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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  Land Rover Discovery Not Comfortable - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By tester27 - April 23 - 5:00 pm

  Drivers seat does not sit back far enough nor does the steering wheel lift up far enough for me to get comfortable. Also - gas and brake pedals are too close together... 6 1" - 220 pounds

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  Worst Car Ive Ever Owned - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By es - April 19 - 10:03 am

  This car has had the computer system replaced 3 times, cannot be made to drive straight, had the leaky-whistly windshied problem, had the naviscreen replaced twice, the air suspension raises and lowers at its own mystical intervals, et, etc ,etc... If I could tell everyone thinking of buying this vehicle, I would let them know that $20,000 of the purchase price is to cover the warranty work that they know they are going to perform. When the computer went out the 3rd time, I was asked " did you just wash the car?" because apparently the rear windows leak right where the computer resides, and commonly shorts the system out.

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  Reliability issues persist and horrible gas mileage - 2012 Land Rover Range Rover
  By rngrvrregret - March 10 - 2:17 pm

  Purchased a 2012 RR HSE the last week of December - was in the shop within a month for a major repair that took a week - still having problems with the car - also, gas mileage is horrible (~13 mpg)

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  great on the outside - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By great on the outside - February 27 - 11:56 pm

  I have owned this car for 6 months and want out of it. I had the 04 Range Rover with the BMW engine and loved the car. I thought the new Sport style was really hot, so I changed models. what a mistake. Its a lot smaller, and seats are not comfortable. The bluetooth is great to have. The side bags for storage are too hard to get to. The center console is narrow and the cooler is great if it was able to fit a normal size water bottle. Key ignition is too hard to get to and the other keys on my chain touch my leg! Car lags and jolts into another gear from a slow stop, drives me nuts!

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  wish test drives were a 1000 miles - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By crashajeep - February 18 - 2:00 am

  cruise control surge. gear box high pitched whine,both fixed now there worse than they were before.factory says to bad. 5 times in shop

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  Range Rover Sport - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By wineangel - February 6 - 5:03 am

  Many problems with our RR Sport. Fuel pump went out at less than 500 mi while we were on the interstate. Car came to complete stop, we were nearly killed. 5 months later the differential went, 1 after that back in shop for transmission problems. Back in shop again today at 1 year with bad alternator. Very unreliable for a $65k car. Love the look, comfort, amenities, etc..., but if the car wont run, none of that really matters does it?

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  Range Rover - 2009 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Lia - January 29 - 9:06 pm

  Dried shaft problem,coolant pans always some how links,brakes,I was so please to own one,but I had so many problems,always in the shop for repairs

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  Horrible Electronics - 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By Picartist - January 29 - 3:19 pm

  First off, they forgot or screwed up and not put in voice navigation direction. You have to punch it in each time. The so called apps they have suck. None of the navigational apps they have work for me, despite spending hours trying to learn them. They simply dont work. If I had known the programmers put this car on the market without a good navigation voice assist software, I would never have bought it. Check this out before you buy, make them show you it works (which it doesnt). They keep saying they will have an update to the software soon, but so far zap.

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  2004 Land Rover Discovery - 2004 Land Rover Discovery
  By DickB. - January 28 - 3:16 am

  We thought we had purchased a very will built car. Front brakes went in less than 35,000 miles. Rotors cost $130 each. Brake job just for front was $650. 56k miles, 6k after warranty ended dealer told us head gaskets leaking, $2500 to fix. Head gasket leaks means poor seal at factory or poor design. Rubber guards on front headlights, tail light etc, broke off, dealer fixed for free. Quality poor from factory Cannot trade in, as gas mileage is about 14. Car insurance very high. Value of car went from $34k to $11k in 4 years, cost to us $5700/yr deprecation.

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  DONT GET SUCKED IN - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By Pete - January 15 - 8:36 pm

  Dont let this vehicles awesome look bring you to purchase one. I bought a 2003 disco 4 months ago in pristine condition. Until after having it a weak the Lifters failed, the oil pump went and needed a total engine replacement at 58,000 miles. Local LR dealership put in a "used" engine in "good" shape and repair cost $8000. Two weeks after getting it back the head gasket blew on the replacement engine! Also a $3000 repair not covered by the warranty! I have never had a more terrible experience with a vehicle in my life. Its funny sitting in a million dollar showroom around all these high end vehicles,while theyre telling you that these repairs are normal. I sold the car after 5 months