Land Cruiser vs Range Rover (1 Viewer)

[TeCKis300]

Looking around the web, I saw some commentary in regards to how RR are more capable off-road. I do believe they can be pretty incredible in their own right, and potentially more dependent on tire fitment and driver skill. I personally don't believe they can definitively go farther down the trail (I actually believe the 200-series would), but I certainly know for a fact that the 200-series is what will always more reliably bring you back!

Here's an interesting video between a '15 LC and RR Sport. LC has the advantage by far here. Perhaps other models of RR or LR would put up a better fight?

 

[Markuson]

RR's are pretty capable...between break-downs & trips to the shop.

Reliability is the icing on the cake that launches the incredibly capable, robust, tank-like LC ahead of anything else out there, IMHO.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

“You buy a Land Rover to go into the bush... you buy a Land Cruiser to drive out of it.”

Rovers do very good on their man made courses, but in real world wheeling, they definetly struggle more than a 200.

I’m not saying rovers are incapable, they are very capable. But there is a clear moment that a body on frame, solid rear axle’d vehicle is going to go through worst terrain better.

My last outing with a Land Rover club continues to prove that. They had everything out there, old and new rovers. And the best truck there, was my 200 or the rover club treasurers truck, an 80 series. I’m not trying to be mean, far from it, as I love all cars. For overland things, yeah, but even Subaru’s are great overland vehicles. When I think off-road, I think rock crawling, and I think the new rovers are severely limiting because of the limited articulation a IFS & IRS suspension offers.

But rovers will drive down the highway better than our 200s, that’s for sure. And for the owners that want to travel more backroads and highways, then a rover is a solid option.

As long as people are having fun, that’s all that matters. And fun means a lot of different things, to each of us.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Since I build armor for both and have gotten to deal with misc things over the years.... I'll start with this.

1) RUN LIKE YOU ARE ON FIRE!

2) Do more research!!! the body MUST be pulled to remove the engine. In particular, a rear seal, not even a crankseal, that cost 42.00 has a labor charge of 4400.00 to change after 60K miles on average. LR actually tells their customers to just go ahead and swap in a rebuilt motor " WHILE THEY ARE IN THERE"!?!?!?

3) The frame to body mount positions can be anywhere from 3/16" to 5/8" off from one side to the other OR even another RR. Seems like they just aim and attach body mount attachments where the line welder likes it... I can't even build a jig for sliders for the RR due to SERIOUS dimensioning issues.

4) Rear crossmember is the only thing that attaches the receiver hitch to the frame. It's 2.5mm in thickness (.09") and every single one I've seen looks like a 3rd grader welded it with bubble gum. I have to box the frame with 3/16" and cross brace to add a swing arm.

5) The power of the RR is impressive IF turbo'd (only redeemable feature) otherwise the 3UR-FE and definitely the 1VD will eat this bitch up and spit it out. Not to mention the 200 transmission is 5X smoother. The stock suspension system @50K on the RR feels like a worn out FJ40 leaf spring rig with STIFF shocks. Air ride leaks and bleeds down every night. Air ride compressors are $$$$$$$$$$$$$ for these.

6) ONCE AGAIN..... RUN LIKE YOU ARE ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

The 200 is 20X the rig on or offroad and will be around 10X longer.

J

 

[Markuson]

Wow, @reevesci !

That is one scary report!!


I ran into a guy in a RR in the desert... Perhaps the only fully built one I've ever seen...and his comment to me was, "Man, I wish I'd gone with the LC! This thing has been such a PITA!" He then went on to report his misery with servicing and constant failures.

At least he was honest.

 

[highrisk]

I loved my Range Rover for 3 years. It was a capable machine. It drove very well.

Every time something went wrong it was $5000. Very comfortable seats though.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Wow, @reevesci !

Now that is one scary report!!

It gets even deeper than that.... Try the complete LOCK OUT if the battery goes dead! Damn thing locks you out even if you have the keys in hand and have to get a 300$ locksmith to open it with some "SPECIAL DE-CODE" just to pop the hood to swap batteries.

