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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  Some owners need to understand. - 2004 Land Rover Range Rover
  By PITBULL - December 26 - 5:06 am

  Ive had a few different SUVs and this one is the best so far. For owners who whine about gas mileage..."You knew it had a V8!" If gas prices were cheap I dont think anyone would be crying about the Rovers gas economy. Ive also read some owners comments about "squeaking" noises. Leather seats need to be conditioned with leather conditioner and that will stop the "problem" with interior noise. Im willing to bet that a lot of complainers have never had to actually take care of their cars. Just take them in to service and spend a ton of money! Everyday car care could solve a lot of these so-called problems that people who would probably never take them off-road would have.

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  excellent - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By dsr - December 22 - 10:00 am

  Truly one of the best vehicles i have ever owned!

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  Pretty, But it does not drive straight. - 2004 Land Rover Range Rover
  By soundz - December 19 - 12:00 am

  4 Trips in for service to get the car to drive straight. They now contend that a "right drawl" is a "feature" of the car.

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  Great Leap Forward... - 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By senator1971 - December 17 - 1:30 pm

  I collected the car in a blizzard 2 weeks ago. Since then, Ive only done a couple of hundred miles including a 100 mile round trip yesterday. Car is light years ahead of the previous model. I was a little skeptical of buying the V6 due to the power drop over the normally aspirated V8 of the previous RRS, but the car feels much stronger than the figures portray and I dont regret not getting the V8. Design and finish are way ahead of last gen, as is the ride quality on standard 20" wheels. Capability in the snow and ice has been excellent as well. Interior space, particularly in the back, is way up on the previous model.

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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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  complete failure - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By robert - December 15 - 4:26 am

  a month after purchase with only 34000 miles I have to take it to the dealer for repair, after it reached 55000 , it has been trips to the shop, faulty parts and costly repairs that they say is not cover by the warranty, now at 80,000 i have to replace the transmition and the cooling system has a leak they dont know from where? if I keep driving I have to replace the engine, this is a well known issue with the dealer for this cars but they wont take responsability for the bad quality of the engine. Now after I spend $5000 for repairs I have to get rid off before the engine blows up! a toyota cost half of this one and last at least 250k miles!

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  Greatly Improved - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Russ - December 12 - 3:46 pm

  Land Rover has come a long way since I purchased my first Range Rover (1995 Classic) The build quality has improved greatly as well as the ride. Interior noise has been reduced to acceptable levels. I can now dump my Lexus LS400 as my daily driver!

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  Good to GO - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Brian R. - December 8 - 6:10 am

  Have always liked the styling, but never wanted to buy the 90s RRs for fear of build quality. Got a good deal and needed a winter vehicle. Had a LandCruiser previously and the RR gets much better gas mileage; more comfortable ride as well. Really enjoy the unique styling. I have only had normal maintenance so far, brakes, rear bushing, oil, winter tires, etc. The dealership is a little pricy, but not much more than Toyota. I put snow/all seasons on this winter and it performed flawlessly. I have owned 2 e320s, an XJR, a landcruiser, an acura CLS, a grand cherokee, and a cts-v. The interior build quality is the best I have ever seen or owned. And this is coming from a car guy.

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  A Ford Escape wearing a dinner jacket. - 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
  By Joseph Teyssandier - December 3 - 10:10 pm

  All looks and no actions. A brand that I always admired Land Rover. My dream SUV turned out to be my worst nightmare and biggest disappointment in the automobile industry. As an avid car fanatic. Ive had the pleasure of owning and leasing most of the high end vehicles in the market. From Mercedes Benz to BMW to Lexus both in sedans and SUVs. Until I decided that I was able and comfortable enough to finally afford my first Land Rover product. The 2015 Range Rover Evoque Pure Plus (5door). Well, my biggest mistake. I purchased the entity on 2/26/2015 as a Certified Pre Owned with barely 17K miles on the odometer. The vehicle looked show room condition inside, outside and under the hood. Rich leather scent inside gorgeous full glass roof and one of the most impressive infotainment systems Ive ever seen. After driving it home and four days into my purchase I decided to google reliability of said vehicle and under Consumer Reports all reviews were one star and the horror stories were too much to mention from all over the world from the UK to Minnesota all over the US. People just devastated with their experiences A TRUE CAR BUYERS NIGHTMARE. Everything from engine stallings to sudden braking at high speeds causing driver and passengers injuries. To constant Check Engine lights and other notifications of malfunctioning all over the cluster. Repeated visits to the dealership days and weeks without their cars then getting back and the next day the same issues arising and the worst thing was the treatments by the dealers disconcerting attitude. To the point they said to a particular owner. WELL WE CANT DO ANYTHING ELSE FOR YOU .... CONTACT LAND ROVER. After coming across this unexpected and disappointing horror stories I decided to return the Evoque just today 3/2/2016 on the fifth day and I was fortunate enough that the dealership has a FIVE DAY Return/Cancel or Exchange Policy. So I got my 2014 Mercedes Benz E350 back (Luckily again it had not been sold yet) got my title back and PUSHED THE PEDAL TO THE MEDAL. Like a bat outta hell I rushed home. I was one of the lucky ones. Shame on you LAND ROVER and JAGUAR brand. Youre selling RATS WRAPPED IN MINKS. Disappointed.

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  LR-2, a great vehicle for all occasions! - 2008 Land Rover LR2
  By Fred - November 29 - 3:36 am

  Car is a bargain for the money. Lots of thought went into it, lots of standard equipment. Engine is good, not overly robust, but good. Road characteristics are great and car is quiet. Seating position is very good. HVAC system is excellent. Car should go a long way to erase old stereotypes of Land Rovers. Liked the fact that Ford owned company, dont know how the new owner, TATA will favor. High-intensity headlight option package is terrific, worth the money.