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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  The worst SUV on the road - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By Kenneth - August 3 - 3:33 am

  Ive never had a car with this much problems. It has been in ths shop 6 time in less than 2 years. First time the check engine light came on it was still under warranty. Then the cooling system went haywire. It took three times for the dealer figured out what the problem was. After repacing the hoses, cooling fan and then finally the water pump. Then the brakes wear out unusally fast tearing into the rotors, twice in less than 18 months. Then the sunroof clatters. The back door wont open it needed the motor replaced. Then finally with less than 75k the Transmisson went out the whole thing needed to be replaced.

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  Disco is dead - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By ROVER NO MORE - July 13 - 11:03 am

  My wife saw this Disco and had to have it and just like the music it didnt last. The real problems started last year when we replaced the power steering pump, then the head gasket went at 67k, then the throttle body heater. The car never went off-road and we had to replace the transfer case at 88k. So much for its legendary off-road capability. And Finally after all that we were told after a flashing service light, one of many, that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced at 93k. Six years old five years owned, bought with 8500 miles. P.O.S car. Never buy english V8s.

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  Bad, bad, bad - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By Run Away Now! - April 2 - 9:16 am

  Purchased this vehicle as a demo model. Has been nothing but unreliable since day one. Yesterday I had to junk it because the engine failed totally! Beware of this year and model car. Look online for issues involving oil pump engine failures. The car was in the shop more than out -- sometimes months at a time -- power window failures, leakage, tailgate failure, numerous mechanical issues and basically a very rough riding car. Since this model year, I will pride Land Rover in coming out with the LR3 --I have heard a much better designed car. But dont buy a 2003 Discovery!

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  Dont walk, run away - 2003 Land Rover Freelander
  By Mark - March 31 - 7:53 pm

  We owned this vehicle for approximately 20 months. Total cost of repairs exceeded $16,000.00. No kidding. The engine has inherent design flaws. The cylinder sleeves will fail, coolant will flow into the block, your motor will be shot. You will experience electrical failures right and left. This is the second and last product we will buy from Land Rover and Range Rover. Utterly worthless vehicles. Our Discovery was only marginally better. Gulps fuel as well.

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  A total lemon - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By PeterJ4 - March 21 - 5:06 pm

  Leasing this car has been an absolute nightmare! From the brakes to the electronics, from the sunroof to the stereo, everything on my vehicle has needed to be repaired. LR North America rushed this vehicle to market and consumers have paid the price. Totals lemons! Land Rover could learn a lot from Honda about customer service and customer retention. Would- be Land Rover owners, BEWARE! My warranty just expired and LR refuses to fix my defective sunroof even though this is known to be a common defect.

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  My Land Rover is a paper wieght - 2004 Land Rover Freelander
  By Lo Lo - March 7 - 6:40 pm

  At 42 thousand miles my engine needed to be replaced. 2 thousand miles after the warrenty was ended. I looked on line and found this to be a cronic problem. Several webite dedicated to Freelander that were lemons sonme had replaced the engine 2 or three times. All my service was done at the dealership. After the engine was replaced the car overheated again. The dealership said the headbolts needed to tightened (cant belive they had the nerve to tell me that)...I am scared to drive this car.. Do some research .. dont buy one

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  Run - Run Far Away - 2005 Land Rover Freelander
  By Nichol - February 8 - 9:23 am

  Expensive Lemon City - Major electrical issues with engine. Left me stranded 2x for over 6 hrs waiting for LR road side assistance. Radio broke 2x, brakes squeal like pigs, air conditioner poured water on front passengers feet and spit water thru vents. Engine still smells like it is burning despite mechanics check 2x. Everyone hits head getting into car including 50" ft sister. Stabilizing bar feels off - heard others had problems here. Rear tailgate window drops when car is off, key out & no one is near. Took in 4 repair & mechanics didnt reinstall my rear door lock - took 2 wks for LR 2 fix it. They acted like it was my fault. Not nearly enough luggage space - 2 suitcases MAX.

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  What a waste - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By What a waste. - December 19 - 5:00 am

  Bought it used I am second owner at 75K miles the brakes are hard until warmed up. The Header gasket is gone. The worst thing is the car has a bad engine rap, diagnosed as a lifters issue. The dealer and HQ LR NA in NJ will not back it up. Imagine a luxury car whose engine is failing at 80K! Absurd. What we have here is a well wrapped interior and exterior with a piece of garbage BUICK engine.

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  new LR2 experience so far - 2010 Land Rover LR2
  By Ann Montgomery - November 19 - 12:26 am

  My new LR2 has 230 miles on it.I knew the day after I purchased it that it was ergonomically all wrong for me. The arm rest is very thin and cuts the circulation no matter what height or arm position. If you put the arm rest up there is no where to put your arm. What is worse is that in the up position, the metal adjustment screw, (about 2" x 3")sits inches from the right temple area of your head. Scary. The seat positions are limited, inability to angle front of drivers seat cuts leg circulation. It rattles alot and "ka-thunks" in several areas, over every little bump. I sure hope it has good off road ability to make up for the lack of comfort and road noise.

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  Awful Reliability - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By DisgustedNSF - October 25 - 4:06 am

  I am the unfortunate owner of a 2003 Land Rover Discovery that I purchased new in August of 2003. Since the vehicle was first placed into service, the vehicle has been the most unreliable, frustrating and irritatingly expensive vehicle I have ever come across, let alone own. Although the vehicle is only 5-1/2 years old with approximately 78,000 miles, it is worth no more than the market value for its scrap metal due to its habitual mechanical failures.Despite religious maintenance, the mechanical failures have included: Rear-end differential failure at 30,000 miles; Power window failure at 55,000 miles; Blown head gasket at 55,000 miles; cracked engine block at 78,000 miles.