USED Land Rover Freelander 4x4 (03 - 07)

My car

The car has been in the family from new and it's brilliant!

The standard headlamps are akin to navigation by candle light, the clutch is heavy in traffic and it's eager to stall when you pull away from junctions with a bit of lock on, but it's got character and charm in spades.

Although the suspension turrets intrude a bit too much, the boot has no problem swallowing two weeks worth of luggage (including the biggest pram you've ever seen in you life!) for a trip away, and once up and running the willing little diesel's performance doesn't seem blunted by the extra weight either. Wind and road noise are also kept well at bay, though the engine note can get tiresome at outside lane speeds.

Ours now has several enhancements which make it even better - a roof transport system with side steps (we moved house without the need of a van!), tow bar, front driving/fog lamps and a Superchip. The latter is a must have; all but banishing turbo lag, improving "about town" fuel economy and giving it a midrange punch to embarass a keenly driven hot hatch.

On top of all this, it seems to be one of those cars which looks equally at home covered in slime and trudging to the tip, as it does polished up and delivering you to a posh restaurant.

A winner... especially when you consider that the only reliability issue we've had in 5 years, was a faulty clutch master cylinder, fixed in 20 minutes by a polite bloke from Land Rover assist.

Probably the best car we’ve ever owned.

My car

Bought this car new against all evidence to the contrary but the lure of £3500 off list price and 3 years free servicing was just too much!! Did try others out first the X-Trail, RAV4, Jeep Cherokee but preferred the looks of the Landie and the comfy interior.

Have now done 45k miles and surprisingly enough, given the reputation, it hasn't let me down once! Similar to some other reviewer's I had the problem of the rear window spontaneously lowering itself. Eventually Land Rover agreed to replace the controller unit and its been ok, so far!!

Good points-commanding driving position, exterior looks, interior design (apart from rotary controls-why so low???), reasonable economy and its a LAND ROVER!

Bad points-push buttons for the windscreen wipers,no outside temp gauge(surprised at this one), bit of an art to get in and out of without banging your head, never quite sure if this is the day it gonna let me down.

My car

Just over seven months into ownership so thought I'd add to my earlier review.Have covered 8,000 miles since we bought this car including four 300 mile round trips to Cornwall and three to the Midlands.Have no major gripes,car copes very well on long journeys,unlike around town where we find the constant gear changing a little heavy and tiresome.Niggles are the same old issues - sunroof sometimes won't shut properly,the cabin constantly creaks and rattles,and its loadspace is a little disappointing.Recently had a service-DO NOT take it to Landrover-they wanted £400.We paid £368 for a full service with discs+pads and an engine flush from Nationwide Autocentre.It's not that we're unhappy with the Freelander it can be a joy to drive in all conditions, but given the choice I would go for a conventional estate over this car.

My car

2005 model Owned now for 6 months - cannot fault it - extremely comfortable, feels low geared at times and a little noisy when accelerating but other than that no reliability/quality problems. What I like is that this car can bring a smile to your face when you are out in it.