the rangerover is the best value for the money. the discovery's also drop dramatically in value--i had a series 1 and have driven series 2. the discovery is also a great vehicle and off road without competition(except for hummer). the new dicos are pretty luxurious, but they are not very good long car trips, and pretty tight on leg room for driver and back seat passengers. having said that i put 50k on my disco and loved that thing. but wouldnt take it over the range rover.
range rover is pretty reliable. here's our personal experience; only problem was the brakes. the rotors and pads had to be replaced at 56k and the total cost, including the 60k total tuneup was 1700$. so that wasnt cheap, but not ridiculous either. so make sure the pads stay fresh or they can screw up your rotors. the rr gave no warning and the heavy beast really eats through the pads---probably doesnt have the brakes it could/should have.
the freelander is a ford through and through. a pretty shallow attempt by ford to sell an overpriced ford under the rover name. still a neat vehicle---just not really a rover.
we actually have the 4.0. the 4.6 is not remarkably different. both engines our tuned very low end, so both are slow but good for pulling. i think if i was going to pull a boat (or nsx) frequently id definately get the 4.6. if i was just going to tow occasionally, the 4.6 is an unnecessary upgrade. BOTH are slow movers. note that i WOULD have bought the 4.6 if they had what i wanted with the 4.6, but now im glad i didnt.
hope this helps. ive asked about rovers before on this forum and apparently very few owners here. come join the club!!!
last thought, the quality stuff you hear about rover may have some merit, but is all biased because of the new rr price tag. hey, at 50k plus price tag (65kplus new), I'd be pissed too. At a less than 40k price tag, this thing is much nicer than any gm product and just as or more reliable. for what you get, cant go wrong.
