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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  Quirky but beautifyl - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By henry_l - August 9 - 10:40 am

  Quite possibly one of the best looking vehicles out there. The 2003 redesign really helped in many areas, and mine has run flawlessly. Both the exterior and the interior holds up well.

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  So far, awsome! - 2007 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By RT - August 7 - 12:26 am

  I was really in the market for a V-8 SUV and have owned a 3.0L X5 for the last few years. I loved the new 2007 X5 look and on my way to order one last weekend I decided to check out the Range Rover Sport. One drive and I was hooked! What a ride! If you are thinking of purchasing a new SUV you must checkout the RRS! BMW has a great SUV in the X5 but the RRS was better in so many ways I could not pass it up!

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  Exceeded our expectations - 2005 Land Rover LR3
  By JU - July 31 - 7:00 am

  After three weeks of ownership and one off-road excursion, we are in love with our LR3. My wife has never gotten excited about any vehicle before and I think she loves it more than I do.

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  2009 LR3 - 2009 Land Rover LR3
  By 2009 HSE LR3 - July 29 - 7:50 am

  I just took delivery on a 2009 LR3, my 2006 lease ended and definately wanted to stay with the LR3. Very pleased with all aspects of the 2006, and hoping to have as good of an experience with the 2009. We dont rock crawl but we do make use of all its off road capabilities in our travels. For the money I dont think you can beat the performance or styling, with its updated exterior its a real head turner. Very pleased with the updated interior as well, the seats are higher quality and much more comfortable. It handles great and has plenty of power. I put 62K miles on in 30 months and the only service related issue on the 06 was a leaky gasket around the thermostat, not bad.

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  AWESOME! Experience and Car - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By TJ Rover - July 24 - 10:00 am

  This new Rover is so much fun to drive. Was odd to get use to the "high" seating Rover puts in its cars, but after that it was great! This blows all other mini-utes out of the water as far as base options, road handling and drivability. This SUV drives like a sports car. The road noise is pretty low and the engine VERY quiet. The Rover dealer was the best too. No "vultures" swarming you as you exit your car. They were pleasant, asked if we needed help and left us alone (unlike Toyota). Worked well with us and gave us a fair deal in les than 2 hours (including 2 test drives!) They were real pros!

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  2006 Range Rover HSE, Fantastic! - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By New Car Owner - July 12 - 9:10 pm

  Just got new range rover hse, blue with sand interior, including the luxury pack, and satellite radio. I was planning on the supercharged model but dealer told us that the hse was smoother and quieter, so we lobbied for the hse. It looks fantastic and accelerates with authority. Interior is luscious with luxo pack, i get so confused with the number of available positions because there are so many! Driving is unbelievable and navigation system is a great addition to the already sophisticated electronics. Love it and worth the investment!

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  An off-roading machine - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By Chris Thomas - July 6 - 2:00 am

  My land rover discovery has been everyithing i have expected it to be. It is truly a fun car to own and drive. It is not only great off road, but its road performance is excellent.

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  Despite the bad reviews we love our 2016 Discovery - 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport
  By Fazz Powell - July 3 - 2:56 pm

  We took delivery of a 2016 Discovery Sport this week and have to say we couldn’t be happier with this purchase. While waiting 3 months for delivery I was reading the reviews and frankly had been quite worried by the bad press. We also test drove the full-size Sport before buying the Discovery and found the almost twice as expensive Sport to have clunky breaking, albeit a luxurious interior. I had a Mercedes GL450, which we found too hard to get in and out of and quite a sterile interior, and compared to the Discovery it was not nearly as comfortable and the transmission was more cumbersome/computerized than the Discovery…by far. So I don’t get the bad reviews. The Discovery Sport in sports mode is super smooth in acceleration and I have not experienced any of the down-shifting issues mentioned in the many reviews. Granted I live in a small town and I didn’t buy the car based on its 0-60 rating. When I first test drove the Discovery I was taken a bit back by the sparse interior by Land Rover standards, but all the dealer had was black. One also has to consider this is a low-cost Land Rover product. I ordered an SE with a Glacier Brushed Aluminum interior and it was very nice and the steering wheel is much more comfortable than the $75K GL450 with the premium 2 upgrade package I had. On the SE the two-tone roof option was only $350 which really sets it off from the competition for look and feel. We looked at every car in this price range and would recommend it to anyone in this market. Fingers crossed on maintenance, but my CPO GL450 had to have a leaking shock absorber replaced with only 28,000 miles and it was not covered by the Benz CPO and cost $900, so I don’t think Mercedes offers any better in quality.

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  Very Pleased So Far - 2008 Land Rover LR2
  By Mr. Bill - July 3 - 10:53 am

  After 3 months I have no complaints at all. Its the best riding SUV Ive ever owned. The dark blue looks great on the outside and the alpaca tan leather looks fantastic on the inside. The build quality is excellent all around. After getting used to the ignition system, I dont even think about it anymore.

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  One month and loving it!! - 2005 Land Rover LR3
  By boulders - July 1 - 4:00 pm

  Traded in a 2001 MDX for this truck and no regrets so far. Great interior design with a commanding view of the road. Nicely weighted steering and fabulous brakes. Quieter and smoother than the MDX by a country mile. It is true what the editors at Motor Trend said, " 90mph does indeed feel like 55mph". I didnt expect the gas mileage to be great given the vehicles mass but a little disappointed at 10.8 -11.4 mpg in city driving. The rear split gate design is a wonderful touch. And the third row is well worth if you have kids. It is superior to the Acuras in terms of comfort. It is a quite different experience driving in sport mode. The truck feels much quicker than posted 0-60 times.