2005 Land Rover Range Rover HSE 4.4L BMW M62 V8

Summary:

Great car, fast, rugged, and stylish. 5 stars

Faults:

The Range Rover threw an oxygen sensor at 28,000 and 40,000 miles. Dealer replaced both of them, since I had an extended warranty on the car good through 75,000.

New brakes & rotors placed on RR at 30,000 miles. Replaced OEM brakes pads and rotors with Ferodo brand.

The vehicle at 35,000 threw a wheel speed sensor. This was extremely hard for the dealer to diagnose. I ended up researching the symptoms that were occurring, and recommended they try the wheel speed sensor; this ended up being the problem.

I replaced the original Michelin Synchrone tires at 51,000 miles with new Bridgestone Duler Alenza tires. The tire shop told me that they had never seen a Range Rover go 51k on the OEM tires. The car needed realignment when new tires were put on.

There was a reoccurring creak noise that only happened when the car was crawling at 1-2 MPH on an off-camber slope. The dealer ended up replacing almost every part in the suspension, before finally figuring out that it was the sway bar links? Luckily the warranty covered all of the fixes that they made.

The cup-holder on the passenger side of the car is flimsy, and actually broke when a passenger entered and their backpack hit the cup-holder. Remedy was covered under warranty.

General Comments:

The 2005 RR is one of the best vehicles that I have ever driven. Even though the car is pricey to own, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I chose the 2005 model since it was the last year they put a BMW engine into the car. The 2005 has a revamped navigation over the 2003-2004 models, and features a touch screen navigation.

The RR is fast and handles good. I really like the fact the height automatically adjusts based on your speed, saving you gas and adding stability.

No matter what anyone says, this car is expensive to own. I recommend springing for the extended warranty; it has paid for itself over and over.

I highly suggest penny-pinchers to steering clear of purchasing this car, until they know the maintenance costs and repair costs if needed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th January, 2011