My CIL is a Brit and has owned 30-40 LRs over the past 45 year (YES!!! that is a frightened # of vehicles) and says the DEFENDER is the ONLY LR to buy. All the others are a Geo Metros or Yugos at best. He finally went with Mercedes and Defenders for his family rigs.

From my experiences the D1 and D2 (Discovery 1 & 2-- 1989-2004) are the last of the common LRs to buy for ANY purpose. I was going to buy a LR3 for R&D and a personal rig to change things up, but after the last few custom builds..... HELL NO! LRs are known for TERRIBLE electronics, but all I can say is just order all new connectors when you plan to swap headlights, change a bulb, replace the starter, etc... The connectors literally fall apart. Not to mention the wires are half the size of ANY other vehicle I've ever worked on.

I love my older D90 and D110 BUT I'D NEVER... EVER.. EVER buy any model LR post 2004.... and be very selective of one pre 2004...

J

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I loved my Range Rover for 3 years. It was a capable machine. It drove very well.

Every time something went wrong it was $5000. Very comfortable seats though.

I like the old RRCs but not the newer. I have to agree the seats are awesome. I guess that]s for the long waits on the roadside waiting for AAA to come tow you to the dealer to write a 3-8K check....

J

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

A 2009 RRS I just finished. @TonyP saw this rig and heard my rant on this mongrel...

Not one thing was symmetrical from DS to PS. The front center tow loop was even welded .875" off center. I checked 3 others and they were all over the board for centered to 1.125" off.

 

[Dan Higgins]

Loved my LR4 for 2 years and 55K miles, much of it off road. Better angles, adjustable suspension, superior cargo area (talking LR4 here, not RRs). But if you wanted to mod it. Hmmm. And I sold it after that 55K. It had been good to me but I could feel my wallet trying to climb out of my pocket. I would never have owned an RRS. I always felt the LR was a better body for adventure stuff. Very happy I’m now in the LC. I simply don’t worry about the reliability. That is huge.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Loved my LR4 for 2 years and 55K miles, much of it off road. Better angles, adjustable suspension, superior cargo area (talking LR4 here, not RRs). But if you wanted to mod it. Hmmm. And I sold it after that 55K. It had been good to me but I could feel my wallet trying to climb out of my pocket. I would never have owned an RRS. I always felt the LR was a better body for adventure stuff. Very happy I’m now in the LC. I simply don’t worry about the reliability. That is huge.

The LR3, LR4, RR Sport and HSE share the same frame from late 2004 to 2016 IIRC. The LR4 is far superior to the LR3 in comfort and with an even more in depth turn of the knob "dial in your terrain" it pretty much makes a first time wheeler very over confident. You pay a price for that knob and to maintain it.

The Rover will never be in a class with any LC for me and many others. Main reason is the production rate alone and QA/QC. Just climb under one and you will start noticing things immediately. My favorite was the porosity filled welds in the frame joints. The welds looked like swiss cheese.

2006 #s for the USA

LR-46,000
vs.
LC-8900

As you can tell I'm pretty disgruntled after the last 3 Rover jobs I've had.

 

[M1911]

Range Rover in its natural habitat:

Range Rover interiors are lovely, but I would never want to drive one more than 30 minutes from a tow. No way I would have the confidence to take one off-roading up a mountain in Colorado.

 

[Markuson]

Range Rover in its natural habitat:

Range Rover interiors are lovely, but I would never want to drive one more than 30 minutes from a tow. No way I would have the confidence to take one off-roading up a mountain in Colorado.

Ha! I've snapped several of those in the past... Can't resist...

 

[Climbingnut]

A friend of mine once said "If you want to go adventuring in style, drive a Land Rover. If you want to make it back, drive a Land Cruiser."

The founder of the missions org I work for was one of the South African trainers for the Camel Trophy races. He would pick the routes, assist in picking the teams, and train the drivers. Needless to say, he has an affinity for all things Land Rover. He's got a RR back in the States, and a UK spec RR in Zambia. He previously had a P38 RR as well. Because of his connections, he can get them a bit cheaper than most. Anyways, he always battled with issues in the P38. Specifically with the AHC suspension. He replaced 6 or 7 airbags, a couple of compressors, and eventually swapped the suspension for traditional coils. His newer RR doesn't see as much off-road use. He would have gone for an LC if he was off-road as much as he used to be in southern Africa.

