€. It seems that the only thing that keeps Land Rover from bankruptcy are the absurd maintenance costs.

General Comments:

My Freelander has taken me too many interesting places with comfort and economy.

It has many off-road limitations, but enough to absolutely overcome it's closest competitors; the Toyota Rav4 and the Honda H-RV.

And it has the nice Land Rover logo on it.

It's the perfect combination of road and off-road capability. It's one of the few SUV's that you can drive in the city without looking ridiculous.

The 2.0 diesel engine (not the td4) is very economical, however it could be more powerful.