It's an interesting question - and one that I have no answer to, but a personal stake in. Back in 2009, Mrs. Avocet was in the market for a small, 2nd hand 4x4. Freelander 1, RAV 4, Nissan X-Trail, Honda CR-V - were all on the short list. Freelander 1 was ruled out first, partly because of the side-hinged rear door that was a pain with a trailer on, but mainly because of their appalling reliability reputation. RAV-4 was ruled out for the same rear door issue and having no space inside. CR-V was (reputedly) pants off road. That left the T30 X-Trail. Japanese designed and built, chain-driven cams, credible off-road performance (for what they are), good space inside.
Well, let's just say that it well and truly myth-busted Japanese build quality and reliability for us! On the plus side, it was electrically almost perfect. The only electrical problem it ever had, was when some of the wires to the tailgate fatigued because Nissan hadn't left enough slack in the loom. When it ended its life at 13 years old, it was even on its original battery! However, the rest of it was an absolute crock of the proverbial brown stuff! Brake calipers were practically a service item. Front wishbone bushes, anti roll bar bushes (and drop links); quite a few other bits and pieces, but the real killer was the bloody timing chain (and indeed, the horrible bit of "bike chain" that goes from one cam to the brake servo vacuum pump. It got through three of those by 130,000 miles)! The timing chain (chains, actually, it had two of them) were also a nightmare of a job. Not just the hassle of access, but the stupidity f the design that mean so many things had to come off in order to change the belt. Lots of bits of what I'd call "design arrogance" that had quite obviously been designed with no thought to replacement because they'd never fail... supposedly...). AND I'd had to do a bit of welding on it...
So what does this have to do with Freelanders? Well, the X-Trail was written-off in an accident in February 2019. As a stop-gap, my sister was getting rid of her Freelander 1. She was going to scrap it but gave it to us instead. Compared to the X-Trail, it had been horrendously neglected. She and her husband are poor as church mice and not mechanically minded, so they skimped on servicing and maintenance. It's a 2001 car (compared to the X-Trail's late 2005) and it had 140,000 miles on it compared to the X-Trail's 130,000.
And here's the thing... The Freelander is a BLOODY GOOD CAR! For something so old, with so many miles on it, and so badly neglected, it was more refined than the X-Trail, less thirsty (but not as quick), rode better, it was just a nicer place to be! All-original suspension (OK, it needed a wheel bearing) and brakes (apart from linings, of course). Basically, there's a really nice car under there, trying to get out! So, why the awful reputation? Well for a start, I was wearing the headlining like a cape. The glue had failed. I mean, for pity's sake! Are there ANY manufacturers these days who haven't mastered headlinings? The scrapyards are FULL of cars of all brands, that have reached the end of their working lives with perfect headlinings! Central locking motors. Have replaced two so far. They're an integral part of the lock, so the whole assembly needs to be replaced. Electric window lifts - I've done three out of the 5 on the car so far. (yes, it has an electrically lowering tailgate glass for some reason)! Water leaks - ell, I've given up trying to find them. It leaks like a sieve - as do most Freelanders. I have one what most owners do, and drilled a hole in the bottom of the boot floor....
And that's the thing. These are all stupid, piddly little things that really **** customers off, and which the rest of the car industry seems to have managed to get on top of. The basic design is actually really bomb-proof! (OK, I know it's a BMW engine). The only thing I've done to the engine, apart from oil changes, has been the thermostat and a couple of induction hoses. It doesn't burn a drop of oil either, even now at 160,000 miles. The gearbox is still as sweet as anything (although I have rebuilt the transfer box). For some reason, we British, can't do detail design to save our lives! Some brilliant concept designs, yes, but we don't have that German / Japanese obsession with minute detail and quality. Landrover (and their dealer network) seem to be too willing to shrug their shoulders and say "oh, they all do that, sir", where (Trails excepted!) someone in Japan would have committed hari-kari over a water leak, or someone in Germany would have faced a firing squad.
As someone who works in the British car industry (what's left of it!) I find it maddeningly frustrating. We CAN do this, we just need to put our minds to it.
(And OK, I realise that we're really talking about newer offerings here, rather than old ones, but that's my experience anyway)!