BUYERS GUIDE LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER

THINKING OF BUYING A LAND OR RANGE ROVER?

The Land Rover has been with us for over seventy years, a modest, no-nonsense premise that has gradually evolved into an unrecognisable international institution. From its honest origins as a utilitarian all-wheel drive, the Land Rover and Range Rover brand now represent the twin peaks of SUV ownership, be that workmanlike all-road ability, or the height of automotive luxury.

The original Land Rover enjoyed two largely uncontested decades in the market, before customer demand for greater comfort saw the introduction of the Range Rover in 1970. This divergence of brand identity has since seen several generations of Defender and Discovery produced, alongside equally numerous permutations of the original Range Rover and its own recent off shoots. These include the Sport, Evoque and Velar, all riffs on a central tenant of all-terrain ability allied with varying degrees of exclusivity and comfort.

Today, Land Rover and Range Rover enjoy an enviable if not always wholly accurate reputation for go-anywhere ability, integrity of design and build and enjoy largely unmatched desirability. The recent launch of the new Defender has only served to bolster the brand’s standing, while highlighting the fact that even Land Rover’s most rugged offerings are now being targeted not at the farmers and soldiers who put it on the map, but at a lifestyle clientele for whom appearance is more important than application.