Auto Trader's Last True Bargains: The Land Rover Freelander 1 is a REAL Car You Can Buy for £1,000

[@JayEmmOnCars]

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[@neilmckay8649]

Request that you find a motorway stretch for your reviews 😊

[@Subixee]

Haha your remark on the left rear folding mirror was hilarious! 🤣

[@binarymalehim]

I drive a 2005 TD4 at this point I have had it for 7 years. It spent most of its life in southern England and now in rainy northern Ireland, 0 rust issue. The main problem with this car were it's owners. Poor maintenance leads to all kinds of problems with these, vcu bearings needed changing around 70k but never were, this leads to a smashed reduction drive or rear end, rear tyre pressures needed to always be the same or it would cause issues, engine breather filters seemed to never get changed on service. Like all cars, regular and properly carried out services at regular intervals will see these running happily without issues. Really, the worst parts of these cars are the window regulators, cable driven, and prone to the cable breaking. Comfortable to drive, excellent visibility, and very capable off-road. As I'm often down farm tracks and overgrown tracks (getting to fising spots) I gave it a full body respray with raptor liner, looks good and has kept the metal parts rust free for the last 4 years.

[@dahotrod1533]

Breathing in these causes issues.

[@philip_christian]

I am up to my neck in Freelander 1s, because my wife loves the things (I'm currently preparing her third, 1 written off by a dodgy minicab driver, 2 bought three months before ULEZ expansion announced, 3 a 1.8 auto conversion currently a huge project), and, because I am the creator of the the best diagnostic tool for these (pscan). The biggest problem with Freelander 1s is rust. The sills have a triple layer construction and the outers have a complicated shape, but proper replacements are not available. Be really careful about rust. The TD4 is by far the most reliable and we have never had any trouble with ours (apart from Sadiq Khan). The IRDs are a bit weak, partly made worse by pre 2000 ones having a slightly different front and rear axle ratio, and the difference being taken up by viscous coupling, which with age, become more solid than that viscous. The answer is to get the viscous coupling reconditioned before it lunches the IRD. Used IRDs are now only £100 anyway. The last of the line K series are actually alright, and, head gaskets can be sorted quite cheaply these days. The V6 is a nightmare to work on. They are not a big car and have excellent visibility which is why my wife loves them. Offroad the traction control and hill descent systems are excellent and it will handle an axle twister better than a Defender. Their failing off road is the lack of a low ratio transfer box and inability to crawl slowly enough, which some would argue makes the automatics superior off road. Due to the traction control and proper permanent 4x4 they are utterly brilliant in snow, ice and slippery conditions.

[@stefansworld3351]

Get her to drive a RAV4 or Honda CRV from the same era. Way better to drive with much stronger engines.

[@philip_christian]

@@stefansworld3351 having a Freelander in the household is useful for our diagnostics business as it gives us the same vehicle as lots of customers, and she is happy with it, so I think I'll stick with it. I thought we were sorted with a really nice TD4 until ULEZ expansion was announced.

[@ln5747]

The 2s also suffer with rust.

[@philip_christian]

@@ln5747 I think that anything twenty years old can suffer from rust. It's just that the triple layer sills and lack of proper repair panels makes them harder to repair.

[@ln5747]

@@philip_christian true, but the 2 has had quite a lot of rust reports even at a young age. Even last model year ones were having reported issues after a few years.

[@stefansworld3351]

The KV6 motor was used under licence by Kia for the Sedona people carrier and was available with a manual gearbox. Apparently, the liner issue was present on these and Kia replaced all of the engines via a recall. The manufacturing method to install the liners was changed to prevent failures.

[@vha42]

A friend of mine bought one for his daughter, since she would not bee seen in a Opel Corsa 1.3 when practicing for her drivers test. Get one he said, its lots of fun reading about it on Land rover forums 😂 When looking at a old land Rover, i recommend to bring a small hammer for checking the frame, and a refundable train ticket. In some cases it’s cheaper to pay the seller som money for leaving the car there and go home again. At least here in Norway.

[@notesonwheels]

Very happy to see this. 4 years ago I had the chance to get my hands on a cheap 2001 1.8 manual with full history from an old man who had it since new. He was literally crying when i drove off. I got it with only 81.000km on the clock and am now turning the 100.000 mark. I have taken it off road, to lakes, to snow, to mountains, to beaches. It is always there, always ready, never missed a beat! I LOVE IT. I am considering of keeping it forever. Ironically, it has been super reliable. The odd fuel pump or brake servo have gone here and there, but other than that, it just keeps going.

