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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  Be Aware - 2003 Land Rover Range Rover
  By richr - July 10 - 10:00 am

  Pros: Great ride, gas mileage exceeds 18 mpg on combined, hwy & city driving. Cons: Transmission and electrical problems from the start. Land Rover Corporate has NOT been helpful in correcting these problems. Off-road: Good but beware, wheels go out of alignment extremely easily. Even in city driving, you need to check alignment frequently. The factory tires will cup if out of alignment.

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  Shouldve bought an X3 - 2008 Land Rover LR2
  By Joe Marton - July 9 - 8:20 am

  Car is 30 days old, been in to the dealer for service 3 times. First 2 times for a faulty passenger seat air bag sensor, now suddenly it has refused to start 3 times in 2 days with the check engine and battery lights coming on. First time it was in for 2.5 weeks, LR didnt have have a P/N for the part that had to be replaced then when they did they shipped it all the way over from the UK. The price of the LR2 was great, but perhaps "you get what you pay for." Beginning to wish we would have just purchased an X3.

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  Great 4X4 Luxury Ride ... No Complaints! - 2006 Land Rover LR3
  By PRinSanAntonio - July 7 - 5:46 am

  Owned the LR3 for over a month and we love it. It is fully loaded. It is so versatile, loaded with all the luxury features anyone could need. So far no issues at all, it runs great and has wonderful road presence, plenty of power w/V8. Our dealer is wonderful, and if something does happen, so what, we drive another Land Rover. How is that a bad thing? Plus no cost maintenance. Most people dream of driving such an awesome truck. Bottomline - If people could afford to drive them, everyone would. We feel very fortunate to own this vehicle.

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  Love my LR2 - 2008 Land Rover LR2
  By Nick S - July 6 - 2:26 pm

  I purchased my LR2 SE in October 2007 as a winter vehicle to get me around while in graduate school. I looked at Nissan Pathfinders, and a few other SUVs in the mid $30K price range. The test drive sold me on the LR2, and I couldnt be happier. Its a great car. Fantastic on road trips, and very easy to drive. The seats are very comfortable, and while its not a tiny SUV, its not huge either. Enough space to carry whatever I need, and compact enought to drive in town every day. In bad weather, it gets an A+. The snow terrain response setting is phenomenal, as are the headlights and nav.

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  Pleasantly Suprised...A Gem - 2004 Land Rover Range Rover
  By pdxrover1 - July 3 - 1:26 am

  Weve owned this car for 3 years now. No major issues to speak of, must have gotten a good one. Only have 71k miles on it, but are looking forward to another 15k or so before upgrading to a newer model. 2004 is a great year with a fantastic engine made by BMW, not like later years where ford took over. Has never let me down reliability wise, took it to Alaska for a year, never slipped, got stuck, or had any kind of hesitation.

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  LR3 Fan - 2005 Land Rover LR3
  By Anto - July 1 - 11:23 am

  cant ever remember feeling so emotional about a SUV before, and Ive had my fair share of machines.Both inside & outside, the LR3 reflects me in every way. I just dont see myself in any other vehicle. At 61"-220lbs, I feel extremely comfortable inside. Being married with 2 kids, having a 7 seater is wonderful. Also being a business man needing trunk space comes in handy. I dont necessarily need the attention the LR3 gets, but it does make me feel nice. It rates in my books as one of the best looking machines on the road.

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  never again - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By casper - June 30 - 4:03 pm

  Poor interior comfort. Horrible gas mileage and performance. Re-occurring mechanical issues. Yugos still have better resale value than these overpriced tanks. Never again!!!

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  Dont buy this car!!! - 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
  By Kerry - June 27 - 12:26 pm

  This car is a death trap. It has been in the shop more than in my driveway. Too many electrical issues to speak of. Bluetooth replaced and still works when it wants to. Navigation is by far the worst I have ever seen. Oh yeah and the whole shutting down while you are driving on a major highway and locking up for no reason thing. I took it in for the same issue with wanting to stall since the first week I drive it off the lot. I was given the car back numerous times with the "We couldnt find anything" speel every single time. It has now been put back in the shop after the 5th or 6th time only now it completely shut off while driving. Then theres the random throwing itself into park and shutting down while trying to pull into my driveway as well. I can go on all day with what a piece of garbage this almost $50,000 vehicle is. The customer service is a joke as well. You will bring it in and wont see it sometimes for weeks. They will lie about not having a replacement vehicle for you to drive and whether you have an appointment or not you will spend a minimum of 4 hrs there. However if for some insane reason you do buy this joke of an suv, when you bring it in take a look around and watch how many cars get pulled up to service while you are there. Some with 13 miles on them not 13000 but 13!!! Too many to count came through and when speaking to the valet they said more cars in service than on the lot. So there ya go. I hope whoever is thinking about buying this pos looks at all the horrible reviews and goes to toyota and gets a real suv.

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  awesome drive - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By jenni - June 21 - 11:43 pm

  this is truly the most incredible vehicle i have ever driven. when you drive it you do not want to get out! However, It drinks alot of gas. Awesome car!

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  Supercharged Would be a 10 - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By 3lakeswi - June 18 - 12:33 pm

  So far I love my RRS. The only thing I feel it needs is more hp - although more hp is available for a price. Compared to Porsche Cayenne V8, FX45, BMW X5 4.4 - this was by far the best ride for the money. Just coming up on 1000 miles and have loved every minute of it. It will be interesting to see how it works in Northern Wisconsin winters with the stock tires. Also hope the trade-in value will rival that of BMW.