Faults:

Nothing mechanical has gone wrong with the car and its just had its first service.

The BMW branded reverse parking sensors have however died and are emitting a continuous beep (about to the rectified by the dealer).

General Comments:

The car is generally well built.

The car handles very well both on and off road (yes I have had it off road!!).

Seats are comfortable and the interior pleasant, the ride position is excellent.

Faults:

There have been several things which we have had to change. These consisting of 2 new rear fog lights, and we had to replace the boot window because it failed to work due to a mechanical problem.

General Comments:

When taking the Freelander for a test drive I was immediately stunned by the performance it produced. The acceleration is near to perfect and the braking after is very responsive.

There is a draw back to the center console, the driver has to take his eyes of the road to open his window, which can cause serious accidents.

Faults:

Broken interior light @ 24k by my kids.

Broken windscreen @ 12k replaced by Land Rover.

General Comments:

The Td4 ES SW has been my second Freelander, the first being a XEDi Station Wagon which covered 48000 miles.

When you drive the Td4 the improvements over the earlier Freelander are very evident. Build quality has been improved resulting in a much 'tighter' feel to the car, 100% reliability and a squeak free environment.

The car is a joy to drive on a long run at motorway speeds, but is also able to 'mix-it' off road when you get to your destination.

The kids love the space & high seating position in the back. This gives them a view over hedge rows & fences resulting in blissful silence on a long trip.

Economy could be better, with regular long fast-road runs resulting in an average 34mpg. I have finally found a good Land Rover dealer who at least tries to earn the high servicing costs & makes it a pleasure.

More ground clearance and a little less body roll on corners would be nice, but they are probably mutually exclusive so the current set-up is probably the best compromise.

A good all-round, reliable, family transport that can do the business off-road, but also looks good in the executive car-park. Is this the perfect transport solution?

Faults:

The sunroof lifting block snapped at 1000 miles. Apparently this is common as the dealer had many in stock and fixed it in about 30 minutes.

The exterior mirrors are black plastic with black plastic paint. The black paint is peeling off, but since the plastic underneath is also black, you don't see it unless you are near the vehicle. The dealer offered to replace the mirrors as this is a common fault, but it hardly seems worth it. The paint will peel on its own and not be a problem. Right now, it looks as if the mirrors have a sunburn. I would guess after 10,000 miles, the paint will have peeled fully.

Vehicle smelled of boiling coolant at 2000 miles. Dealer found return hose from coolant reservoir was loose and tightened it.

Vehicle coolant boiled over causing steam to spew from under the hood. Coolant gauge never moved into hot position. Dealer found thermostat was bad (also common fault). Dealer replaced thermostat and tested at which time they discovered the replacement was also bad. Installed a third thermostat which seems to be working.

Temperature gauge never moves past 1/2 mark. Land Rover has a TSB to improve its performance, but acknowledges that it is really more of an "idiot light" that won't move above 1/2 unless the vehicle is overheating. I suspect it doesn't actually work since my Freelander overheated with no change in temperature gauge position.

Passenger rear drum brake is sqeaking as I write this - it began around 4500 miles. I will be taking it back to the dealership.

Overall, for a vehicle less than six months old and with less than 6000 miles, my confidence in the reliability is in serious doubt.

General Comments:

The Freelander outhandles, outbrakes, and outrides anything in the class. IT has a very sporty feel on the road, and is exquisitely comfortable off the road.

Compared to the Jeep Liberty, the only other SUV in this category that can match the Freelander offroad, the little Landie is much more fun to drive. On the road, it feels like an expensive European car and offroad it feels like it glides over obstacles without punishing the occupants.

The traction control and 4x4 system works extremely well. Even though the Freelander does not have a tradition low-range transfer case, it easily tackles most off-road tasks. In fact, its traction control even allows it to clear obstacles a traditional 4x4 might have trouble with, like a hillside covered with wet grass.

Clearance, however is the soft spot off road. The clearance in front is just 7 inches, less than a Subaru Forrester. If I could change anything, it would be to add another 2 inches of clearance.

Interior is very plain compared to most upper-end SUVs, although it is quirky and different (which is a positive in my book). Instrument panel could have been lifted from a 1980's era compact car, and there are plenty of hard plastics.

The leather seats are very comfortable, but lack any armrests in the front, and the height cannot be adjusted. I am 5' 10" and my head nearly touches the roof. A tall driver would have problems with the seating.

The engine is one of the smoothest I have experience in any vehicle (including Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, etc.). It has a nice sound when revved, but must stay at rather high RPM to produce power. Merging onto the freeway in heavy traffic can be a terrifying experience as the Freelander struggles to accelerate. 0 - 60 times are approaching 11 seconds.

The 5 speed transmission is very nice. It can be moved into normal mode, sport mode, or manual shift mode. Having a manual shift mode is great for mountain driving or when you are off roading.

One suprise - the paint seems unusually soft and easy to scratch. I use Zymol cleaner wax on all of my cars and it seems to chew through the clearcoat of the Freelander. I notice many more swirl marks and scratches on this vehicle compared to my others and I wash them all the same.

Overall, I would say that the Freelander is one of the best (if not THE BEST) small SUVs on the road, and off the road, it really has no peer outside the Jeep. If Land Rover could clean up some quality issues and spruce up the interior, I think they would have a hands down winner. More power under the hood wouldn't hurt either.