[@phillipwilliams4674]

These were great cars that, imho, unfairly had a bad reputation. I owned an early 2.0 TDi manual (I believe the BMW diesels were marked TD4) and it was a very capable car, getting me to work in some pretty atrocious snow. Totally reliable in my tenure, with the only failure being the drivers window regulator, which is cable operated and a common failure. My ex-girlfriend drove away in it when we split up, and that was the saddest part of that break up. Memories!

[@jugganaut33]

The BMW was Td4 or Md4. Which is different from TD4 put in the Freelander 2

[@ln5747]

If you owned it why did you not get it back if it was sad to lose it?

[@greathey1234]

You should've bought a rav 4

[@andybrown205]

I had the misfortune to have one provided by work. It was respectable off road, but on road it was dire, and the reliability was complete toss. To round it off, the dealers were hopeless. I had one of the wipers depart the plane and hang off the side of the car. Before accepting it back for work, the dealer asked me if I had checked the fuse...

[@phillipwilliams4674]

@@ln5747 I also owned my house, and really didn't want an acrimonious split up with lots of arguments. Far better to see her drive away in the better car, the other one being a ratty Peugeot 205, and never come back. Probably one of my better decisions in life!

[@Stimm002]

My first car, 6 or 7 years ago was a V6 freelander. Its features included the mirror that sounded like it wanted to start a fight, the 4x4 drive system noise and the inexplicable TC and hill decent light coming on and going off at different times for no apparent reason. I loved that 1st car, so did my husky that had a grate over the rear window meaning i could drive with it down.

[@TK42138]

Good vid as always. Back in 2004 a group of us hired a somewhat tired 1.8 petrol Freelander on a holiday in Cyprus. Bit thirsty but it coped well with lugging four of us up and down gravel tracks around Troodos and and even on sand. Hill descent control was a great feature. Talking of petrol MK1 - a colleague of mine bought a year old ex-demo KV6 and quickly found out the KV6 Freelanders were ruinously expensive to run and also had HG issues. Diesels are definitely the better option and a lot more reliable.

[@matthewnightingale4675]

Loved my 03 Freelander 3dr. The 1.8 was actually a really good engine for driving through the lanes to and from work - yes longer trips at higher speeds not great. But for most of my driving in the countryside no more than 30mph on dirt roads and in fields it was impeccable. Mine was 2WD after the previous owner removed the VCU and prop, but for £200 I got a new set reconditioned and fitting it was a dream. They really are a nuts and bolts car that's easy to repair. With the roof off, a hole in the exhaust it was great fun to drive and one of my favourite cars.

[@huwjones5879]

An acquaintance had one for these from new, it was so bad the dealer refunded them and took it back. A £1000 used one, even if it works when you buy it, will eventually be a world of pain and expense unless you are handy with the spanners.

[@SisternCharn]

That mirror folding mechanism is hilarious!! Sounds like a happy dog wagging its tail aggressively against the wall

[@nickjonathan658]

When LR’s work they are wonderful, problem is they never work

[@kevfit4333]

The evoke os just as bad. A heap of junk.

[@jameshogg601]

These are shite even when they do. They're is no reason to have one of these over a disco 2.

[@smorris12]

I was taken out in a very early petrol (early days of common rail diesels) and was amazed at the gearing. My man seemed to hit 4000rpm in every gear at town-pootling rates. Must have had horrendous fuel economy.

[@kevfit4333]

The old K series engine ☠️

[@MadAntz970]

I had one for around a year, and was glad when I managed to palm it off to the next unsuspecting owner. It had, a non existent near side front outer chassis leg as it had completely dissolved. It had a huge rust hole on the tailgate just above the number plate, so that one day when opening the tailgate, the complete rear handel and number plates illumination assembly just came off in my hand. The rear boot well filled up with water every time it rained due to water ingress from the plastic rivets that hold the upper rear spoiler assembly in place. Took three attempts to cure. Had to slap loads of seam sealant in the rear boot storage well due to it filling up with water as that had started to dissolve. Had to replace the rear diff bushes as they failed. Need two glow plugs but the existing one were impossible to remove. Center diff was knackered and was removed and the gearbox output shaft was blanked over with a kit from the internet. At that point it was no more than a useless piece of scrap metal..... But I hear the Mk2 was light years better, but have never tried one.

