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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  Bluetooth Nightmare - 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
  By Stacye - May 4 - 4:49 am

  I have had nothing but problems with the Bluetooth feature in this car! I have had the Evoque to the dealer more than once. I have also changed out my phone thinking it was the phone. The dealership told me they cant find anything wrong yet I have read all over the internet I am not alone. I do a large part of my business on the phone and this is truly unacceptable.

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  Dont You Be Sorry - 2000 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Sorry_I_Bot_It - April 17 - 2:00 am

  22.8 MPG? Never happen. More like 11 in the city/16 Hwy. VERY disappointed in fit/finish, quality, and warranty efforts for amount of money spent. I am SURE it is off-road capable if you can suffer the repair work afterwards. With only one dealer in most towns you are at their mercry. Roadside Assistance? A joke. Rattles on a $60,000 car? Sorry but not covered by warranty. Wind noise? Will if you insist, guess we can cover it. Its a cool looking car. . . but like the Hummer, its a bummer.

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  Classic British - stylish and unreliable - 2003 Land Rover Freelander
  By John - April 14 - 2:46 pm

  We wanted a car that wasnt a Ford Escape or Jeep Liberty and found the Freelander. Its a tad on the small side, but also a lot of fun and can climb a cliff in either direction. However, since buying (new) weve had all 5 window regulators replaced, the sunroof twice, all 4 brake rotors warped and had to be replaced, and most recently the car quit completely, with 6 different error codes in the computer, most notably that the camshaft position sensor had failed. The dealer treats us like poor cousins to the LR3 and Range Rover owners and we cant get a loaner, even for the latest issue. Bottom line, its a fun car, but if you dont have a warranty, dont buy it.

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  She will go where others cant follow - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By 03Disco - March 25 - 2:00 am

  I have taken my 03 Disco off road twice now (serious mud up to the frame off- roading) and believe even with stock tires she is unbeatable. However, I have serious reservations about the quality... leaking sun roof, punchy cruise control, oil leak, warning lights come on for no reason... where to start and where to end. With that said, she is a blast to drive (when things are working) and with the new design, turns heads on every street corner...

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  Doesnt Live Up to Land Rover - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By tylo - March 23 - 2:32 pm

  This car was expected to be an excellent car, but what we got was far from it. This car has had issues from day one. Each window, excluding the windshield, has had to been replaced at least once, for a total of seven times because they would not roll up or down. The car currently only has 60,000 miles on it, but only two years after buying the car, the transmission had to be replaced at a whopping $6000. Roughly four years ago, the engine had overheating problems, and since then, weve only been able to drive it short distances, which kept things at bay. This car wasnt built very well, but hey, it is a nimble little SUV, and is still fun to drive. I just dont touch the manual shifter..

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  My LR3 maybe a Lemon - 2005 Land Rover LR3
  By Lemon - March 11 - 5:13 pm

  Love at first sight (2005 LR3 HSE Fully Loaded). Its fun driving the LR3, but I didnt have too many chances driving the LR3, because I end up driving the Freelander (the loaner car) more often. I paid $60,000.00+ to drive a freelander. The LR3 was in the shop alot. With about 8,000 miles on it. I ran into too many problems with the car. I dont even feel like driving the LR3 long distances because Im afraid it might break down on me again. Like the Air suspension, which broke twice already, maybe going 3. It rain today 4/28/05, and there was a leak from the glass roof at the 3rd row seats. Im just letting you know my problems so you wont have to go through what I went through.

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  we bought a lemon - 2004 Land Rover Discovery
  By jeanned - February 22 - 3:13 pm

  We bought our 04 Disco new and have had nothing but problems. I love it, I love to drive it but the rear fog light burned out after 3-4 months, cannot access it because it is sealed. The radio/cd player went out, dealer did fix that, front headlights are full of moisture, the passenger side window motor broke, dealer did not fix, 500+ to fix that, transmission has leaked since around 20,000. Dealer would not do the warranty to fix this except for a seal, started throwing fluid again while on vacation in FL, dealership would not cover it, brakes locked up while on vacation again, dealership did cover that one, now it needs a new engine, dealer wont cover, LRNA offered a small amount.

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  I REALLY Wanted to Like It, But...... - 2006 Land Rover LR3
  By Jay - February 22 - 11:03 am

  I owned one of these awesome Ford-made pieces of junk for about 4 months before I wisely got rid of it in favor of a quality-built vehicle. I bought it because I really liked the new styling inside and out and the more powerful engine, but didnt take into account the fact that it would be even less reliable than the 2003 Disco II that I traded in (which is really saying something). In my time owning it, I was at the dealership several times for the "check engine" light (not gas cap related), a total electronic malfunction (it said the e- brake was engaged when it wasnt and wouldt start for a full day), as well as a few other annoying issues. Overall, a miserable ownership experience.

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  Oh God Ive Made A Terrible Mistake - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By please take it back - December 30 - 12:46 am

  I have never known true regret until I bought my 2003 Discovery. There it was sitting in the lot gleaming, little did I know that the Devil can come in the shape of a car. I should say that I bought it used, with 55,000 miles on it, it drove wonderfully for the first 3 months when my monthly sojourn to the Land Rover Service Lot began. Every light on my dashboard has lit up like the 4th of July sky, I especially enjoy the ones with the exclamation marks. Every gasket, every hose, everything except the engine, whose failure I am currently awaiting, has failed. Anyone who comes across this vehicle should run, not walk in the opposite direction. A demon lurks beneath the gleaming hood.

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  Worst car ever made!!!! - 2004 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Karmafan84 - December 29 - 4:26 pm

  I have owned this car for two years and it has been a love hate relationship. beautiful to look at, stunning interior, fast and nimble for how big it is. The problems come from ALL THE PROBLEMS. Been in the shop 10 times now, had to replace the suspension at a cost of 4k and still have problems, the sound system and navigation regularly short out, the engine coolant reservoir blew and had to be replaced, the seals are all starting to leak and it is very noisy at highway speed, and the front parking sensors no longer work. Not to mention the people at the dealership are extremely rude and told me that it is pretty old and reaching end of life. its only 5 years old!