The British brand Land Rover has enjoyed its place as one of the most respected brands in motoring history. Its typically utilitarian nature meant its found purpose was in salvage, recovery, scouting, and military running. However, things have changed in the company’s nine-decade manufacturing trajectory. Unfortunately, Land Rover’s reliability is now in question as they are some of the least reliable vehicles that money can buy.
Who said Land Rovers are unreliable?
Constant battles have been fought in the off-road and on-road forums between the merits of Land Rover and Toyota’s offerings. While the Land Rover faithful may have sentimental ties to their older models and ’90s, it’s the newer versions that capture the most unreliability. In 2023, the standard Land Rover Range Rover is flanked by a sporty Sport Edition and the luxurious Velar and Evoque. Although the Discovery, Discovery Sport, and Defender models have more off-road credentials, they’re still just as tastefully luxurious as the ones above.
30,062 models pulled from the 2020 US Initial Quality Study were taken to analyze vehicle and brand reliability. After three years of owner use, the agency had identified 184 types of consumer complaints, and classified them into different categories. They include climate, driving assistance, driving experience, features/controls/displays (FCD), exterior, infotainment system, interior, powertrain, and seats.
The vehicles and their brands were given a score represented by the number of versions per 100 model vehicles (PP100). Models and brands with lower scores have higher reliability than their competitors. For 2023, the auto industry standard is 186 PP100.
Where did Land Rover rank in this year’s VDS?
To start, similar brands like Lexus and Genesis scored 133 PP100 and 144 PP100 respectively. Unfortunately, Land Rover ranks well below two of the top luxury brands.
JD Power has placed Land Rover at the bottom of the 2023 VDS engine. With 273 PP100, the British brand is five places below it, which scores 229 PP100.
Why is Land Rover an unreliable brand?
One of the problems with modern Land Rovers is that they are very advanced but very expensive to repair air suspension. Reports indicate that the average annual repair cost of $1,174 across all Land Rover models is double the average cost of a vehicle. Moreover, the frequency and severity of repairs is much higher than that of both luxury and mass-market car brands. However, most of the problems seem to lie with its electronics, according to owner reports.
JD Power found problems with electronics to be a widespread problem with VDS’s across all brands. Six of the top 10 problem areas in modern cars originate within the infotainment system – making up 49.9 PP100 per model. The consumer analysis agency explains that embedded voice recognition systems, Bluetooth connectivity, touch screens, navigation systems, and USB ports are major contributors to issues with long-term reliability. Regardless, Land Rover has a lot of work to do in all areas of their cars to improve next year’s testing.