[@johnbrown3951]

I treated myself to an 02 plated pre registered 3 door 2.0L HSE Diesel in Black when I was promoted to Bank Manager and apart from a brake issue on a forest drive it ran sweet as a nut. I put many miles on and off road in it regularly driving from The Outer Hebrides to The Mull of Kintyre then to Aberdeen then back to Ullapool for the ferry back to Stornoway. I traded it in for an MG ZR with the same engine as I wanted a hatchback with a manual box before buying an MG ZS 180 but when I was buying the ZS from the same MG garage the salesman remembered me trading in my Freelander and told me that they decided to keep my Land Rover as a garage runabout but it blew the cylinder head gasket 2 weeks into ownership. In my opinion one of the best cars I have ever owned or driven and I have had over 30 cars in the last 40 years including three other JLR cars.

[@lirmeaney6255]

I gotta say if you keep an eye out each day , bargains do come up from time to time. Particularly if you are looking for just A Car that will get you from A to B. It’s one of my little hobbies where you almost do a top gear and go onto auto trader, filter for your budget of 1000 pounds and see what’s the best you can find. I found a 2004 Ford fiesta with the Yamaha 1.25 petrol with full service history, including timing belt and clutch with only 49500 miles, yes miles as was the odometer for 1000 pound. Sure it was rough around the edges, the body work had seen better days but the interior was immaculate, the seats felt factory fresh and there is always a subconscious excitement about driving around in something that costs half a payslip. Something you could totally destroy and replace without uprooting your entire financial wellbeing.

[@kizzyp2735]

Had the bmw diesel 3 door (2002 )and the 1.8 petrol 5 door (2005)...Never had any issues with either of them . 3 door in the summer with the roof off was epic . Just gone out and purchased a 2010 Freelander 2 ...absolutely love it !

[@paulcruse]

14:50 I took a brand new V6 on a test drive with my wife and son. I put my foot down from standstill to see what the acceleration was like and the windscreen cracked half way down the a pillar. The car felt like that would happen before I even tried it, very twisty and creaky, so I actually felt bad that I’d tried this and confessed to the dealer, who reassured me that this was not the first time he had heard of that on the v6.

[@TK42138]

Interesting you mention that because there was a known problem (and a dealer recall) for some early Mk1 with incorrect/insufficient welds that resulted in excess flexing of the shell.

[@paulcruse]

@ yeah, I could feel it flexing. Once the v6 came along, I think it just pushed it too far.

[@pokemaster2331]

Always preferred the look of the Freelander 1 over the 2

[@hexgraphica]

For me the Freelander 1 3door facelift looks very nice

[@nelsonclub7722]

Both of mine caught fire - turbo. After the second I was investigated by my insurance fraud dept!!!!! Is it unfairly hated though? Yes

[@waterzap99]

That's funny. But if yours caught fire, it's not the first one they have seen. They just tried to get out of paying you, but they probably knew these cars do that.

[@carbondesign5804]

I loved mine - A surprisingly capable vehicle. Hammered it off-road in Texas, flooded it more than once in water crossings. But it did need transmission replacement under warranty.

[@harryspeakup8452]

I know two people who between them have owned three of these cars and had perpetual expensive trouble with all of them. There is no good question to which a RAV-4 is not a better answer than a Freelander 1

[@ln5747]

Freelander 1 is far better off road. There you go.

[@rjdavey68]

They're also better on road, and better looking. In fact the ONLY area the period rav4 beats freelander is reliability (admittedly a big deal but even that's overstated).

[@wandering_not_lost]

RAV 4, hairdressers car. End of.

[@keefymckeefface8330]

Especially "RAV-4 or Freelander- which one is most likely to be driven by a twit?" RAV-4s have by far the worst drivers for being useless and selfish and getting in the way, that badge is a warning sign to fellow road users warning a numpty is probably in charge this vehicle.

[@harryspeakup8452]

@@ln5747 As a chicken shed, perhaps

[@jordibt1789]

I still don't believe they are cheap, they just have that little worth

[@AWMJoeyjoejoe]

Yes with these things they are cheap for a reason.

[@pistonburner6448]

They are a liability until scrapped.

[@OTH89]

I'd love a 3dr Mk1 Freelander. Always loved the look

[@norwegianzound]

Had one. Don't go there. Absolute junk.

