The Land Rover Freelander, As Told By Gerry McGovern

"Boxer_4" (Boxer_4) 07/16/2020 at 21:00 • Filed to: None

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According to McGovern, it was also easy to identify what defined the style of the Freelander: “It’s the screen angle. And the way the doors slope in at the tops, the tumblehome. It’s also the rounded sh ape of the car. Most of all, it’s an absence of gimmicks. Look at the cars we consider classics: the proportions are right from all angles, and they don’t need much ornamentation. That’s the secret – no gargoyles”.

Read the development history !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

dogisbadob > Boxer_4 07/16/2020 at 21:07

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I like the Freelander more than I should. I love that yellow 2-door convertible

SmugAardvark > Boxer_4 07/16/2020 at 21:21

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Mine spent more time dirty than clean, as it should be.

I wish I could find pictures of it after I swapped the wheels and tires for steelies and AT tires. And before anyone asks , yes it was a bad idea to go muddi ng with the rear hatch and targa roof removed.

onlytwowheels > Boxer_4 07/16/2020 at 21:56

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This one looks super clean.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/gilbert-rare-2004-land-rover-se3-both/7143673152.html

Boxer_4 > SmugAardvark 07/17/2020 at 13:11

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Nice! I bet it was a lot of fun!

I approve of the SVX in the background, too!

SmugAardvark > Boxer_4 07/17/2020 at 18:04

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Thank you! Just two more vehicles in the ever-changing stable. I would definitely consider picking up another SVX if I found the right deal.

I enjoyed the Freelander for what it was (at least more than the Disco II that was perpetually broken), but I’m really not much of an SUV guy.

Edgyhal94 > Boxer_4 07/18/2020 at 06:14

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I love mine still after almost 4 years (August 16 is the 4 year anniversary). Definitely the best £700 I’ve ever spent, as I’ve yet to do a thing with it that it couldn’t do. Including being a recovery truck for my brothers broken Honda bike, or going through a mud hole that had gotten my Range Rover stuck slightly a week before... actually sold the Range Rover that was meant to replace it, as the Freelander is, in my honest opinion, better.

Edgyhal94 > SmugAardvark 07/18/2020 at 06:19

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Love those three spokes. How much did you get the roof off? Even though I’m British and thus sun can be rare, I take my ones off if it’s not raining. Love the novelty and practicality of it.

It’s basically a pickup truck.

Who needs rear visibility when you’re reversing down a narrow access alleyway?

SmugAardvark > Edgyhal94 07/18/2020 at 18:01

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I kept the roof off pretty much any time I could. At the time, I lived near the beach in Florida. So, my Freelander was the vehicle we would all pile into to drive it out onto the sand in Daytona Beach for the day.

While the cargo rack did make maneuvering the rear hatch out a little tricky, it was also great in that you could still strap surfboards, paddleboards, or kayaks on top.

I always wanted to get the rare (in the US anyway) tent accessory that basically just attached where the rear hatch would. But I couldn’t justify the cost when one did actually turn up for sale. I did make my own in a sort of way to use when I went camping and the ground was wet from rain.

Edgyhal94 > SmugAardvark 07/18/2020 at 18:58

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Oh the “ softback” rear cover? Yeah, they are rare as hell here too and go for stupid amounts. I very nearly bought a V6 auto just for its roof for my 1.8, but someone bought it just as I’d got the cash. £790 for it, but the roof was worth £1200. Oh well. I just have to keep leaving the roof at home and praying it doesn’t rain.

SmugAardvark > Edgyhal94 07/18/2020 at 19:39

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Well, there was the softback roof, which was also rare. But I’m talking about the overland tent add-on.

Kind of like this, but it actually used the SE3's roof mounting points, so you could theoretically run the heating or cooling and have it reach the tent. Now that I think about it, it might have been a third party accessory, and not actually made by LR, just sold at select dealers here in the states.

But yes, the softbacks were also quite rare. I do remember there being two versions. A basic one that just covered the opening, and a more pricey one that actually functioned like the hardback, with windows and all. The cheap one tended to last longer. Whereas the plastic windows on the expensive one were prone to becoming brittle and eventually cracking in hot climates and the canvas portions tearing at the seams in corners.

Edgyhal94 > SmugAardvark 07/18/2020 at 21:50

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Didn’t know about the tent, but then again the Freelander seems to be one of those cars which got a billion accessories. I only recently found out that the pre facelifts (like yours and mine) did have a cup holder option which basically replaces the bit of rubber padding that sits above the centre control stack. I’ve just had the cardboard drinks holder from a McDonalds trip wedged in my dashboard for a cup holder... makes me think what other stuff is out there for what I think is one of Land Rovers more interesting cars.

