Free wheel front hubs are found on part-time 4 wheel drive vehicles. Supposedly in the interests of economy, many 4X4's can run on the road in two wheel drive mode pushing only the rear wheels. This is not wholly efficient though as the front wheels are still connected to the drive shafts and front differential.
Free wheeling hubs disconnect the wheels from the drive shafts, so saving on friction.
Newer versions like the Frontera's are auto locking, older types as found on old Land rovers need manual intervention.
i.e. you need to get out of the cab armed with a special spanner. On very early Land Rovers, where the hubs are aftermarket fitment, you need to run with the hubs engaged for a couple of miles every 50 miles or so, as there is no oil/grease feed to the hubs when unlocked
Some Auto versions require you to reverse a few feet when changing from HI to LO or back to engage or disengage the hubs.
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