2006 Freelander HSE - any good?

[carlbgc]

Hi all,

Growing up, and need my first small 4wd family vehicle. Looking at Land Rover Freelander HSE due to the nice features (heated seats, windscreen etc) and nice price.

What do you guys think of these vehicles? Dog and Lemon review put me off: http://www.dogandlemon.com/sites/dogand ... 7-06_0.pdf

But then you've got another forum here where people say its the best car they've ever owned. I do note most of the examples in the Dog and Lemon review are for older models.

Looking at this one in particular: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =686100269

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[teamorange]

I had a 2003 TD4 from new , i loved it the TD4 is by far the best engine the 2.0 L petrol is underpowered and the V6 is thirsty.

Build quality was OK, it was great to drive even on long distances, the boot is a little small. It went OK with minor off road duties even without low range, hill decent control was too quick at about 5-6 MPH.

I thought servicing at a main LR dealer was expensive.

[muddymatt1973]

By 06 most problems had been sorted out. Agree with above comments. Avoid the v6 - thirsty as. Avoid the early diesels - slow as.
They are surprisingly agile off road and drive on road nicely too.
I am a Landy man through an through however as much as it pains me to say this.................
Freelander is NOT the best in this class, seriously look at the Nissan X trail.

Oh and servicing at the Landrover main stealers will make your eyes bleed!

edit-- just got on tard-me and I see it's a v6 Jap import. I wouldn't... My old boss in uk had one from brand new. The fuel use was so heavy he got it converted to lpg. Also I think jap import cars should have hour meters not odometers cos they spend 2 hours a day running but going about 7K in traffic.

[churchill]

1.8l models had a major cooling issue so watch out for this model.

[carlbgc]

Thanks for the advice!

So this seems to be the only diesel 4WD on trademe, this would be the better option? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =684970775

As far as servicing costs....the car itself is very cheap to purchase compared to X-Trail etc. 10 grand vs 15 for similar spec. I'll probably need a bigger car in a year or so, and will also have more money in a year or so, so can get rid of it then.

Would the service costs in one year expect to be any more than 3 grand?

I really like the styling of the car and the small size, so even if it costs a couple grand to service in a year, for now its going to suit me well. As long as its not going to be a complete disaster like the Dog and Lemon review implies.

[on2it]

Are you stuck on the freelander? there's a few options in the 10-15k range.

What's your criteria (musts and nice to haves)?

[TJ101]

As muddymatt says,, By 06, a lot of the early problems had been sorted,

The 1.8 petrols all had head gasket problems,,
The V6, drank like a fish !!
Early diesels were not good
Which leaves the TD4 diesel,

The other half has run about half a dozen, the later ones being better, and more refined , best being a 06 HSE

Plus they aren't too bad off road