Overview & Reviews

Land Rover is a luxury SUV manufacturer that has its roots in England. Many of its vehicles are replete with the sort of leather-lined comforts that call to mind hunting lodges and high tea. Land Rovers are also known for being stellar trail-busters, endowed with the moxie to get down and dirty when the road gets rough. Currently owned by Tata Motors, Land Rover is one of just a few automotive brands in the United States to solely market SUV products.

After World War II, two British brothers, Spencer and Maurice Wilks, were impressed by the rugged and versatile nature of the U.S. Army's Jeep. They worked with the British automaker Rover to create the first Land Rover in 1948. Called the Series I, this truck was equipped with permanent four-wheel-drive, a canvas roof and optional doors. These early Land Rovers were crude but extremely well-suited for operations in the field.

The 1950s saw Land Rovers moving toward increased power and refinement. Launched in 1958, the Series II offered added horsepower and a somewhat less rudimentary exterior, with sills designed to disguise the exhaust and chassis. The first diesel-powered Rover was also produced during these years. The Series IIA came next, in a production run that lasted from 1961-'71. As the '60s drew to a close, Rover was acquired by Leyland Motors Ltd. (which would later become British Leyland).

Land Rover's storied Range Rover made its debut in 1970. Equipped with a V8 engine and a body made mostly of aluminum, the stylish vehicle was more consumer-oriented than its predecessors. In the mid-'70s, British Leyland was nationalized; by the mid-'80s, the company — renamed the Rover Group — had been acquired by British Aerospace.

The automaker officially entered the U.S. automotive market in 1987 when the Range Rover made its debut on American shores. It was followed in 1989 by the Discovery, which was initially offered only in two-door form. The Discovery was the first all-new Land Rover in 19 years.

In the 1990s, the sudden popularity of the burgeoning SUV segment placed the brand in an enviable position. In response, Land Rover's vehicles, while still retaining their go-anywhere attitude, became more luxurious, particularly after BMW bought the company in 1995.

The Land Rover family of vehicles has continued to grow. The late '90s saw the introduction of the Freelander; the compact sport-ute held the distinction of being the first production vehicle to offer Hill Descent Control. The latter optimized maneuverability on steep descents by automatically braking to keep the vehicle's speed in check.

BMW's control was short lived, however, and in 2000 Land Rover was sold to Ford. Ford worked hard to improve the reliability of Land Rover's vehicles, but by 2008 Ford's financial instability resulted in Land Rover being sold again, this time to the Indian automaker Tata Motors.

Today, Land Rover is still well known for its luxury SUVs, including the ritzy yet rugged Range Rover as well as smaller and more affordable models like the LR4 and Evoque.

User Reviews:

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  electrical gremlins - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By oliver986 - December 27 - 10:00 am

  has already been out of service for 14 days - close to hitting lemon law requirements. numerous electrical problems- windows not working - heated seats going out - but most importantly - a/c system backup causes water to shoot out of dash vents! shorts out radio and a/c and eventually the battery!

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  A lemon - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By salyg - December 17 - 10:26 am

  My husband purchased this car as a gift. It was a lemon. The engine was cutting off. They added a chip. Altitude problems they said. The navigation system went insane. Another chip was added. The radio got stuck on a single station and woul not turn off. It finally got fixed. the computer system was changing commands by itself...... the car was more at the shop that with us. Finally we got a new car through trade assist. We have has this one for 3 weeks. Engine light came on the other day. they said it was nothing. We will see...

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  Rent before you buy! - 2009 Land Rover LR2
  By W. Debley - October 7 - 11:33 am

  The LR2 was my first choice because of the styling taken from its big brother, the Range Rover sport. Thank goodness I rented before I took the plunge (I backed out). The LR2 is under powered and presents a problem when passing on the highway. The body roll is significant, and if you had to swerve to miss and object in the road , it could get dicey. The off-road capability is robust and it does about 90% of what its larger counter-part can do, so, no complaints there. The seats are small, and hard as a board. The seating position is high and upright. The interior is small, without much cargo space. So forget bringing your buddies and their gear on an outing. The interior is pretty basic.

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  very poor quality & reliability - 2005 Land Rover LR3
  By Frustrated LR3 Owner - September 30 - 8:40 am

  I really want to like my LR3. It just wont let me. Ive had the transmission replaced (after it shut down my ABS, stability control, dropped the suspension to where it looked like a low rider), the alternator & battery (after it shut down my vehicle while it was still driving), and had a water leak fixed early on. Now I have water coming in from just about everywhere possible.....great quality

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  Remember the Yugo? - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By zpirate - August 24 - 6:23 pm

  Wow, what a mistake! We traded a 04 RR in on the 06 RR. Gosh darn it! We read the reviews on the 2006 just like youre doing, and people seemed to like the vehicle, so we traded. Im sorry for that stupid decision. At least the 04 was decent with the BMW drive. Our 06 is an electronics monster that reared its ugly head when we drove off in it. Weve had nothing but trouble with it. Theyve reprogrammed it and installed software upgrades 12 times and it still surged, shook, vibrated, cut in and out on its own. They cant fix it. We gave up and bought a Mercedes. My suggestion is dont buy one. L/R lost a customer for life.

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  Discovery - 2004 Land Rover Discovery
  By LandDriver - May 24 - 2:00 am

  All hype no extras....not even a DVD player! Poor visibility, lots of blind spots.

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  Poorest quality SUV ever built - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By The Robinson Family - May 13 - 11:50 pm

  The LandRover Freelander should of never been imported into this country. I have been a car salesman for over 18 years and have never been around such a poorly built vehicle. My wife and I owned ours for 3 very long years. Everyday you wonder whats going to break next. We had a issue with everything from coolant leaks to electrical to front brake rotors that must of been a cruel joke to the consumer. I bought the vehicle wholesale and still lost money because dealers are scared of them. My wife had always liked the looks of the Freelander but was terrified to drive this suv with its host of problems.

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  great looks....terrible car!!!!!!!! - 2001 Land Rover Range Rover
  By 2001isalemon - May 10 - 2:00 am

  Replaced transmission after 13,000 miles, all bulbs blow our, replaced air bag and drive shaft, electrical system blew out hands free device......its a LEMON!!!!!!!!!

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  Mistake - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By Simon - April 29 - 4:33 pm

  Leasing this car was a big mistake. NO acceleration, car is sleepy, I have to change brakes every 10K miles ($600 each time) Rear hood is pain. But the most painful part is combination PRICE/QUALITY. My advice: think twice.

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  a lot of problems - 2005 Land Rover Range Rover
  By dp - April 25 - 7:43 am

  I have owned high end vehicles and never have I spent so much time at the service depart.The front seat at purchase had threads unraveling (it has been replaced), now a headrest has the same problem. The rear view side mirrors malfunctioned (when you pushed to fold in one went in and one out).The navigation voice controls do not work as well as a mercedes and often do not understand commands. Also, the bluetooth does not work with most bluetooth phones-the screen locks up. Fans that cool the electronics are being replaced(I had to diagnose this prob myself even though 3 people had same prob LR no help, a seal at the windshield which makes road noise.For the money too many prob,more prob not list