Ask anyone who knows anything about cars what the least reliable cars are, and I guarantee “old Range Rover” is going to come to the forefront. That’s, in part, thanks to Doug DeMuro pointing out how his 2006 Range Rover’s Carmax warranty saved him from bankruptcy, but there are plenty of others who have told similar tales. Take British engineers, have them design an overly complicated SUV, and then sell that SUV to people who place very little value on cars older than about two years old. The result is: Used Range Rovers are humongous, steaming piles of junk. That’s why, when I learned that someone had traded a 2006 Range Rover Sport into Galpin Ford, I just had to test it out.
OK, so to be fair, Doug’s Range Rover was a regular model, while I tested out the Range Rover Sport, which is built on a modified Land Rover LR3 chassis. Still, like the standard car, you’ve got a supercharged 4.2-liter Jaguar V8 under the hood, with output on the Sport model being 390 horses (only 10 down from the regular Range Rover). The idea behind the Range Rover Sport was to offer a slightly cheaper, more street-oriented SUV to compete with the Germans (think X5 and Cayenne), but one that can still do some amount of off-roading thanks in part to a trick Terrain Response dial that adjusts ride height and traction control for mud, snow, sand, or other conditions.
Not shared with the full-sized Range Rover until 2006, this drive mode system was quite revolutionary for 2006.
To be sure, even the nearly 6,000 pound Range Rover *Sport* still wasn’t exactly a handler, with Road & Track writing in its 2006 track test piece:
…the Range Rover Sport came along for the ride. And promptly posted the worst acceleration numbers, the worst slalom time and the second-to-worst skidpad run of the group. Yet along the way, all of us, including “Mike,” came to like and respect it.
[…]
With all that weight and a tall center of gravity, high-speed sweepers made it feel floaty. And the brakes — despite measuring 14.2 in. Up front — faded quickly, exacerbated by an extremely long pedal travel. Marc wasn’t a fan of the steering, either, saying “the numb on-center feel surprised me because it reminded me of my parents’ Range Rover from the late ’80s.”
[…]
…everyone commented on the Range Rover’s high style, Marc calling it “the best design of the bunch” and Joe saying he “likes the massive, aggressive looks.” Inside, the Range Rover impressed with its luxurious appointments (especially the onboard electric drink cooler), and its fit and finish.
Despite all the comments about it being down in the sport quotient to the others, Jonathan said, “The Range Rover would absolutely be my pick for a laid-back road trip with friends.”
Car and Driver was a little friendlier re: the truck’s handling, writing:
…we drove the Range Rover Sport in the mountains near Malibu, California, and were pleasantly surprised at how well this vehicle takes to the tortuous ribbons of asphalt that traverse this area. Again, thanks to the mechanisms that discourage unwanted body motions, the vehicle avoids any rolling and wallowing during hard cornering.
The brakes—four-piston Brembos on the front end—rein in the Range Rover with plenty of power and feel. Then you can swing the nose with the smooth ZF Servotronic steering gear, which is accurate and nicely weighted if not particularly communicative. As the vehicle reaches the corner apex, you then exploit the abundant torque of the supercharged V-8 and the all-wheel-drive system to pull the vehicle out of the corner without tire scrub.
As long as the cautious stability-control system has been disabled, a driver can get on the power early and stay on a tight arc that avoids crossing over the center line. Range Rover engineers claim they could have dialed body roll right out of the equation but refrained from doing so to provide some of the cornering feedback most people expect.
Regardless, it’s a big SUV, and what pretty much every reviewer back in 2006 had to say was that the Range Rover Sport had incredible amounts of style, loads of power, and its ride comfort was excellent. But 18 years later, would that still hold up?
I drove this black-on-black Range Rover Sport that somebody had traded in for a Ford. Here’s what I learned:
Look at this thing:
It’s a 2006 Range Rover Sport trade-in, but looking at it in the photo above, you’d be surprised it’s that old. The vehicle’s styling has held up beautifully over the past 18 years, and the fact that the paint and body are still in excellent condition only accentuates how modern this ol’ luxury SUV looks.
