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:

• 

  2005 LR3 SE - 2005 Land Rover LR3
  By Craig Snyder - March 20 - 9:26 am

  Just purchased new LR3 this weekend. I think it is an incredible vehicle, very heavy and sure footed. Got a good deal from the dealer, theyre starting to move off of the sticker a little now. Traded from a leased 2004 S60 which they bought out for me too!

• 

  Great Fun! - 2008 Land Rover LR2
  By Roverette - March 19 - 9:53 pm

  Enjoyable car to drive. Handles well. Drive is comfortable. Not too hard, not too soft. You have the ability to change how the tranny works and the suspension changes, too. Very roomy, great visibility. Nice looking vehicle. Runs great. Quiet on the road. You can buy this and feel confident that it will be running well for years to come. Very solid automobile.

• 

  Not a good buy. - 2002 Land Rover Range Rover
  By Rover Mom - March 18 - 10:53 pm

  This SUV is always in the shop. Air suspension, auto locks go up and down while driving, truck "thought alarm was on" and wouldnt start ...left me stranded. It has something wrong with the steering. A/C and radio control buttons fall off. These are all reccuring problems that never get resolved at the dealer. And Ive only had it 11 months. Like the looks and ride, but terribly dissapointed with maintenance. Did I mention its a huge gas guzzler?

• 

  The Only Tank Built Freelander? - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By 1st FREELANDER - March 15 - 11:03 pm

  I must be very lucky to have gotten the miles out of my Freelander, even though its dying quickly now. Recently the transmission lost 2nd gear (just skips right over it now) and the sunroof wont open, and the AC just died. However this Freelander was the first one sold in my state and has had a heck of a great run. Currently with 224,550 miles on it (not a typo), I refuse to put money into it at this stage in its life, so I guess its time to part. After reading everyones issues with this Land Rover model, I feel like I should fix it up and sell it to the Land Rover museum.

• 

  The worst car Ive ever owned! - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
  By John - March 15 - 7:03 pm

  I love the look of the Range Rover and its very capable off road. Asside from that, this is the most unreliable and frustrating car I have ever owned. I will never buy another one. My service advisors tell me they are "known electrical problems" that they can not fix. Eventually you give up on constantly taking the car back in and live with the headaches.

• 

  Dont buy a RR Sport - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By larry - March 15 - 3:26 pm

  Have owned the vehicle for one year and driven approx. 20k miles. Have had it in the shop 8 times for numerous issues, some still remain. Asked if they would replace or purchase the vehicle and get me out of my nightmare, with no success. Problems with vehicle include brakes, parking sensors, suspension, sway bars, tires, power mirrors, not starting, transmission sensor, engine lights, rattles, etc. Will never own another Range Rover, period.

• 

  LR3 is pretty tight - 2005 Land Rover LR3
  By Zerry S Vaughan - March 11 - 12:26 pm

  My wife and I are happy with the purchase of our LR3 so far. It has lived up to what we have expected from it. Here in VA. we had a couple of snowy days and I put it through a test of what I need from an SUV and it handled great!!! For everyday driving conditions it is a fun, smooth driving experience. I didnt expect for an SUV to handle as well as the LR3 did, I mean when Im driving down 95 switching lanes I feel comfortable and in control with not even a hint of swaying Im impressed. The Harman Kardon sound system is the bomb, and the sound is so richly toned and crisp like whoa!!! Great job Land Rover.

• 

  Loving my 2016 Range Rover Sport Td6 (Diesel) - 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By Flaviu Budean - March 10 - 11:25 pm

  What a ride... Ordered my 2016 and was delivered in October. I totally love the truck. The efficiency of diesel engine is amazing. I get 26-27 mpg combined. This kind of milage per gallon is the reason why most SUV should be diesel. I do not even use the smart on/off technology because I believe that diesel engines should have a minimum of ON/OFF for engine. Truly for a person to be fully satisfied with this RRS, they have to get all upgrades possible. Audio is garbage for the money you pay if you do not upgrade to the Meridian system. But this is a small sacrifice that is made up by the way it drives even if you are like me, bough the car without upgrading to Meridian System. Overall I could not picked a better SUV. Very happy with it and my friends and family love it too, so now there will be other RRS purchases in family :)

• 

  Dont even think about it. - 2002 Land Rover Freelander
  By T031569 - March 9 - 4:16 am

  This SUV has been nothing but a real headache. It has been serviced more times than I care to remember. You have to have deep pockets to fix anything that goes wrong on this. The transmission has given me issues, the radio was replaced twice, the rear door lock was replaced twice, traction control and service engine lights stay on, the vehicle always need rotors and brakes. One headache after another, the list just goes on and on. Rethink your decision to buy this expensive lemon.

• 

  Perfect Compromise - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By Madox - March 6 - 6:56 am

  Im not a fan of SUVs as a class and had to buy this one as the best compromise between performance, luxury, style and utility. The Cayenne is too awkward-looking and cheaply made inside, the BMW X5 is just an AWD car on stills, not an SUV (and too ubiquitous at that). Ive put 1K miles on my RRS, problem-free so far. Ride quality is superb. The steering is just right: easy but not overly so. Directional stability is impressive, feels like riding on rails. Build quality is excellent. Im glad I opted for the supercharged version with all the bells and whistles (DVD at rear including) in the limited edition trim, it does give you that feeling of being treated as someone special.