Depends on model, early Freelanders had quite a lot of reliability issues,which are well documented on LandRover sites!
Freelander 2 is much better but expensive.
Kia seem to be reliable, we have a Sorento which is excellent.Never had a Sportage, but a few folks on here seem to like them!
A mate has a 52 reg Freelander TD4 which has been excellent, so I guess it is luck of the draw.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
I have just part xed my Freelander 2.0 xdi for a Kia 2.0 CRDI Sportage, the nose weight on the Freelander was 130 kg, with the Kia its 75kg, (that its only down side) The Kia tows like a dream, we don't have to change down to overtake, we get about 34mpg towing, The Kia is bigger loads of boot space,(we have 2 Springers),the leg room in the back is awesome, also a 7year warranty and a lot cheaper than the Freelander.