[@Spacemonkeymk1]

Had many. Loved them once I'd sorted them. Amazing for the money

[@richcarter2294]

We had three of these from new, the last of which (facelift HSE td4 auto with remap) is still here in the family some 22yrs later. They were ok but I personally didn’t like the facelift as the interior materials seemed even cheaper and shinier than the pre-facelifts like Matt’s. On the plus side I was impressed how well it would sort itself out in the mud and snow, even once when towing a twin axle trailer full of heavy fencing equipment. We had all our BMW derived td4’s remapped up to something like 145bhp and it actually made a notable difference esp with the auto model. The 5sp manual eventually lunched its gearbox at 80k, probably down to the remap.

[@stephennewell6628]

I have had one for about 16 years and the TD4 is indestructible. No more issues than any other car of similar age. Just a few bushes, the usual service stuff. Worst bit is the window trim which has rusted and blown a bit but still works. Simple, cheap and actually very capable for life in the Lake District.

[@johnash826]

The 1.8 K petrol engine is fine as long as the headgasket has been upgraded and the thermostat is repositioned. Easy mods. Like any car, they need proper care servicing and care. The V6 though? I wouldn't bother!

[@funkymunky]

I miss all the cars from my childhood/adolescence...

[@kevfit4333]

I dont miss the freelander

[@AWMJoeyjoejoe]

I don't. They were crap.

[@user-ro5sx3np6g]

Have a Freelander 2 here in Australia and regularly take it on 2000km+ trips through the national parks and interstate. More than capable off the bitumen and nice to see the surprised look of the Landcruisers wondering how I keep up!

[@dahotrod1533]

They're just like, "why's this dude following us down these dirt roads"

[@iboswell]

I know what you mean. I've a one-owner 01 D2 V8 (me) so fair enough but the one we often use for longer road trips is a 2002 Mazda Tribute V6 so similar era to the FL. The AWD system on that was engineered by Dana USA and works very well unless you really need a low range but the torque converter makes most steep hills easy. It also has a genuine 50/50 4x4 button that really works off on dire/snow etc. Best mate has a farm with some serious terrain and it will go most places his farm LC or Surf will. He also has a 2001 CR-V and that's a bit rubbish on the same tracks.

[@TheVintageApplianceEmporium]

My friend Caroline has a 2003 LR FL1 2.0 diesel. Original engine, autobox, drivetrain, transfer box etc. Nothing special about that you say. BUT the thing has travelled over 300,000 miles! She has all the fluids changed religiously every 6000 miles. I was stunned when I saw the odometer 😅

[@GT380man]

You’ll know the story of the monkeys and typewriters?

[@paulrobinson3528]

Mat AKA Mr Furious Driving, did a barn find episode on my MG Maestro, lots of views and positive comments and Mat is a really nice guy. When i work at Cowley or Plant Oxford or what ever its called now for the release of the Rover 75, we had a 3 door 1.8i Freelander to burn round the site in. I loved driving it and it went really really well.

[@struanrobertson3417]

People knock them but they saved Land Rover. Flawed but not as bad as some make out. I had one for about 18 months, it rattled, rear door locks dodgy but it hauled us all about fully loaded no problem. I now have a Freelander 2 which is a truly capable and comfortable car.

[@RichardHarrold1991]

No, it really was THAT bad. An absolute death-trap with the worst, vaguest, sloppiest gearchange I've ever encountered. And it really was that unreliable.

[@Pigdowndog]

@RichardHarrold1991 Absolute nonsense. Mine's been a faithful servant for years. Not perfect but what car is?

[@RichardHarrold1991]

@@Pigdowndog the vast majority were anything but faithful. They were desperately unreliable, badly-built and death-traps in a crash.

[@GT380man]

“At least it saved Landrover”. You say that as if it was a good thing.

[@RichardHarrold1991]

@@GT380man objectively, it was. Without this, we wouldn't have got the wonderful L320 Discovery 3/4 or the magnificent L322 Range Rover...

[@S-T-E-V-E]

My old neighbour, when I lived in the rural countryside, had a Freelander, a high trim level one but it always looked crap to be honest with that 90's expanse of plastic bumpers, he had problems with it too, so I always thought they were crap! In the winter of 2009, yes the snowy one, a Farmer crashed into my Nissan Pathfinder and rolled a hay bail up the bonnet into my windscreen, I was offered a Golf for a courtesy car to which I kicked off as I needed a 4x4 to get anywhere, they said that the emergency services had rented all the 4x4 but after my insistence they found a Freelander 2, I have to say it was very nice inside and capable in the snow! I would recommend a Freelander 2 over the first run, they are far nicer cars and today are a grand or two more than the first gen! Money worth spending!