SmugAardvark > Edgyhal94 07/18/2020 at 22:39

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Interestingly enough, I don’t think the cup holder was an option here in the US, it was standard equipment. And we only got the V6 with the 5-speed auto transmission. Also, I think the optional stereo system in Europe (Harmon Kardon if I’m remembering correctly ) was standard over here.

They really pushed to market the car as a direct competitor to stuff like the BMW X3, and priced it accordingly. Because of this and because of the brand’s reputation over here as being unreliable, you just never saw many of them on the roads. Most people looking for a compact SUV would go the “cheap” route and buy something like a Honda CRV or Toyota Rav4.

They spec’d them out as the SE3 as its own trim with almost no options other than the brush bar out front , then the S, SE, and HSE as the 5-door trims. But the option packages on the 5-doors were not that extensive, with the SE getting leather seats, and the HSE adding a NAV system and electric sunroof.

But really, that’s what allured me to it in the first place. It was fun and practical, and I wouldn’t see hundreds of other ones in the market parking lot.

Edgyhal94 > SmugAardvark 07/19/2020 at 06:22

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They pushed it really up market then, over here they always seem to be omnipresent, like one of those rare cars that was all over the place when you were little and even 20 odd years later they are still about. Going off what I could find out about them over here, seems my actual one, a 2003 1.8 K-series 4 pot with 120hp and 5 speed manual in the Serengeti trim would of cost £14,500. Came with Aircon, the fifth comfiest seats my arse has ever sat on, AWD (which was standard on the Freelander, although some thick people have since removed the propshaft and found out they don’t like being FWD and tend to violently understeer) and a 17 inch alloys.

£14,500 today... that will get you a somewhat well equipped car, but it definitely won’t be AWD. The closest modern equivalent is the (Good news! It’s the) Dacia Duster, but it seems £16,000 is the minimum price for the AWD. The Discovery Sport is really good but price wise it’s like £28,000 for a base manual FWD and the second you pick AWD you lose  the manual. I have no idea what the US equivalent was, but I’m still surprised they pushed it up market, but it seems the US never really gets more honest Land Rovers at lower prices.

SmugAardvark > Edgyhal94 07/21/2020 at 17:44

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For the entirety of my car-going life (I’m 37, so about 22 years now), Land Rover has always lauded themselves as a luxury brand first and foremost here in the US. That might not have always been the case, but I feel it’s probably the perception that a majority of people here have about it.

Another similar case that comes to mind with a different European brand is the Mercedes G-Class. They have only ever sold them here with a petrol V8 , with the majority of ones you ever see (which is pretty rare) being fully optioned out G55/G63 models. In fact, the cheapest the truck ever was here was in the first year they were sold state-side, in 2002, starting at $72,000. And of course it was never available with a manual transmission.

I think a lot of it comes back to this perception that European vehicles are inherently expensive to buy and maintain. So they market them to people with expendable income. Thinking about it, the only Euro brands that feel affordable are VW and maybe Volvo. It’s a shame, really.

Edgyhal94 > SmugAardvark 07/21/2020 at 18:35

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I find it sorta funny how Land Rover just isn’t a luxury brand to me. Maybe it’s because of how common they are around the U.K., or maybe because you can get one for less than a grand all week long that perhaps makes them approachable? Dunno

My Freelander cost £700, I imagine yours cost a tad bit more, but I think it might be down to the fact most land rovers just aren’t that rare in the U.K. that just makes them sort of... well... a regular car over here. I know like fourteen people with them who daily them, I don’t even look twice at Range Rovers and Defenders are so common to me that they are basically a moving piece of street furniture like a lamppost or bench, where in America, a Land Rover is somewhat rare and is sort of seen as a rare commodity? Am I right in that assumption? Although then again we don’t really have that equivalent here as the Wrangler has seemingly been sold here for ages whilst the old Defender was a five year thing and is worth a lot (despite the NAS one being essentially a less comfortable Discovery. Same suspension, drivetrain and gearbox. You’re literally just paying for a 5 degree better approach angle and to be a lot less comfortable). It’s sort of alien how weirdly expensive Land Rovers can be stateside to me.

Wow that was a lot of rambling...

I’m sure there was a point to that though, if you can find it.

SmugAardvark > Edgyhal94 07/22/2020 at 20:08

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I don’t know if I would say rare, but definitely less common than most. I see a fair amount of Range Rover Evoques and Velars. There’s a decent amount of older (90's and 00's) Range Rovers and Discoveries for sale for cheap, but a lot of them have not been properly cared for, which only furthers the common mentality that they are finicky and prone to breaking.

I forget how much a paid for my Freelander. But I want to say it was about $15,000. This was in 2009, and it was a 2003 model.