Checking different years forums gives some hints on which have less failures, but the number of years in use and the number of vehicles on the road distort the results too.

If you had in front of you, Rovers from say 1994 to 2014, all of them at the same price, all of them with the same mileage, all of them treated the same...
Which would you choose for reliability ? Not for egos, bells and whistles nor turning heads.

Were older models problems (that we daily see in this forum) ironed out in recent years? Or new sets of problems traded in ?

And the reverse... Which year(s) you would immediately reject ?

 

Personally, I'd skip 05. But I always skip the first year in of significant platform change or 1st year production. Just me, prolly.

 

I would look for the year with the most Wednesdays in it. Everyone knows that the assembly line workers did their best work on Wednesdays!

 

2014 is going to be the most reliable. Low miles greatly improved quality control a warranty etc. I would skip the first year of any new vehicle like Dusty said. I would also skip the 03-04 discovery 2.

 

Yep, I'd defo go for the 2014, it's under warranty

Seriously, model and technology changes are a no, no simply because they are usually untested on the road longterm. I run a 2009 RRS 3.0 TDV6 auto and it's very good and reliable so I'd go for that. Having said that, my 2003 D2 TD5 has been excellent and I am only now just updating the suspension and steering gear and will do various other tasks on it (not that it needed it as it's personal choice preventative maintenance), so yes a good D2 (not a V8 seems to spell trouble) is a good bet for a cheapish truck today.

 

if given the choice then mine would be anything from 2013/2014 LR4. This was the last year of the normally asperated 5.0 V8. Although the modern V6 s/c engines are good I find them a wee bit struggling at times, no matter what platform, LR4/RR Sport or Full Size.

D2's are hit and miss. I have to say that I have always liked the 2003-2004 D2. I know alot of people are secptical about them. Yes we have all heard the horror stories of oil pump faliures but by and large thats old news. Head Gaskets and coolant issues abound but we all deal with them and not lets forget the game of hunt the code and the three amigos are always waiting in the wings to make an apperance. Truth be told I like my '03. She has a class, appeal and every drive is a test drive in the true spirit of old Land Rovers/Range Rovers.

Yes we would all like to drive defenders but the 90's cannot carry that much and the drive on the road is a bit choppy but fantastic off road. the 110's are the way to go but with the price of them being out of most of our ranges then I am still sticking to the D2.

P38 Range Rover was built by a comittee and the design team were short on ideas and funding. I have driven a number of them and no matter what none of them had fully working elsectrics.......

05-06 D3's/LR 3's were another hit and miss. Lots of issues with air suspension, front control arms, emg breaks and that baine of Land Rovers sun roof's leaking. These had the BMW engine and appart from water pump's they are by and large nice vehicles and well worth the money, lots of storage and great both on and off road. Later models don't appear to have these issues.

2010- date. LR 4's for my money this would be the way to go, Land Rover finally got the wining combinetion then ruined it by having to deal with cafe standars and had to replace the V8 with the V6 S/C engine. I know the reasons for the V6 S/C and have drove many of them, but still.......

Full Size Range Rover are the uber luxury car. Earlier models also suffered from many of the problems of the LR3 and older ones can have a bad maintenance when owners find how much they cost to repair.

Range Rover Sports have always been a bit of dogs dinner until the modern ones came along. Based on either a LR3 or LR4 frame and underpinnings with a different body on top. The modern Sports are Fantastic and if you get the chance to drive the V8 S/C then you will come away with a day long grin. Problems hava arose with the pano roofs cracking so now come with fixed glass.

Range Rover Evoques are great cars. Yes I say car. the 2012 had issues but these were resolved in 2013 and the new cars with the 9 speed transmission are fantastic but space is limited.

So with that being said then if I was to give up my '03 D2 then the last of the V8 LR4's would be the way I would go. They are never out of place. If you want to go to a nice resturant then they will carry you with class and distinction and valet won't turn his nose up at you. You can go to Home Depot (B&Q in the UK) and load it all up with your supplis and therte is alot of room in it. You can take them off road and they will still deliver. They will tow 7,700 lbs and with the air suspension you will not even notice it there. Comfortable on long journeys and big enough for the tin tops to get out of your way!!!!

 

Another way of looking at it is:

They're Landrovers and all of them are likely to be unreliable. Therefore, a better measure is: which is the cheapest/easiest to get parts for and to work on

 

There's an exception to this... ALL years of the Freelander were junk

 

I think this goes without saying haha...

 

I bought my 2003 Discovery when it was brand new
Its' reliability has been unsurpassed now that is true.
I still drive it to work everyday and it hasn't missed a beat
There are very few vehicles who can claim this same feat.
It takes a lot of maintenance that I cannot deny
The spell this Rover has on me makes it easy to justify

We bought my wife's 2012 LR4 when it was brand new
It's really a Discovery 4 we all know that's true.
It's under full warranty thats for piece of mind
Compared to my '03 it's way more refined

Which one is more reliable? How do they compare?
They are both Rovers and they both draw that stare
If you don't like working on trucks and want to be a poser
Get a new one with a warranty and you will be in clover.