I was considering skipping over the performance car and going with something that is multi purposed. I do live in New England... and cars for me end up being a bottomless pit of investment. I do NOT like domestics, I value nice materials, reliability and off road capability with gas mileage in mind as well as the overall well rounded package. I like the X5 and Acura MDX... as well as the Lexus RX330 and 400 but the offroad capability is almost non-exsistant. I want an SUV that won't be mechanically finicky or tempermental and that I can keep for a while. I was considering a 2001-2002 Range Rover HSE... or maybe a 2003 or 2004 Range Rover HRE... I hear they are great off road, amazing in fact and that is surprising considering how bulky and low they look. I want something that does it all however and it seems like Range Rovers have there stuff together but the concern I have is that Land Rover is ranked second to last with only KIA being worse in reliability and the consumer reports has Land Rovers and Ranger Rovers with black dots in almost every catagory. If these are so great why are they evidently such crap. I don't want something that's going to be always giving me problems, I want something that I can count on. Is this the SUV for me? What are the typical issues with these and how to avoid them? Are these SUV's durable and capable off road or is it... "oh crap what was that noise" kind of deal.

I love Range Rover's, but I think thats because I've never owned one. My friends who do own them say they have their fair share of problems. If I ever do purchase a Range I'll make sure I don't own it when its out of warranty.

my fathers has left him stranded on the side of the highway numerous times. The day he drove it out of the dealership the engine cut out when he was merging onto the highway!

Dont say i didnt warn you.

ugh I want to get a Range after this car but these stories are scaring me away from it. Would you get a 06 RR supercharged with 8k miles or is that a problem car potentially?

If you value reliability Range Rover or Land Rovers are not to be placed on your list.

Please note that the Lexus Rx400 comes with a warning NOT to be taken off road (electric motor shorts danger).

For amazing off road performance and good on road manner, plus nice interior place the VW Tuareg on your list - it has also had some teething issues with reliability but it is head and shoulders above the RR on that topic.

If the MDX is on your list, your off road requirements are therefore not that great. In such a case consider as well the X5, much better package than the MDX from a handling/engine/interior/brakes perspective.

Porsche Cayenne... enough said.

I saw a Black/black X5 350hp with the 20" style 214 pkg at the dealership the other day. Pretty mean looking. Have never heard anything good about RRovers.

My dad has a 2007 Lexus RX350 (no longer the RX330). He drives a lot on the highway and already has 51,xxx kilometers on the car. It's great...no problems whatsoever. He really wanted to get something reliable so we went with the Lexus. If reliability is your priority, I'd stick with either the Lexus or Acura.

I was trying to get him to get either the Volvo XC90 or Landrover LR3...but both have their share of reliability problems.

POS just ask the service guys they are always in i had two!!!

Toureg is a nice looking one, but how capable is it off road? Theyre not cheap either. I don't mind some quirks but overall a nice reliable package.

Ive grown up in a huge Range Rover Family. 05 RR, 98 50th aniversary edition RR, 1990 Classic RR, 2002 Land Rover.

..... I love them... i do... But they are really, no lie, POS!! Beautiful cars and very classy styling and interiors, but they are just ALWAYS in the shop. VERY UNRELIABLE!!

These pictures sums up everything. Its (or was) our 1998 50th Aniversary Range Rover. Now, its bye..bye! I walked outside and saw the engine bay smoking. Popped the hood and .... FIRE!!!! How did it happen? We still dont know.

Until recently, LR was owned by Ford. Enough said.

Jeep Grand cherokee > all for SUV"s

either that, or the Lexus Hybrid SUV

Both have awesome reviews, my Jeep is going on 103k miles without so much as a sputter from the engine or tranny. I live 30 feet from the delaware River, so I've driven it through water as deep as 4 feet on many many occasions.

Cayenne....enough said

RickE46M3 wrote

Toureg is a nice looking one, but how capable is it off road? Theyre not cheap either. I don't mind some quirks but overall a nice reliable package.

The toureg is actually very good offroad, as is the cayenne.Out of all of them the porsche cayenne, range rover, and jeep are the most capable off road. PORSCHE CAYENNE all the way!

I drove a Porsche, the V6 and to be honest... it was pretty bland, the styling inside and out wasn't that great and the V6 was slow as BALLS! The Grand Cherokee is great off road but a no no everywhere else. I know too many people who have had them and seen constant brake problems, transmission issues, transfer case... all kinds of crap go wrong with them, now the Cherokee and Wrangler are very strong... not the Grand though, besides I want something I get into and it's "OoOo nice"... with bluey VW interior lights or shiney cool things haha, I have ALWAYS loved VW interior lights... I hate GREEN or ORANGE, EW! WTF... I see it all the time, it's important as superficial as it sounds I don't want to see anymore green f'ing Jeep or Ford or Chevrolet interiors. BLAHKKKKK!

Toureg or Cayenne if you must have an SUV, otherwise look at something like a Subaru Outback Wagon or a Volvo XC70 (check out the new body). These both have as much ground clearance if not more than most SUVs not to mention get better mileage.

Magna3 wrote

Until recently, LR was owned by Ford. Enough said.

BTW.. Land Rover is still owned by Ford....

Land Rover was previously owned by BMW....

what was your point again?

Land rovers are notoriously unreliable. I've had experience with three of the old model Range Rovers over 6 years and one of the new style (while still under BMW) Range Rovers. All of them had problems....as in service stop every few months.

They are great performance-wise though, my brother went off roading all the time with them and never had a complaint about their performance in that regard. Especially with the new engine's even when on-road they can definitely still throw you into the back of your seat.