[@dannywhite132]

If youre reading this, this is your sign to go out, and buy a car for less than £1000. You will have amazing fun, for cheap, and when you come to sell it, chances are you'll get the same money back

[@timmytimpster3807]

Stop lying

[@phillmcaverty]

Best comment here. Buy an auto, get a tuning box and be amazed....... honestly

[@The_BenboBaggins]

We had a facelift Freelander 'Sport' with the 2.0 diesel - it was a brilliant car, we loved it and regret selling it. I also had a go in a Freelander 2 at Rockingham Castle off road centre and would have loved one if I wasn't poor.

[@broken_biscuit6716]

Practical Classics featured one of these. 😅 My Grandad also has had one for 25 years of pulling a caravan and being the family pull car for when theirs broke down. It's had a few issues the biggest being the damp and mold issues, he left it under a car cover for 6 months and the results were horrifying...

[@EleanorPeterson]

Oh, for crying out loud, it's not an effing Merkinese SUV, it's an effing 4x4. (Also: Effing.) "It's sorted." "It's gripped." "Let's OFF ROAD!!!" (Crunch, bang, upside-down in ditch.) [Ref: 'The Fast Show'.]

[@dahotrod1533]

Technically it's a compact suv. It's also AWD as opposed to 4x4

[@robfisher3207]

I bought a 3 door TD4 with lower miles and it’s been great tbf. Used as a dog car in the winter. And remove the hardtop in the summer for fun. It’s great until you get onto a motorway where the lack of power and lack of 6th gear

[@peterfurber6966]

Bought a 1998 5 door diesel. Ex demo. Sold it in 2003 after doing 160k miles. Ultra reliable car. No issues outside of normal. Clutch replaced at 125k. That was it. Bought a new M3 in 2003. In dealership 6 times within 15 months. For door dropping, lurching engine when cold. Both of which never really got sorted. Guess it's just the luck of the draw.

[@petercody7649]

I had an X Reg 5 door 2.0Td4 for 13 years. It had 200k on the clock when I moved on from it. Over the years it had a couple of clutches and the rear fuel pump (under the back seat) went. That's the only time in 13 years it let me down The only other thing was the EGR valve failed, and you don't need to replace that you can fix a blanking plate and do without it. I have nothing but fond memories of my years with it.

[@shaunbrierley5864]

My dad had one of these for many years and loved it, eventually replacing it with a Freelander 2.

[@David-ki6jq]

I've been a Land Rover lover since I was 17. Had many 110's and Discovery's. When my wife came home one day, and said she'd traded her VW Beetle for a 1.8 Freelander, I nearly had a panic attack. But tbh I grew to love it, in spite of it being noisy, slow, and scarily uneconomical.

[@ziginox]

Jay, if you want a car for the 'cool cars for young people list', you should check out any Impreza (not WRX or STI) with a manual transmission! The AWD system is different on the manual transmission cars, and they're very neutral-handling and fun to toss around. Not to mention, with no cables or real shift linkages, the gear lever feels great. Pedals nicely laid out for heel-toe, too. They'll even rotate, if you stomp it at the right time in a turn!

[@michaeloakes2408]

I had the BMW diesel, got it about 6 months old. Went miles in it to be fair with no issues. Once time went by it started to wear out fast, rear window wires broke , intercooler hose failed and was very smokey til I got a new one ASAP. Turbo bearings went , drive shift coupling went so my mate took it off to leave it a 2 wheel drive, a common remedy. Final nail the downhill assist driveshafts went and it got scrapped off about 150 000 miles or more done, if I'd have sold it about 6 months earlier then I'd say it was pretty good value but keeping it til the death maybe not. Would I get another probably no .JLR reliability is always dodgy, once they start going they go.

[@Twmpa]

I really never understood why this absolute turd of a car actually appealed to so many people. It had an evil and unenviable reputation for unreliability and it was also heinously overpriced when new. I remember sitting in one in a showroom and being utterly amazed at how cheap and nasty the interior was for the premium price being asked.

[@hexgraphica]

It's a civilised defender in terms of image

[@paulmcgee1867]

It’s one of those cars that looks better as a classic than in period

[@Spacemonkeymk1]

I'd agree, as a new car they were shite, like most LR products, but as a used car for peanuts that can be fully sorted for less than £2k all in, they're a different prospect. And at that price they're not so precious either.

