Maybe, but probably 99% of people don't need full time 4x4 and the associated cost of running it which is why these systems exist. They work very well in my experience of both Haldex and VCU. The advantage of Haldex over VCU as I understand it is that it can be programmed and remapped to whatever split you want to give the handling characteristics you require.
My Yeti from stationary was about 50/50, then changed to about 96/4 front biased, to give the best possible fuel economy. It reacted very quickly to a wheel slip and provided drive where required in the blink of an eye. I think it is better than a VCU simply because of that and why LR moved to the Haldex. But it is more expensive, but all manufacturers are trying to lower the CO2 emissions and this is a big help in that direction. A centre diff may be simple and cheap but over the life of the car is not efficient and increases CO2 which is a big no no.
For the vast majority of people the Haldex will work fine and won't fail. By the very nature, people will report more problems with their cars on forums, than will say anything else. Only a very tiny proportion of owners will use a forum, and generally only when they have a problem. Hence the large number of posts 'I'm a noob, help.....' And the 'high' number of failures reported.
Usually the front bit...not the actual diff itself.
