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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  An authentic off road vehicle - 2009 Land Rover LR2
  By Forester - January 16 - 1:30 pm

  This car is just plain fun to drive. It is great on the highway and very capable off road. I have driven in mud, deep snow and dirt roads. It may look like a Lexus but the LR2 can really go off road. After 6000 miles no problems. Seems to be put together very well.

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  best car ive ever owned - 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  By vanessa - January 14 - 12:53 pm

  this is the best car ive ever owned. ive had 6 of the largest range rovers and switched for fun. it is a ball and everything its advertised as. great car!

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  LR2 2008 mixed feelings - 2008 Land Rover LR2
  By pmtjrt - January 10 - 7:50 pm

  Delivered in Late November of 2008. Ride and design is great BUT currently having major issue with the Car shifter getting locked into Neutral. It will fo into reverse, park and neutral but will not engage into drive, sometimes as long as 20 minutes before it releases. I am having to shut the car down and restart, not once but several times. This has happened 6-8 times and have gone to the dealer 2 times in less then 2 weeks, and am having to go again. Dealer is telling me no problem showing up when checking system. Has anyone else had this problem? Or does any one have a solution.

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  Excellence from Land Rover - 2004 Land Rover Freelander
  By LandRoverLuvr - January 6 - 2:00 am

  This vehicle is best value in my opinion, for this class. Its easy and fun to drive, lots of creature comforts and is built to last. The only time it has been in the shop has been for regularly scheduled maintenance. A little more storage room would be nice but, overall, its tops in my book.

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  the new series is simply the best - 2004 Land Rover Range Rover
  By GR Webster - January 6 - 2:00 am

  this is the car BMW designed and it drives like one- simply beautiful. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the pre 2002 models - its not only wider, taller and longer, but has a monocoque body {no frame rails} and fully independent suspension - in fact the only part used from the earlier series is the rear tail gate Land Rover logo disk. All the attention to detail from the cup holders, to the ignition key placement are perfect. It is fast, too, the BMW 545 V-8 engine has the power to move this truck, and make some good BMW noise while doing it. I own two of these 2003 vehicles and they are the best. Trust me on this.

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  To be avoided! - 2003 Land Rover Discovery
  By sgriggs - January 3 - 6:03 pm

  I bought my 03 Discovery II with 75K miles after a local Land Rover mechanic (independent) gave it a careful inspection and discovered nothing immediately wrong. In the 1 year and 7 months since, it has spent more time in the shop than any other car Ive owned (including a vintage Bentley!) and cost me a small fortune in repairs. When I bought mine, I figured that none of the horror stories I read about would happen to me, and that if I was careful and took good care of my LR, I would be rewarded with a reliable ride. I was wrong. These things are poorly designed and built. The only up-side is that it looks good when parked outside my house. Which is more often than not these days!

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  Good for what it is - 2003 Land Rover Freelander
  By Mike - January 1 - 3:20 pm

  I purchased the SE3 for my wife about a year ago. So far we have not had any real problems. The front brakes had a dragging problem but the dealership corrected the problem. The detachable top is great, my wife loves stripping it down for the carolina summer. The traction control works GREAT in snow and ice, we go to the mountains on the weekends and the freelander goes through the snow as well as my truck (and that is saying something). The interior is easy to clean and works well with the jeep like feel. All in all a great car for the wife and a fun car to drive.

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  Nice car but needs refinement - 2003 Land Rover Freelander
  By mattsfreelander - December 31 - 2:00 am

  For such a small practical car it gets 17 MPG around town...not good, makes us feel guilty. The interior trim is interesting looking but really shoddy quality...the steering wheel loosens the more we drive it...the windows sound cheap rolling up and down and make crackling noises...lots of rattles have started to appear which seems a shame this early on. I fell in love with the car at a car show and had to have one...it has been excellent on vacations and back and forth to the hardware store ...but just a little cheap on quality for the money we paid (24,995 with 5000 miles) and an unnecessary gas guzzler.

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  not too shabby - 2004 Land Rover Range Rover
  By glm - December 31 - 2:00 am

  great engine and handeling- it took the Germans to make a decent British car. You can still see the British heritage in some of my complaints in fit and finish. I just turned in a LX 470 with 50k for this car and cant think of a single complaint with that car1

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  rover review - 2004 Land Rover Range Rover
  By malcolmesq - December 31 - 2:00 am

  This is a fantastic looking and driving vehicle. The gas mileage is terrible and I have a serious problem with the paint on the exterior but it is a fun car.