mk3 Land Rover Range Rover review (2002 - 2011)
Land Rover Range Rover cars for sale
3.0
Expert review
Pros
Superb to drive on and off road
Sumptuous cabin
Now a relatively affordable used car
Cons
It's getting harder to find a really good example
Running costs are extremely high
Miserable reliability record
The CarGurus verdict
In a perfect world the Range Rover L322 would be an easy recommendation. It’s imposing. It’s luxurious and comfortable. It’s very well equipped and drives with great composure and, with some models, a considerable amount of speed. And, of course, when you fancy leaving the rat race behind and driving across the great empty expanses of the world, a Range Rover laughs in the face of inhospitable terrain.
But its record for reliability is fairly miserable, which is perhaps why it looks such good value on the used car market. And yet some owners report no problems, or at least no significant ones. So make sure you invest in an expert to help you with a pre-purchase inspection – if you can find a good example of a Range Rover, that perfect world could be yours.
The Range Rover L322 is extremely roomy for passengers and luggage, and also feels very sumptuous inside. All models, including the base HSE, feature leather upholstery, and the further up the trim levels you go, the greater the quality and its application throughout the cabin. Wood veneer of various types is applied lavishly and tastefully, while in Autobiography models there are deep-pile carpets and rugs that would look great in your living room.
Standard in some models and optional in others are heated and cooled seats, while in later versions of the Range Rover you could order individual rear seats that recline electrically and feature airline-style multi-adjustable headrests. In the limited edition Autobiography Ultimate Edition, there was even a leather and wood-covered drinks chiller between the rear seats.
A sophisticated air suspension system gives the Range Rover L322 its cosseting ride quality and is also of assistance off-road (for those who dare to venture there) as it can increase the car’s ground clearance. It can also be troublesome though, as we’ll discuss further down this page. Over its fairly long production life the Range Rover mk3 was fitted with a number of diesel turbo engines and both naturally-aspirated and supercharged V8 petrol units. The diesel line-up began with a 2.9-litre straight-six (from BMW), which was later replaced by a 3.6-litre V8 diesel and then a 4.4-litre version, both Jaguar-sourced. If you don't want diesel, early offerings were a 4.4-litre V8 petrol and a supercharged 4.2 V8; the supercharged model later grew in capacity to 5.0-litre.
An automatic gearbox is standard on all Range Rover mk3s, as is a very sophisticated, capable and easy to use permanent four-wheel-drive system.
From July 2007 the Range Rover could be ordered with four-zone climate control so that rear passengers could control their own in-car environment: regular climate control is standard on all Range Rover mk3s. Other upmarket touches – some standard, others optional – include touchscreen satnav and hybrid TV, surround sound audio systems, entertainment screens built into the back for the front seat headrests, and a ‘dual-view’ screen in the facia that allows the passenger to watch television whilst the driver sees only the satnav.
When it’s in good health the Range Rover mk3 is a fabulous way to travel, but reliability issues have always dogged it. Repairs are costly, so please do read this review carefully before buying.
There’s a thriving and large network of independent specialists around the UK with which you need to acquaint yourself if you’re to afford to run a Range Rover L322. One owner reports having spent £28,000 over 10 years to keep their Range Rover mk3 on the road. Ouch. Not only is an independent Land Rover specialist hundreds of pounds cheaper for servicing, but because they deal with older cars on a daily basis they should have a clearer idea of what to look out for and how to fix problems cost-effectively.
The Range Rover mk3 requires an interim service every 12,000 miles/12 months and a full service every couple of years or 24,000 miles. Depending on the model, a specialist will typically charge between £215 and £235 for an interim service and £285 to £345 for a full service. There will always be a few extras though, to bump up those prices. Very importantly, ask the specialist how often they recommend changing the oil and filters in the automatic gearbox and how much it will cost. Land Rover claims the gearbox is service-free, but in some instances owners who have followed that advice have ended up with a £5,000 bill for a replacement gearbox.
Now that the Range Rover L322 is comparatively old and likely to be high mileage, certain things will be wearing out or packing up. A new air compressor for the air suspension costs between £550 and £682 depending on the vintage of the car, and a set of brake discs, pads and sensor wires will set you back around £235 each end of the car. Ignition switches are starting to fail now: on an early model a replacement will cost roughly £275, but on later versions with the switch located on the upper dash, that cost rises to £575. Alternators are now starting to expire and they’re approximately £485 fitted. And as there’s no point scrimping on the tyres of a car as large and heavy as the Range Rover, budget on upwards of £600 for a set of good quality tyres.
As for fuel costs, well, you don’t buy a Range Rover for economy. Official figures for the petrol V8s range from an average of 17.4mpg to 24.2mpg, but don’t be surprised if around town you get 13mpg or less. The diesels range from 24.9mpg to 30.1mpg, with several owners claiming that such fuel economy is achievable in (careful) real world driving.