Yes, it doesn’t quite look as good from the other front three-quarter angle due to a yellowing headlight:
And if I’m honest, that interior is in what I’d consider worse-than-average condition, particularly up front:
The little square holes in the seat have all turned into X’s:
The armrests look like they’d look right on 19th-century furniture:
The dashboard, too, is cracked:
Yikes.
The good news is that the rear seats look decent.
So my first impressions were mixed. The Range Rover looks great on the outside, but kinda rough inside. But the question I had was: How would it drive? Would that 390 horsepower Supercharged V8 still have some spunk in it or would it have a loud knock and exhaust leak, stuttering under load and ultimately leaving me with an overheated car on the side of the 405?
What about the air suspension, which is notoriously unreliable on old Range Rovers. Do the air springs still work?
Upon firing the engine up, I was actually quite surprised by how how “not bad” the V8 sounded, and if you don’t believe me, just look at perhaps the most “not bad” faces a man can make:
Of course, I was shortly thereafter surprised to hear a loud HISS!
That hissing sound seemed to have come from under the car — perhaps it was air suspension related? One I got on the road, I was simply blown away by how smoothly the old Range Rover propelled itself down those Van Nuys streets, especially since something appeared a bit off with the air suspension. How was the ride still this smooth? How was that six-speed ZF automatic so buttery? How were the seats so comfortable? How was that cabin still so quiet? It was remarkable.
Less remarkable was what happened when I hammered the throttle:
The engine made a horrible sound that seemed to me might have been caused by the engine rocking under load, coming into contact with the electric fan. Either it was that or an exhaust leak, but in either case, I was no longer comfortable mashing the pedal all the way to the ground.
[Editor’s note: That sort of juddering under load could also be symptomatic of drivetrain problems. Driveshaft components don’t last forever, and the sealed-for-life status of the automatic transmissions in these Range Rover Sports did no favors for transmission longevity —TH]
Still, if I kept my foot from the floorboard, the engine felt responsive and smooth. The AC worked great, and thanks to the crotch vent — which really should be standard on all cars — I was not only riding in style, but I did so with refrigerated lower giblets. And that, as we all know, is the pinnacle of comfort. 
In the end, I was blown away by this traded-in 2006 Range Rover Sport. It wasn’t particularly fast, it certainly wasn’t efficient, and its interior hadn’t held up well at all. But the Range Rover Sport has always been about comfort and style. And even this old Range Rover Sport — whose suspension I found worked quite well despite the hissing (which I assume is a normal relief-valve sound) — is an ACE when it comes to comfort.
As for style? I mean, come on — look at this:
The car is old enough to vote and it still looks that good.
I had expected this Trade-In Tuesday to go so, so much worse.
– David Tracy, Galpin Ford salesman of the month
I have a much favorable view of Range Rovers, mostly because I’ve owned two BMW-era Range Rover L322’s (a 2003 and a 2004) with the BMW M62tu V8. One was $3000, the other was $800. Both drove great, were easily fixed with mostly OEM BMW parts, and were equally comfortable on and off pavement. When you fix a Range Rover yourself, it’s a much more affordable ownership experience.
I don’t know if the photo simply isn’t high-res enough or what, but that interior really doesn’t look bad to me, even up front. So long as the dashboard “crack” doesn’t rattle in driving, and so long as the seat doesn’t have actual tears, I’d say that looks pretty damn good.
Still, it’s an old Range Rover so….glad it’s on the other side of the continent from me.
Is that, 20K miles the actual mileage? If so this car holds up to the RR’s fall apart expensively meme well.
About 8 years ago now, I walked past a Range Rover in the pick and pull and the interior was immaculate (nothing like the one in this article). The next day I came back and bought the passenger seat and rear seats out of it and then made a couch and a rolling chair out of them for my garage. I connected 12V up to each seat motor until I got it adjusted the way I wanted it. They are still in use today and look great. I was comfortably sitting in my Range Rover chair in the garage last night for Autopian member trivia. If it was socially acceptable (or at least acceptable to the wife) to put these stuff in the house, I’d probably make a few more pieces of recycled automotive furniture. That chair is one of the most comfortable places to sit at my house. I just wish it had armrests on both sides.
