Rubbish.
In fact, LR and Jaguar make Ford a tidy profit. Which can't be said for many Ford compnaies. Got a feeling they might be the only ones.
Fair comment, LR dealer prices are expensive, but compare them to other premium manufacurers and that's not unusual. However, Genuine Parts and LR dealer repairs seem expensive beacuse OE spares and specialist repairs are so prevalent. And whilst it is not as easy to work on as a Defender, the Freelander is simple vehicle to maintain.
The Freelander started life as a design for a Rover people carrier. It evolved into the best selling small 4x4. It took over the market that was otherwise dominated by Japanese brands. As a result, it saved the company from a difficult future.
The designers had a concept and ran with it - keep it light and simple, so no low box and no central diff. No diff? Add TC (traction control with dront discs and rear drums? Interesting!) No low box? Add HDC. (And HDC was just one of a number of neat innovations, some of which are now standard across the LR range.)
Did the concept work? Drive a Honda CR-V and see how much better the Freelander is on road. Drive an XTrail and see how much better the TD4 engine is. Drive a BMW X3 and see how much better the Freelander is off road.
The style was typically 1990's and it needed its two facelifts. BMW injected some much needed quality control. However there were some daring design and style aspects - such as the rear door/screen (neat concept, but really a bit too tricky) and spare wheel.
The Freelander will never shrug off the reputation for poor reliablity caused by the early transmission problems and the K-series head gasket failures, which were apparent in all the vehicles that were fitted with the K-series, such as the Rover 200/400, MG F and Lotus Elise, which seem to have escaped the stigma. LR lost a lot of ground when it misjudged the early transmission problems and concentrated on the rear tyres and pressure. The later components pretty much sorted the problem. In our minds, perhaps LR should have had every petrol Freelander back in on recall for modifeld engine components to solve the HGF issue - but with the quantity involved that might be wishful thinking.
Thanks for your contribution!
Cheers
Blippie