[@RichardHarrold1991]

@@paulmcgee1867 the Freelander 1 will never, EVER be a classic.

[@volvo09]

I always considered them a hairdressers car... Just something bought for the image.

[@mrdainase]

I have a low mileage S1 and I love it. In many ways it's the last of the proper Land Rovers in that it doesn't really go, handle or stop very well, and it has never really been truly reliable either. But I love it for being gutsy and copes with crap conditions far better than the sneering know-nothings will ignorantly bore you about. It is a shame though that they couldn't develop the T Series any further as that would have been a much better choice on paper than the K Series, even if that engine is a doddle to work on if (well, when) it goes wrong. One thing to bear in mind is the Freelander is very close to being the same size as the original Ranger Rover, same wheelbase, slightly wider, and inch shorter and 3 inches less tall, but about 150Kg lighter thanks to the lack of a chassis and beam axles.

[@PG-ji6vq]

I took one back to the dealer with only 16K miles on the clock, saying it sounds like a wheel bearing or differential has crapped out. They said the Landrover engineers got the transfer case gear ratio calculation wrong. So the car was slightly dragging the rear tyres when the viscous coupling engaged. This caused the factory fit tyre tread blocks to wear in wedges making a droning noise when driving, wearing out tyres and also destroying the viscous coupling. It was described as a feature. The head gasket also blew at 40K miles. Junk. Buy a Japanese 4x4 instead..

[@richardealden2323]

Hi James , I have a Freelander 1 restyle 3dr with soft top .. To be honest the soft is a real faff to open and close but i bloody love my Freelander 🥰🥰. There are also various Freelander clubs on facebook which do meet ups or breakfast meets which just adds to the fun of vehicle ownership .. I also love it , because you dont see many around now , especially in gold 🤣🤣, so its also the rare factor 😂😂

[@johnpassey3176]

I have a 1.8 petrol version of the car tested, its just nice to see it move under its own power 😀. Mine hasn't moved for 2 years, but i love it when it does, one day.....

[@bollemann2582]

Well this is very strange indeed, the past few days I have been looking at getting a winter daily for next winter and the Freelander popped up. And now you've made a video on it!

[@dbulmannz]

My 2012 freelander 2 is a wonderful car. I love it and have owned it since 2019 with no problems. We stick to a good maintenance programme and its been super reliable. Its done 130km so hopefully good for a few years yet

[@GT380man]

A whole 130km, eh?

[@dbulmannz]

​@GT380man sadly I have had jaguars and volvos that have done less. We have mostly used japanese cars in New Zealand and because of the way they are incedivised to sell their cars at low milage many are poorly maintained.

[@DR-lq1bx]

Oh dear, the mere sight of this abomination makes me queasy. The interior still makes me sad and I haven’t sat in one for 12 years. A truly awful car.

[@stephenchamp6983]

Good to see Hippo on the channel 🤩

[@jonbee3596]

Had a friend who was a mechanic for land rover. He said that when doing pdi he was issued with two tubes of sealant and a sheet from factory to tell them where to stick it

[@sidwallace6053]

Although not as cheap to buy as in the UK,here in Ireland you can buy them relatively cheap but the road tax for the year is nearly €1000 yep you read that right €1000 per year ,thats why people don’t buy vehicles like that here

[@mikadavies660]

Another great bargain car... Renault Megane 1.9 diesel. Thanks to the marketplace turning against diesels and generally not liking Renaults, I purchased a Megane convertible for £730. The car was a one owner , fully Renault serviced car! Over the last 18 months I have put 25,000 miles on it and enjoyed the roof down many times. Actually a great little convertible for naff all money... 👍

[@tobythetankpienmash8129]

Only good thing about the fr1 was it was so bad that Land Rover was forced to make the fr2 well to revive the brand. Never by a fr1 worlds most dangerous car they fold like tin foil in a crash.

[@TexasRiverRat31254]

Here in the US I'd suggest a mid 90's to mid 2000's Honda or Toyota as a daily.

[@jdmguy44]

Here in the UK I'd suggest the same

[@omostim2385]

A friend of mine had a facelifted hse model here in Houston. He had quite a bit of trouble with it then I never saw it again. Although it represents what I don’t like from Land Rover(I like big bassy V8 Rovers) I find them kinda endearing

[@James-jd6in]

I've had a 07 Mk2 freelander for the past 4 years 250k on clock never let me down it's a keeper!