So, good job Range Rover. Your cars often end up in the junkyard before they should, and as a result, I have some nice garage furniture.
Did you use a car battery temporarily hooked up to adjust the seats and then disconnected? I’m wondering if you could tuck a 12V lantern battery under the seat to provide enough juice to adjust them during normal use?
The control box for this seat was elsewhere in the car, so I just hooked a battery direct to the motor wires. Reverse polarity to make them go the other way. I would have loved to make the buttons actually work and it could be done, but it would be a lot of wiring and relays to do it.
Sounds like a worthwhile Arduino project to me!
I do frequently consider making a office chair out of a passenger seat someday. Preferably with the heated seat function hooked up too.
Did something similar with a Grand Cherokee driver’s seat and a spare drill battery. Attached the seat to an office chair base with a custom plywood adapter. Battery would last about a year between charges. My wife and daughters were NOT impressed with my Appalachian engineering. My feelings were hurt. 😛
That’s awesome and sounds comfortable!
-So if it was socially acceptable, would you drape yourself in velvet like George Costanza?
-Did you also use a car battery to hook up to the frogger arcade game?
“HOLES! I NEED HOLES!”
The designer Ron Arad did this back in the 1980s – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_chair
An 18 year old Escalade or a Yukon Denali would usually outperfom this in reliability. One, they have simple pushrod V8s (I will leave the GMT900s out for a while, as it will involve too much fighting ), and the other is that they share platforms and are easy to DIY and work on.
Yes, the Cadillac may have annoying electronics, but NOTHING compared to the Range Rover. Both the Escalade and the Denali may not be able to go offroad due to their AWD, but knowing how women and immature females with their RRs are, I DOUBT this one went either.
RRs are for those who want status (hence why MANY female celebrities have them…), Escalades are for those who want status but ALSO a rugged truck…Denalis are similar. The point is, this RR seems to have been taken care off, but it would be HARD to imagine if something costly could go wrong sometime after he drove it..I will NOT deny they are reliable if they are given the maintenance they deserve (have heard of some 300k+ mile examples), but again they SIMPLY CANNOT withstand abuse unlike a GMT800 Escalade or Yukon Denali can….
I totally agree with this. My wife and I wanted a large comfortable SUV, with features like cooled seats.
Reliability is important to us, and we ended up with a 2007 GMT900 Escalade and couldn’t be happier. It’s so quiet, comfortable and relaxing to road trip in, but is as reliable/durable and easy to fix as a Chevy truck.
We would happily have bought a Tahoe instead, but used Escalades didn’t hold any more value, have much more power, and most came with all of the options as standard. The dash they used in the Escalade also doesn’t crack like the Tahoe/Yukon one does, plus the biggest benefit is that the 6.2 didn’t get cylinder deactivation until 2010, so they don’t have any glaring reliability flaws.
I will generally say not to overlook early GMT900 Escalades if also looking at GMT800s – in my opinion they’re a bit of a hidden gem because it’s often assumed they have the same cylinder deactivation problems as other GMT900 SUVs.
I personally prefer the growl of the 6.2…compared to that of the RR supercharged….not to mention the boxy build makes it more rugged and imposing.
Cylinder deactivation is NOT necessarily a death sentence…there are PLENTY with well over 250k miles running fine with the system still active. The problem is, prolonged oil changes can cause issues with the lifters… as does neglect and abuse unfortunately.
That said, a lifter job would be still cheaper (even considering its rarity compared to the THOUSANDS of trucks and SUVS it was in in that era) than fixing whatever expensive issue this RR would have…European cars have better build quality, but when they break, they BREAK IN THE WORST WAYS…and this one is no exception.
I don’t understand the need to talk about “British engineers”, as in this article, or Italian, German, Japanese engineers the way you do in others. It’s heavy handed, based on cultural generalizations, and limiting to those who don’t want to be reduced to the stereotype of their country of origin.
Not a matter of offense – it just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and I think is an overall negative for the site
you ever own or drive a brit engineered car? Once you have you will be much more comfortable talking about these things… because the stereotype like usual didnt come from thin air.
