The auto industry is practically driven by stereotypes formed around brands. You probably wouldn't be surprised if someone said that your neighbor will have electrical problems with their old BMW, or if someone claimed that your uncle's corolla will last a lifetime. These stereotypes can often be caricatured and exaggerated, but they denote a latent truth about brand characteristics: the average view of owners.

The Land Rover brand is a wet dream for everyone that aspires to a luxurious and robust automobile, but as any other brand, these cars have particularities that can imply in your owner experience, especially when we talk about your pocket.

With an incredible legacy under its belt, the English brand is recognized worldwide for the serial production of off-road cars, starting with the launch of the first Land Rover, in the '40s, the brand has followed a path of many successes until reaching recent models, but the brand's soul has always permeated its history and made its cars unique, in good and bad sense.

In this article we will discuss some peculiarities that affect Land Rover models.

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Mechanical Issues

An Image Of The 2021 Land Rover Defender's Engine
Via MotorCarSpec.com

Let's talk about the pink elephant in the bedroom, Land Rovers are definitely not maintenance free cars. Including the newer models, narratives of failures and of owners being left by the side of the road are common. With its refined construction, the brand's cars deliver a lot, but they charge in reliability.

Some common problems are: Faults in the air suspension system, in almost all models equipped with the feature the occurrence is expected. This problem is less recurrent in newer models, however, it is important to prepare for a preventive maintenance between six and ten years of use of the suspension system. The symptomatic picture is serious: the car will likely sag on one side, representing a relevant risk if the problem occurs while driving. A common course of action among Land Rover owners is to delete the system, opting for a conventional fixed-height suspension, but why did you buy a Land Rover at all?

Oil Leaks and Gasket Problems are also common. Land Rover models are known for being very puddles, due to the complexity and intense presence of hydraulic systems, in addition to engines that carry a lot of gaskets, Land Rovers are known for leaking, and that is even true for newer models. Expect some problem with leaks between 12,000 and 200,000 miles.

As a brand pulling the market, its models are always filled with embedded electronics, ensuring an experience of use that is often unique, but the systems have weaknesses that are usually found by the weather, climate, temperature and vibration to which the car is exposed. Problems with the electronic systems of recent models of Land Rovers are not uncommon. Gearbox control systems, immobilizer and even the infotainement system are subject to glitches and electrical problems.

Not The Car For Fuel Economy

Refuelling
Via Unsplash

As a premium brand, you can expect premium powertrains, and you get them from Land Rover. But the school for powertrains of the brand always lean toward high displacement and that innevitably results in low gas milleage. Recent petrol models of the brand, like the Range Rover Sport MHEV 3.0 tops at 21 mpg on a combined course. And that is also a reality for older generation and generally, for most of the brand's models. So do not expect getting economy of these cars.

Related: SUVs With The Worst Fuel Economy

Depreciation Of The Land Rover

Handing Over Car Key
Via Land Rover Palm Beach

Although studies indicate that a car when exits the lot loses on average 20% of its value, for luxury cars this number can get up to 20% a year, escalating to up to 70% in a 5 year window, and you certainly know what this introduction will lead to: Land Rovers will depreciate more than the average car, but it's not as bad as it seems. Considering the brand's niche, the depreciation of models is lower than most of the luxury segment, being among the luxury cars that depreciate the least over time.

For example, a brand new Range Rover is expected to depreciate at a rate of 35% in a window of 5 years, which is not that aggressive, considering that the world average depreciation for this time windows for any type of car stays around 31% on OECD contries. Thus, contrary to what you thought at the beginning of this paragraph, Land Rovers have reasonable depreciation numbers considering its market niche. Consider it a little help for your pocket.

Outstanding everything

Land Rover Range Rover
Carsandclassics.com

And this is where the brand redemption is, in opposition to all the not so encouraging points we've raised so far, it costs money, but it delivers: The models of the brand are know for delivering outstanding comfort features and gift the driver with classy but sporty driving characteristics.

From the first implementation of an electronic traction control system in a 4x4, on the Range Rover 1, passing the first independent infotainment system between passenger and driver on the same screen using parallax as a trick, introduced in the early 2000s, to the recent All-terrain Progress Control (ATPC), a pioneering crawling assistant in its segment, the brand guarantees the delivery of above-average comfort and features that drive the SUV automotive market.

The moral of the story is that you shouldn't expect low cost from a Land Rover, but you also shouldn't expect anything less than the best in comfort and features from its release time, no matter what.