2002 Land Rover Freelander S from North America

Summary:

A cheap luxury SUV with the high price luxury maintenance

Faults:

Bought the 'S' model because of price, cheaper, and no need for the 'extra frills', but it has had problems.

The interior is full of squeaks and rattles, dealer has no resolution to the problem, except turn up the radio.

At 24K mile service, front brakes needed replacing, rather odd to me so soon, especially when the miles are highway. I figure since I had bought the service contract, they need to find 'other ways', to get money.

Two days after the 24K mile service, the 'service engine soon' light comes on, made an appointment today, and hopefully it will be just a matter of resetting the computer, or something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

General Comments:

This car rides great!

The look and feel of the car is beyond others in its class, and to have the car with the name, Land Rover, makes your feel like your in the top of the line Rover.

The only draw back to comfort is the seats. Not too many adjustable settings.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 3rd November, 2003

23rd Dec 2003, 08:35

I own an S model as well and had the same issues with the brakes. The cost of repair was astronomical and not covered by warranty. Other brake people told me the brakes had some miles left on them and they did in fact last to the 30K mark, and then with no warning failed catastrophically. There is something wrong there. I had same issues with warning lights. Expensive, high maintenance gas guzzler. Save yourselves! Buy a Toyota.

2002 Land Rover Freelander LX V6 from North America

Summary:

A fun SUV-especially off-roading

Faults:

The rear windshield wiper broke the day after I brought the car home from the dealership. They fixed it immediately.

General Comments:

First, I have to say that I love my Freelander. My only initial issues with the car were the stiff steering and the location of the window buttons. After owning it for a month or so, I have gotten used to both.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st October, 2003

2002 Land Rover Freelander SE from North America

Summary:

This SUV sucks - spend your money elsewhere

Faults:

Oh, only buy this car if you like suffering... I had to take it back to the dealership for repair at least once every month I owned it.

Within a week of buying the car it was back at the dealership for very rough shifting. I had the transmission reprogrammed with a "patch" and still experienced the same problem.

Water started leaking into the passenger cabin the first time it rained. Turned out the antenna & sunroof had never been sealed.

The sunroof had to be replaced within 3 months. This turned out to be a special order item.

The whole interior rattled. The headliner, sunroof shade, door pillars.

Had to have door pillars re-attached several times as they popped off.

Air conditioning barely worked. Dealership couldn't determine why the interior of the car wasn't cooling off, but claimed the air coming out of the vents was at the right temperature.

Fan for the climate control system was incredibly noisy.

Constantly had a coolant smell when using the air conditioning. The dealer never was able to determine the cause of the smell.

Right front brake started squeaking whenever the car was turned to the right at about 1000 miles. Dealer claimed my brake pad was already worn through and my rotors damaged. Convinced dealer to replace brake pads under warranty. Same brake started squeaking again within 100 miles.

Temperature gauge was very flaky. It never moved past the 1/2 mark, even when the car was turned off. Dealer claimed nothing was wrong with the temperature gauge.

General Comments:

The Freelander is a nimble off-roader, but not worth the cost.

Interior is very cheap. It's inexpensive leather that wears easily and hard plastic trim. The trim pieces are attached too tight on the dash and bow out.

Horrible gas mileage! I was lucky if I was getting 15 mpg most of the time.

Seats are comfortable, but have limited adjustments. Cannot adjust height. The lack of power seats and armrests bothered me. Rear bench seat was uncomfortable for long drives.

Constant hard shifting between 2nd and 3rd gears drove me nuts. Acceleration was sluggish off the line. The dual automatic/manual transmission was a nice thing to have.

Dealer service was BAD on this vehicle. I tried more than one dealership and got the same rude service at each one.

I got so frustrated with all the problems after one year I traded it in and got a 4Runner.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th July, 2003

13th Jan 2004, 22:54

I did the same, bought Japanese (Nissan Xtrail). I don't know why they bother the Freelander was the worst car I had ever owned. Will never ever buy!!! any European car again.

19th Apr 2004, 12:57

It seems these Guys got rogue models. I believe all decent Manufacturers should recognise when this occurs and replace the vehicle concerned; it is better for them to make a loss on one odd vehicle than to lose numerous sales when potential buyers read about such events. I have owned numerous 4 X 4 s and my 2.5 V6 Freelander is easily the best. It has been driven from Kuwait to UK, used as a commuter vehicle, a serious off-roader in the desert (fun watching all the Japanese Wannabes getting stuck), a camping - tramper, etc. etc. and I love it.

I feel sorry for the Guy who settled for an X Trail - he doesn't know what he's missing in a non - rogue Freelander!