[@rogerbyrne9040]

The best thing about these were the image. They looked cool, had good colours and just looked and now still look good in your drive/parking space. You need to buy a mint rust free one and get it serviced by someone who knows these cars.

[@Spacemonkeymk1]

That graunching noise, especially if it sounds like it's coming from under the centre of the car, is probably the viscous coupling bearings. I've not watched Matt's vids on this for a while so I can't remember if he's replaced the coupling and bearings, but the cheap bearings only last 12 mins or so.... you have to get the quality ones, but they're not much more. And get the coupling reconned as well then all should be good! My manual TD4s with Rover Ron box and recon injectors would feel quite spritely and return an easy regular 40-45mpg. I'm very tempted to get another facelift 3 door but really hard finding one in top spec as they all seem to have been chosen in poverty spec mainly. Heated front screen is a must! Yes, they might need parts thrown at them but they are dirt cheap and easy to fix so who cares?

[@Ethan2xm85]

In 2005 in the US, there were 03's two sitting on the local GMC lot that I took for a spin. First one the volume knob turned the volume up regardless of turning it left or right, making for a rude first impression so I went to the second one to give it a fair shakedown because first impressions are important. Second one the driver side window wouldn't roll down, even with 12k miles on it. FIrst and last time considering a Freelander... :(

[@iancharlton678]

Guilty admission - I always liked them, actually looked to buy one some years back, baulked at the non ULEZ compliance of the diesel 🙁 - ended up with my still current work hack Yeti, a not entirely dissimilar product. As for reliability, I move broken down and damaged vehicles for a living, moving 39 total in 14 years, which is no worse and a lot lot better than many others. A great value purchase, so long as you don’t want to drive into one of the countries low emission theifdoms……. 🙂

[@normanstephens5391]

I Know this car well. As being a subscriber to Matt's channel. Cheers for the review. 👍👍

[@CarsofGlasgow]

Great video, I never noticed until this video the side profile is very Rav4. 6:45 for reference

[@jamieogorman9461]

Awful cars, the worse land rover ever made The Freelander 2 was the best example and they stopped it

[@colinjones2505]

I vaguely remember LR crowing in their blurb upon release, about how this was the car that was going to re-establish itself in the reliability stakes. Oh how we chortled.🤣

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

I'm making 'chortled' my word of the day! 👍

[@reality-cheque]

Thanks for the video. Land Rover would have done well to develop the (under-rated) Freelander 2 as a Defender replacement, allowing them to meet the crash standards (due to its unitary body) to continue selling the 'Defender' in the U.S.A, at sub $30,000. The new urban Defender, at over £60,000 is a townie 'status' purchase and not bought by farmers and country-folk. They buy £25,000 Mitsubishis, Nissans and Subarus and older Discoveries/Defenders.

[@Fastwunz]

Furious Driving is a brilliant Chanel

[@davidwild66]

There was a breakout of prisoners from a courthouse where I live (Perth, Western Australia) a few years ago. Fortunately, the vehicle they carjacked was one of these pieces of junk, so they only made it a few kilometers down the road before it crapped itself.

[@JayzStuff]

It’s known for Freelander 1’s to have the prop shaft removed due to VCU failures. Cheap to in effect make it front wheel drive only rather than fixing it. Such a shame, the 3 door soft top would be lovely. Just completed another 2000 mile drive around France in my Freelander 2. No issues, lovely comfortable drive.

[@kevingreen8581]

Great review James.

[@user-tn1vc1xz5d]

I understand the 4x4 system used to fail and lock up if not exercised off road, and increase tyre wear due to scrubbing from lack of centre diff. Rear tyres on affected cars would noticeably scrub on full lock, best tested on a gravel car park with windows wound down to hear it better. Those old friction based (non newtonian fluid) viscous couplings 🤔 Of course these cars would never go off road so 4x4 lock up was more common. Later clutch-based systems get round this provided they are serviced appropriately.

[@shatbad2960]

The V6 was a nice drive but like the smaller petrol engine, suffered reliability issues.

[@mtliam999]

These never took off here in America. But you would always see them around. I haven’t seen one in years. I do still see a lot of Disco’s and Range’s from this era tho

[@GERntleMAN]

One of the very few cars in the world, which offers absolutely nothing. Not even for a thousand Euros. I'd rather drive a Twingo 1 and that is a joke in and of itself

[@brianiswrong]

I thought it was hippo when you first showed it.

