The Land Rover nobody boasts about is also the one that quietly does 250,000 km. What to look for, and the two jobs to budget.
The Freelander 2 gets no respect at Land Rover meets, and that is precisely why it is good value. It is a monocoque, it is not a Defender, and it will not climb what a Discovery will — but as a car you actually drive every day, with permanent four-wheel drive and enough ground clearance for a forest track, it is the most quietly competent thing the brand has made in twenty years.
Almost all of them are the 2.2 diesel, badged TD4 or SD4 depending on output. Both are chain-driven, which removes the belt anxiety the Defender TDCi carries, and both will run a very long way on clean oil. The SD4 is quicker; the TD4 is the one with fewer things to go expensive.
Rear drive comes through a Haldex coupling that needs its oil and filter changed roughly every 50,000 km. Skipped, the pump clogs, the rear axle stops being driven and the car turns into a front-wheel-drive crossover without telling you. Most owners find out on the first wet slope. It is a cheap service and almost nobody has done it.
Ask for a Haldex service record before you ask about anything else. If there is none, assume it is due and price it in — it is the single most predictive item on a Freelander 2 history.
Look for a dry boot floor (the tailgate seals and the rear light clusters both leak), listen for a rumble that changes with steering angle, and put it in a tight full-lock circle on gravel — a Haldex that is not working feels exactly like one that is until the fronts start scrabbling. Rust is rarely structural, but check the rear subframe mounts on a car that has lived on salted roads.
It is the Land Rover you stop thinking about, which is the highest praise a daily driver gets.
Ram Parts Workshop
Book it into the Ram Parts workshop, or order the parts and do it yourself — either way you get the same advice.
