Just road tested Freelander2 auto & have to say I was impressed. Build quality far improved & even the dealer say's they would rather not talk about the original freelander. It appears to have the ford/psa 2.2d with 400nm tourque at 2000rpm which is just what I am looking for a 6 speed auto box. Quick for a hulk as well, very grunty . A little juciy but apart from that it has a good towing capacity which hopefully means the box is strong. Has anyone actually experienced any problems yet. I have spoken to a couple of dealers independent of a sales inquirey & they say they are the best vehicle for reliability they have had the pleasure of dealing with.
Doc
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 10/01/2008 at 21:33
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Whatcar have had a few electrical faults on theirs according to their 3 month report (5443 miles, Nov issue).
Warning light for adaptive headlamps came on (corrected itself).
No sound from stereo (corrected itself).
Airbag warning light on (needs visit to dealer).
Whatcar still seem pretty impressed with theirs, but given some of the LR stories I hear, I'm not surprised the dealers are saying the FL2 is more reliable than the rest of the LR range. I'd rather they compared the reliability with a Honda CR-V or a Toyota Rav-4!
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Honda CR-V
I'm sure Honda would absolutely clean up if there was an auto version of the diesel.
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Hi Bill I have had a 2.2 CRV & wasn't impressed. Spare wheel on rear door a real pain & glove box that went to the floor so no good with long legs, very soft seats & like a boat on bendy roads. Constant whine from engine which was very irratating on a long run. very bad in cross winds.
Excellent on fuel
Doc
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I believe the autobox is an Aisin-Warner, built by a division of Toyota, also used in Lexus, Volvo, Opel/Vauxhall including the GM (Isuzu) 3.0CDTi.
I too have test-driven the 2.2 TD4 auto - it drives well but has a small boot.
Of course L-R dealers are talking up it's reliability - I wonder what independents will say when it's been out of warranty a couple of years.
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I have a manual Fr2 but as part of purchase package was given an off road day which turned out to be in an auto Freelander. Have to say , it was really impressive and will go literally anywhere. Also drove it onroad & if my experience of Fr2 so far continues as well I will consider an auto next time-heavier on the juice though!!
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Todays Autocar has a long term test update in it. I don't know how LR dealers can say how reliable the car is, when it has barely hit the market!
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Well the current Range Rover isnt very reliable at all even at low mileage ( customer expereinces I know of ), so if the RR is the best they offer, go figure about the cheaper models LR make. I wouldnt touch one, nice on paper on and test drive, but they really do only have showroom appeal from what ive been told by owners.
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well it will be interesting to see. It is supposed to be fresh off a drawing pad. I appreciate everyones input & its a very difficult choice to part with my X type sport but its about the only other match for my twin axle caravan that a vehicle with an auto box can manage as most auto boxes have restricted towing weights & very little else matches the grunt.
Doc
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Until we can see vehicles out of warranty we can't compare Range Rover, engineered by BMW built at Solihull, with Freelander 2, engineered by Ford built at Halewood.
My money's on the Freelander 2 not disgracing Ford.
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My money's on the Freelander 2 not disgracing Ford.
Mine isn't. I'm going to be in the market this summer for an auto SUV and just not brave enough to go FL2 with my own money.
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What that is suggesting is that Fords are better engineered than BMWs and much as I hate BM's image wise, engineering wise, they are pretty well as good as it gets.
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BMW engineering assumes building in a BMW factory, not unreasonably, but Range Rover isn't built in Munich.
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Does anyone know exactly whose engine they use as I thought it was the TDCi lump untill I looked under the bonnet & wondered if its the PSA 2.2 lump that citroen & Peuguet use? Dea;ler told me it wasn't PSA lump.
doc
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Engines are 3.2-litre i6 petrol (233 PS / 171 kW) first seen in Volvo XC90 and excellent new Ford/PSA belt-cam 2.2-litre TD4 diesel (160 PS / 118 kW) offering 37.7 mpg combined.
er.....from HJ's CBC Breakdown a mere click away :-)
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33.2 for the Diesel Auto - That's quite a drop from the manual.
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Dea;ler told me it wasn't PSA lump.
My understanding is that it's the same engine as the Peugeot 4007 but with quite a bit of LandRover electronics to provide the hill assist, etc.
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Another dealer with virtually no idea about the product they're selling.
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Does anybody here have a 3.2 LR2 or know anybody who has one?
I too was wondering about the reliability... or is it too soon to tell?
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Further long-term test update of FL2 TD4 auto in last week's Autocar - they note:
Road noise on high speed runs
Average test "economy" = 27 mpg!!
P.S. - GBP34k - and that's without all the bells and whistles.
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Further long-term test update of FL2 TD4 auto in last week's Autocar - they note: Road noise on high speed runs Average test "economy" = 27 mpg!! P.S. - GBP34k - and that's without all the bells and whistles.
Yeah but over here I think you can get them new, fully loaded, for $35,000 apparently. I thought I might get a low mileage 1 year old one or something. But not if they're a basket case !
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