Best Land Rover Range Rover years to buy, and which to avoid
5 generations of the Land Rover Range Rover, and for each one the model years owners and specialists recommend, the ones with documented problems, and the recalls to check. Two of them have a clear sweet spot; the rest are best bought on condition.
Sweet spot years owners and specialists recommend · Beware years with documented problems · Recall years with a recall to check by VIN. Each one is sourced on the model's own guide.
Range Rover Classic
1970–1996Buy the most rust-free truck you can afford; condition matters more than the year. Values run from Velar prototypes to two-doors to four-doors, and fuel-injected and LSE four-doors are worth more than carburettor trucks. In the US, choose between 1987–92 coil-sprung SWB trucks and the 1993–95 County LWB with the 4.2 and air suspension. The 1995 trucks get the soft dash.
Range Rover P38A
1994–2002Hagerty's advice is to buy on condition and specification rather than age, adding that the electrical faults that dogged these trucks are now understood and fixable. ReRev says 1998 drew the most complaints of any Range Rover year on CarComplaints. Mid-1999-on V8s have Bosch Motronic instead of GEMS, but no guide we found says that alone makes them the better buy; cooling-system history matters more.
Range Rover L322
2002–2012Owners and buyers' guides generally rate the 2007–2009 Jaguar-engined trucks best: Terrain Response, a locking centre diff and the six-speed ZF. Buy a 2003–2005 BMW 4.4 only with receipts for timing guides (or if you'll do them yourself). Buy a 2010–2012 5.0 only with evidence that the chain tensioners and guides have been updated.
- 2003–05BMW-engined trucks. The nylon timing-chain guides go brittle, so buy only with receipts or plan to replace them. The 2003–05 front-diff coupling recall also applies.Beware
- 2007Terrain Response, a locking centre diff, an electronic rear diff (standard on Supercharged), Brembo brakes and an electronic handbrake; TDV8 replaces the Td6 outside the US, and the switchblade key arrives mid-year. Guides and owners rate 2007–09 Jaguar-engined trucks the most dependable L322sSweet spot
- 2010Facelift: 5.0 V8 (375 PS) and 5.0 supercharged (510 PS), LED-accented headlights and a 12-in TFT instrument panel. The 5.0's timing-chain tensioners wear; buy a 2010–12 only with proof of updated partsBeware
Range Rover L405
2012–2021- 2013–14Early trucks. Specialist guides single out pre-2015 cars for the most electrical and body faults, and recalls cover door latches, airbags and the brake vacuum hose.Beware
- 2018Facelift. Four-bar grille, new LED daytime running lights, thicker glass, and a dual-screen infotainment system where a second LCD replaces the climate knobs. Seat controls move to the doors. ReRev rates 2018–21 the most reliable L405sSweet spot
- 20203.0 Ingenium straight-six mild hybrid (P400) arrives. AutoTrader.ca recommends a 2020-or-newer truck with this engine if the budget allows.Sweet spot
Range Rover L460
2022–presentToo early to call. NHTSA lists ten or eleven recalls for each of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 model years, so later trucks aren't clean either: 2022–23 carry the cam-carrier, seat-frame and tail-light campaigns, and 2024 adds panel-bonding, transmission and oil-filter-housing recalls. Owners prefer the 2024-on S68 V8. Buy on a closed recall list, a warranty and software that actually updates, not on the model year.