One of our former staff members went on to be a LR diesel mechanic and told me that sales personnel recommended that buyers budget $5000/year for non warranty maintenance. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I've worked on my fair share of LR's to be fed up with them. There's a reason I've stuck with Cruiser's out here. The reliability is second to none.

 

[Moose545]

I worked PT for a LR/Jag shop minimally after high school. Great family, guys were sharp on anything British, from bikes to MGs, Austin Healey, etc. One word of thumb: Anything British leaks oil. No Jag ever had a bill of less than $500+ unless it was an oil change. While cool as hell, swivel-ball joints on the older ones are a neat thing, I'd never bring myself to do it. Toyota 4 Life here, no fighting it.

 

[Sinister]

I’ve owned both...no comparison, LC all day. My 2011 LC has been in the shop far, far less times then my 2006 was in the 2 years I owned it, just dreadful mechanical and electrical. The amount of crap that broke on that POS was amazing.

 

[EPUro2019]

check out Doug DeMuro's videos on youtube about his range rover - he purchased one from Carmax with a 6K bumper to bumper warrantee. He is up to around 17K in repairs and maintenance on his RR - he can't overstate how thankful he is that he purchased the warrantee.

 

[Ali M]

I’ve owned a Disco 2003, 2008 LR4, and 2011 RR.

The Disco is a pure truck. Reminds a lot of the FJ70 but with luxury package and the reliability of maintaining a RollsRoys ($$$$).

Both the LR4 and RR I owned were always at the dealer post 10k miles. It’s electronics, brakes, battery circuit, alternator and have been towed many times because of that.

That said, they are super comfortable and luxurious to drive and very capable in mud or snow but don’t take them rock crawling because it will break into pieces before your eyes.

My new LC since I bought it has 12k miles and never been to the dealer once. I only had an oil change and tire rotation. It’s an amazingly reliable machine.

 

[mcgaskins]

The quality has gone up tremendously since Tata acquired Land Rover, and my coworker just finished his lease on a 2015 RRS with no mechanical issues in 3 years other than a CEL and some tiny rust bubbles on the exhaust tip. I actually really liked it, but I would not trust it as much as my decade old LX with almost 160k miles on it reliability wise which says a lot. Doug DeMuro just reviewed the new RR Velar and raves about how cool it was, but after a only a couple thousand miles the interior was wearing badly and the entire user interface locked up on him so he couldn’t use the climate control or infotainment until he restarted the car multiple times and walked away from it. Those are the kinds of things that will keep me firmly in the Toyota/Lexus camp because that’s an unacceptable risk when you’re in the wilderness many miles away from help (or even cell coverage).

 

[lcwizard]

In 99 ( if memory serves me ) I competed in 24hrs on the Hammers with Don Robbins and out Arca 40. It was sponsored by ARB.
twenty some competitors were brought from all over including 3 built up Defender 90s. It was mostly Jeeps aside from our FJ40 and Pat Gremillian's (pull pal and Premier Power Welder) vintage Bronco. The object was to race through as many of the seven "hammer" courses as you could in 24hrs.
We finished all three in just over seven hours on the heels of Pat. We went to town, ate dinner, got a room, and came back in the morning.
After 24 hrs over half the vehicles were still on the course. All the Defenders were in their pits, broken , all were DNF.
I learned a lot about reliability at that event. Things you don't normally think about. We took 4 quarts of oil and 23 quarts of power steering fluid with. We were running the standard Saginaw pump. Half way through the first trail we had boiled out most of the reservoir pushing 38" Swampers at that race pace. By the seventh trail we had boiled through all the PS and motor oils and finished the last leg using water in the pump ( not as smooth ). From then on we ran 1 gallon steering reservoirs and coolers in our comp vehicles. No issues after that