Land Rover Freelander 1.8EXi 5 door

Bought 2003 Free lander se3 new. Countless electrical problems, mainly minor blows fuses regularly. Rear main seal had to be replaced around 20,000 miles. Dealership had nerve enough to ask if I wanted new oil (at a charge)when the RMS was replaced. Rear window gasket leaks and destroyed subwoofer and rusted metal in rear cargo area. Replaced coolant reservoir twice. Replaced coolant fittings and hoses. Thermostat went bad and engine blew head gaskets at 70,000 miles. Thought I would drive this vehicle for twenty plus years. Looks like I will just be stuck with it for that long. A total waste of time money. Should have bought another jeep, but was nostalgic over the land rovers once great reputation. Wish I had known Ford had acquired LR. Ford makes great vehicles, they did not manage their foreign brands very well at all.

Looking on here its apparent that a lot of people havent had a good technician working on there cars or just a cheap job done.I Bought the car with the head gasket gone after a so called mechanic fixed it!This had been done in Gappers garage in Flint north wales by a mechanic who apparently used an airgun to torque up the bolts!!!!!!!!!!!!! on a new head gasket without having the head skimmed!!!!

Anyway head skimmed,pressure tested,valves reground and new multilayer gasket later,cambelt ,waterpump (precautionary measure) and new thermostat all for only £782 kindly done by really nice guy at KVMS Landrover and Volvo specialist in Bretton, Chester and that was it apart from an electric window regulator which was only £120 fitted an absolute bargain.

Only reason for selling was to buy a bigger landrover so now got a disco3 which is fab.

If you get all the right things fixed the Land Rover Freelander 1.8EXi 5 door never lets you down and is a very safe and comfortable ride. You won't get stuck after the pic-nic.

The Land Rover Freelander 1.8EXi 5 door is a good practical 4x4.

loads of room , drives like a car, bit under powered but alright for light use off roading

The Land Rover Freelander 1.8EXi 5 door has a good design, drive is pleasant, good 4x4 if you know what you're doing.

If you will keep an eye on cooling system, it will last forever. As a must - mount PRRT - thermostat fix from Land Rover, and change head gasket to latest type - MLS with black shim. Having done those two - be sure - it will make no problems again.

Land Rover Freelander 1.8EXi 5 door- Handles well in all weathers. Drove to St Tropez and back. Comfortable and easily my fave car. Had Audi A4 Vauxhall Vectra. A liitle noisy but that was not a problem. I would take another Freelander any day. Have sold mine and on the look out for a replacement. My father in law has bought mine.

Bought the car with a full service history and 112,000km on the clock. Last service was done at 106,000. I still did a full service when I bought it and paid 7,300 Rand. Opted not to have the electric sunroof fixed which would have cost 10,000 Rand. It drove for 1,000km and needed a new catalytic converter for 6,500 Rand. It drove for another 1,000km and the head gasket was blown. Left the car with mechanic, picked it up 42 days later and it had a bust engine - refurbished engine will cost 68,000 Rand. Currently the case is with a lawyer to prepare a lawsuit. Never ever again in my whole life I touch a Land Rover!

I've owned a 1999 1.8 XEi since January and I've just bitten the bullet and traded it in for a X-Type Jaguar.

Whilst I've had it, the head gasket has blown ( £950), timing belts have gone (x2) ( £400) and now the starter motor is about to give up.... this on a vehicle that has covered a mere 68,000 miles.

To put that in perspective, I also own a 1991 Toyota MR2 GTLimited 2.0 that has covered 160,000 miles..... so far, this has needed (outside normal service)...errr..... 3 sets of tyres and some oil... bit of screenwash now and then! You get the point here I suspect.

So, my advice if you're looking for a soft-roader with 5 seats, reasonable boot and off road capability.... buy anything except a Freelander!

I should point out at this point that I've also owned a number of real Land Rovers... counties/defenders etc and haven't a bad word to say about any of them - fantastic vehicles and well worth a look.

Had a Land Rover Freelander from New (2004) head gasket blew just out of warranty only done 40,500 miles nothing really, dealership didn't want to know - Out of Warranty and that's it.

Ideal for a safety very handy in adverse driving conditions. Flooded roads. Safe ride solid vehicle. Good locking system. Lights and electrics. Air conditioningIt's classed as a car and has enough 4 wheel drive to get out of a mess if necessary.