1987 Land Rover Range Rover review from UK and Ireland

Vibration made the car undriveable over 50mph when first bought, then discovered that despite the yr MOT the rear shock mounts were absolutely shot.

Car refused to start one day, turned out to be vacuum sensor on BACK of engine, spent two days in garage fixing this.

Rear electric windows failed.

Electric mirrors failed.

Heater NEVER gave out any heat to passengers.

Rear upper tailgate was very hard to shut even after adjustment of lock. Tailgate was also corroded, very well known fault on Rangies.

Crankshaft pulley keyway broke up, requiring a new pulley. This was £50 for the part alone.

Engine was either down on power or just lousy.

Steering was more of an approximate direction indicator than actually controlling the wheels.

Various bits of trim would randomly fall off whilst driving.

Wheel bearing changed.

Alternator bracket snapped.

Coolant pipes leaked. Engine seeped oil. Autobox seeped oil. Axles seeped oil.

Finally sold vehicle after auto gearbox broke, not changing into 3rd or 4th, allowing driving at 30mph max.

All in all, I spent approx £2500 on parts and trips to the garage in 18 months.

Off road, these things are truly unstoppable. Mine was totally standard except for taking off the front bumper and towbar, and it was excellent. In low range with the difflock on, it would climb anything as long as the tyres bite. I took mine offroad sometimes and was always amazed at the sheer walls it could climb up.

It was also great for long distance, the engine never missed a beat when it was at running temp, and the seats were very comfortable.

The V8 is great to drive in quarries, but did not seem particularly powerful on the road. In low range you could pull your house over, but forget about overtaking on the road.

Lots of bodyroll, but fine when you get used to it.

Parts are ridiculously cheap in enthusiast magazines, BUT BEWARE you will need a lot of them. Land Rovers seem incapable of going any great distance without something needing to be replaced or adjusted. They are great offroaders, but do require a lot of maintenance. Fine if you're a DIYer, suicidal if you need a garage to change spark plugs for you.

Yes, they're great offroad, and yes they're unreliable.