Land Rover Range Rover Mk3 (2002-2011) Expert Review Alleged reliability of the Range Rover mk3 is sometimes claimed to be superior to that of the Range Rover mk2, but its problems are manifold. One owner reports that in the course of 197,000 miles his car was subject to three gearbox rebuilds, new suspension airbags, the replacement of all the brake pipes, and the removal of the engine to extract diesel glow plugs that had corroded into place.
Biggest and most expensive issue on all models and years of Range Rover L322 is the automatic gearbox, and while faults commonly show at around the 100,000-mile mark, gearboxes with as few as 60,000 miles on them have suffered failures. They start off with the gear selector being hard to move, progress on to snatchy gearshifts, then eventually stop working altogether. The problem stems from Land Rover’s insistence that the automatic gearbox is ‘service-free’, whereas the reality is that the gearbox oil and filters should be changed annually for safety’s sake. A new gearbox can be £5,000 or more and even a rebuild is on the wrong side of £2,000.
Electrical gremlins are many and varied, so press every button and switch to make sure everything works as it should – a dashboard instrument failure, for example, can cost £1,000 to fix. With the fancy air suspension, the air compressors have a life of about four years (replacements are £550-£700) and the airbag ‘springs’ do start leaking. Using the height setting control, make sure the Range Rover you’re looking at runs smoothly and quietly between settings and maintains its height when you turn off the engine.
Turbochargers are now starting to fail in significant numbers, particularly with the early 2.9-litre Td6, and cost £2,500 or so to replace. Turbo actuators can become stiff and trigger the limp-home mode through the ECU, while ageing coolant expansion tanks can start to split and leak. Water pumps, radiators and hoses are on their way out by 100,000 miles, and the ball joints in the front and rear suspension, together with the rear suspension bushes, frequently give up the ghost.
There are countless other issues too, so to minimise the potential for financial pain during your ownership of a Range Rover, invest in the services of a Land Rover specialist for a pre-purchase inspection. They should be able to spot the pitfalls and give you a rough idea of what extra you may need to spend in the near future.
- You may get lucky and buy a trouble-free Range Rover L322, but don’t bet on it. However much you splash out, aim to have another £2,000 in the kitty for first year maintenance and repairs. You may not need to spend it all, but remember that this is now quite an old car so some components will be near the end of their natural life, and some of the items that fail are repeat offenders. The air compressor on the suspension, for instance, can need replacing every four years.
- The Range Rover mk3 is exceptionally capable off-road and despite its luxury trappings, some owners – farmers in particular – aren’t shy about using them out in the fields and forests. But while the car is designed to handle the call of the wild, off-road use takes its toll on suspension hardware and bushes, and the brakes as well. Be wary of underbody damage, too. Ask the seller if they venture off-road much, or check underneath for a build-up of mud in excess of what you’d expect in everyday driving.
- Throughout its long production life the Range Rover L322 was subject to a programme of continual improvements and upgrades. This is especially true of the engine range – the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 petrol available from April 2009 and 2010’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 diesel are markedly better than their predecessors – but also applies to the trim levels and equipment, infotainment technology, and even the performance of the off-road system. So it makes sense to buy the youngest Range Rover mk3 you can afford, whilst still checking for faults.
- If you want the best all-rounder: Unless your name appears on Britain’s Rich List you’ll be after a diesel, as the petrol engines are wickedly thirsty. The most powerful and economical is the 4.4 TDV8, but as it powers more youthful Range Rover mk3s, prices will be higher. The 3.6 TDV8 (2005-2010) is a cheaper and very capable alternative; try stretching to a Vogue SE for the full luxury feeling.
- If you want to get there in a hurry: Launched in April 2009, the 503bhp 5.0-litre V8 petrol Supercharged version is as brisk as the standard Range Rover mk3 gets. Top speed is 140mph and it hustles from standstill to 60mph in 6.2 seconds, which is really motoring in a vehicle this size. What might slow you down, though, are the frequent stops you’ll be making at petrol stations – driven energetically the Supercharged’s fuel consumption struggles to make it to double figures.
- You’re seeking exclusivity: The Range Rover mk3’s top trim level is Autobiography, and if the original owner was able to afford that, then they would most likely have opted for a selection of exquisite upgrades; there probably aren’t two Autobiographys the same. The final versions from 2012 had an even greater selection of exclusive upgrades.
- If you need to tow: All Range Rover mk3s are rated to tow a braked trailer of up to 3,500kg, although the early 2.9-litre Td6 makes hard work of it as it only has 187lb ft of torque. If you do a lot of towing look towards post-2009 models – as part of a wide range of upgrades including new engines, these cars were equipped with Trailer Stability Assist, together with an outside camera system with a ‘reverse tow assist’ function.
