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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  still like this car... - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By justin - November 7 - 11:20 am

  Ive had this car for 7 years and will be somewhat sad to trade it in soon. I think its one of the best looking small SUVs made. I had a few reliability issues (like other owners of this model) but the positives outweighed the negatives.

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  awesome first car experience - 2003 Land Rover Freelander
  By beetlejuiceplz - November 4 - 11:00 am

  i bought my se3 at 34,000 miles as my first car in 2007. after recently selling the car, i now realize how lucky i was to have such a reliable car. the only time i had to take the car in during the 4 years i owned it was to get the get the oil changed (which is expensive because it will only accept synthetic oil barf). towards the end of my relationship with the car however (aprox. 74,000 miles), engine lights began coming on due to an ABS sensor which costs $540 dollars for just the part itself! I also have read that these cars dont usually last much longer after 100,000 miles. my suggestion is to obviously buy this car with low miles in order to have an awesome car experience.

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  Third time a Charm - 2005 Land Rover Range Rover
  By bb cruiser - November 3 - 8:00 pm

  After having bought a Mercedes ML55 2002, a BMW X5 4.6 2003, I moved to a 2004 Range Rover. A big improvement over previous model(owned a 2000 Range Rover) and the BMW design and running gear provide the performance for a high end SUV. Best is the comfort and ability to handle towing needs,and get up and go when required. Off road capabilities exceed most if not all needs of the average user. A very comfortable four passenger SUV/Sedan.

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  Fun but annoying - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By Jaymar10 - October 31 - 10:00 am

  Fun to drive and looks great, but little things break all the time and the brake system sucks. Have to replace the breaks every 10k miles!

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  WHAT AN INCREDIBLE CAR!!!!!` - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By Kelsie - October 31 - 10:00 am

  I am so very pleased I bought the Discovery! It is a pleasure to drive and I feel I can go anywhere. It has a beautifully destinct and spacious design. My Discovery has comfortable seats and I live for the TWO sunroofs! It is a dream to drive! It stands alone amongst its "competition".

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  DourResearch - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Listen2reviews - October 30 - 6:46 am

  I bought what I expected to be a quality car, it is not! Wonder why the company has changed ownership 3 times??? They cant fix their cars, and wont hire good mechanics, or service people. The car started to have electrical problems, blackouts, being stranded, suspension, and under warranty were supposedly fixed, but thye continued! and Ive been stuck with innumerable bills.Dealer says things happen... Their service department is horrible, and the interior quality competes with kia, maybe! VERY EXPENSIVE to maintain, and getting parts is a pain.

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  The True Story - 2004 Land Rover Freelander
  By Hollingsworth - October 25 - 2:00 am

  We love it. Dont let the size fool you. I dont know what they have done, but there is so much room inside (Im 62" and I fit). I dont know what most are talking about, but this is a great ATV. We looked at other, but when it comes to ATVs buy the best.

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  Reliable Rover - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Dina B - October 24 - 10:13 am

  We had 2 previous RRs (2003 & 2005)and we had issues with both. This SUV is the most reliable we ever owned and we owned BMWs, Lexus and MBs. The new Jaguar engineers seemed to have addressed the reliability issues we had with our previous RRs. This SUV has been reliable and flawless. We kept up with the main. schedule and we have nothing but praise for this suv. Reading other reviews make you wonder about where some of these owners purchased their cars from? I cant relate to one thing written on some of these reviews even with the 2003 & 2005 we owned. The luxury, comfort and reliability of this suv is unmatched and we elected to hang on to this SUV and wont even dream about trading it in.

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  what a shshame! - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By nothappy - October 20 - 8:43 am

  Bought this car, expecting "royaltys car", The exterior and the interior are beautiful, but once it has a few thousand miles, problems start to happen, as if the car is 15 years old. Problems with stability, breaks, powertrain, and the interior which seemed well done, is not, the color fades, it looks old. I would not recomend this car to anyone, for the price a BMW, infinity or lexus are 100% better

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  Best in class by far! - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By dorknuts2002 - October 17 - 10:00 am

  Ive read Automobile Magazines review calling it best in class and Ive also read that cynical guys review from the New York Times knocking it to pieces. Ill tell you first hand that this is by far the best vehicle in its class! From the awesome Land Rover looks and status to its BMW like perfomance, for the money, you cant beat it. This guy from the New York Times must have mistaken it for a RAV 4 or something because this Mini-SUV rocks. And once you fall in love with it on road you then take it off road and you cant even compare it to anything else in its class because nothing else can do these things! You have to drive it to understand.