[@josephwoznica8503]

i'm into my third year of owning my FL1. have I spent more money on it than it's worth if I listed it tomorrow? Yes. Is it a little boring and cumbersome to drive? Also yes. Will I ever sell it? NO! 😁I just love it and I don't really know why. I guess I just love old school and although mine is on 06 (so not thaaat old) it looks and drives like a 90's car. An outdated 90's car at that.

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

Worth checking out the M&M 98 Freelander review - by one Ginny Buckley. Just to give an idea of what people thougt of this at the time - ok LR stalwarts might not have rated it but I remember an awful lot liked it at least until they got hit by K engine troubles

[@tedsmart5539]

At 16:40 I came to the realization that Land Rovers are as exciting as yesterdays dish water. Not to mention any LR that's for sale here for less than $2,000 is almost guaranteed to have a lovely milkshake in the crankcase. Hard pass for Rover product here in Canada.

[@derin111]

The shirt really is perfectly in keeping! 🤓

[@bicyclelife7088]

I had one of those new in 2002 and it was amazing to drive...when it worked. The transmission went out 3 times in 5 years. Then the engine broke and couldn't be repaired. We had the V6. I wouldn't ever recommend this car. I did like how the rear windows went down instead of being fixed, which was great at the beach here in Florida.

[@pickerrs]

I had one of these, blew head gaskets regularly. And when I say regularly, I mean really regularly. Good looking car and the constant fixing taught me a lot about mechanical processes, but the engine is shite. (I had the petrol version)

[@tallblokesam]

Well the risk of tempting fate, I think I have one of only reliable Freelander 1's produced. I'm not deluded and not claiming it to be a 'good' car but we've had it as a runaround for 4 years and had very little trouble. It's a 04 TD4 and has done 140k and other than a saggy headlining, bits of trim falling off and window regulators failing it's been totally dependable. It moves stuff to the tip, kids and a dog very well and I'm not bothered if it gets a door ding in a carpark. 🤷‍♂️

[@dahotrod1533]

There's only one thing I like about the Freelander. Because it's made of mg rover parts, but landrover still exists. It means many mg rover parts can still be bought new. Like pg1 gearbox seals for example, or the kv6 intake manifold. That's it though, other than that it was poop. Under-engineered components being placed under too much stress.

[@WhiteMouse77]

..Soooo that's why the British grown in preferring Škodas in last 3 decades... because it reminds them their lost Rover and enables hating British consumption cars at the same time...What a lovely symbiosis! 🤗

[@philcrockford5534]

Ex father in law bought a V6 brand new, needed a new engine after 18 months, porous cylinder heads. Wouldn't touch one with a bargepole

[@seancooke7332]

My Brother has an 06 TD4 and he loves it

[@ianscorey5293]

Jay…….. no offence……but the traction control light and the descent control light could be coming on due to a weight control problem!!!! Kind regards Ian 👨‍🎤🇳🇿🥳🍸🍸

[@russwilliams1772]

I worked on shed loads of them they where a bag of nails sold loads of them also had most of them back😢

[@greathey1234]

Europe's best selling SUV was crap. Buy a rav 4 or even a Suzuki vitara ffs

[@davidwild66]

My ex-wife bought one of these when they were new. It was an unreliable bucket of crap back then and I find it difficult to imagine that it would've gotten better now that they're 20 or 25 years older.

[@64-bitMicro]

The only time I ever drove one of these the transmission failed within the first km and had to be put in a tow truck back to the dealer.

[@Chris-nw6ws]

I don't mind the mk1 but always heard they are an absolute mess with most taking the 4wd out of it as well and just running fwd I like the freelander 2 though

[@colinmaceke7474]

I had one. At the time I enjoyed it until an emergency stop. The rear brakes are drums front disc. Enough said.

[@mattewj1268]

I see your MK1 Freelander and raise you the MK1 XTrail, a far far better car for also a tiny bit of money.

[@NigelDeForrest-Pearce-cv6ek]

I Sold A Freelander To A Well Informed Mexican Man in Denver Colorado; Brilliant!!!!

[@jasonhood2415]

It was a shame that the Ford Maverick XLT was not more of a hit, far more comfortable and reliable, just not advertised so much as Ford pushed this Freelander at the time.