Yes plenty. Have you ever designed automotive components at a major automaker while working with British engineers? A large number of contract engineers in the US are from Britain. British companies like Ricardo staff at the major OEMs, and many Ricardo engineers move on to OEMs.
The simple solution of moving from stereotyping entire groups of people (which has led to bad outcomes often) to stereotyping brands (fewer bad outcomes) seems reasonable
This article is written by a former Chrysler engineer, and we all know the sense they have.
At least DT had enough sense to leave pretty early on in his career.
That said, I worked with many Scottish and a few English engineers at my previous job and they were generally as capable as any American engineer, and far easier to work with than the German engineers who legitimately thought their way was unquestionably the best.
These are actually great cars. The AJ-V8 is extremely reliable, diff and transfer case near bulletproof (with regular fluid changes), and amazing comfort all year around in any weather. The ’06 RRS (first year) had a lot of updates learned from the ’05 LR3 (which shares its architecture). Parts are very cheap (fcpeuro) and very easy to work on (look at getting an IIDtool). I had an ’05 LR3, ’08 RRS, and ’11 RRS supercharged.
Big thing, if it hasn’t been done already, make sure to change the windshield cowl (they warp over time). There’s an air intake scoop for the hvac on the passenger side firewall that extends out past where the windshield stops, so if it rains heavily and the cowl is not sealed tightly, all that water goes right into your passenger blower motor and onto the floorboard.
Even for $1249.99 you’re throwing your money away.
The video where Doug totals up the warranty work on the Carmax Range Rover is peak YouTube for me.
Have to admit I did expected this car to be far more broken than it was.
Unfortunately, Doug bought the most problematic year of the RR (full size) right between the shift from BMW electrics to Jag electrics while still using the older BMW architecture. Makes for great content though. The ’08+ version were MUCH more reliable. The LR3 and RRS use a much newer and reliable platform.
Nice! It’s been a while since I’ve watched a video here. A couple of things in response:
I know these things have to be banged out and you’re on a tight schedule, but if you do go back and edit, I’d recommend changing “exacerbate” to something like “emphasizes” or “underscores”, which I presume is what you intended. “Exacerbate” connotes the intensification of negative qualities and would suit a sentence such as, “The Range Rover Sport’s plethora of gadgets and overall mechanical complexity only exacerbate the issues arising from slipshod assembly processes and the traditional and longstanding indifference of British manufacturing to any hint of quality control.”
I suspect that the seating leather’s higher finish standard – less protective coating used to make lower-quality hides look uniform, with probably a semi-aniline or full-aniline dye – um, exacerbates the effects of sun and age when compared to leather in more pedestrian cars. The initial lessee probably didn’t do much in the way of leather maintenance that wasn’t part of an occasional light detailing to keep it clean, and subsequent owners probably did less and less over time.
Good for you for not referring to the videographer as “Cameraman” as you did in the last one of these I viewed, which was the one with the BMW 840i, if I remember correctly. I joked about it and maybe it was part of your schtick at the time, but it really did bother me, although not so much that I was unwilling to make it a big thing simply to pick on you.
As always. your enthusiasm is infectious even when you’re driving something that, unlike most of the cars you’ve owned, isn’t. I hope you enjoyed the little luxuries missing from much of your life’s fleet such as the crotch vent and a functioning horn.
That’s all for now. If I think of anything else that might make you wince or shake your head, I’ll add it in the replies.
I actually meant “accentuates.” Good catch! I was definitely blasting this sucker out a bit too quickly, especially after learning halfway through that the Range Rover Sport is an entirely different platform than the Range Rover.
“Uh, so you’re telling me I’m reviewing a totally different car than I thought I was reviewing?!
D’oh!
Since the edit window for your reply has closed, I’ll ask: Range Over what?
Ha ha ha ha ha!
I’ll shut up now.
No clue what you’re talking about 😉
Abuse of power.
Well, shit. I lost all of the
<ol>formatting for that post even though it displayed intact when I was posting and editing.We need a more comprehensive rich text editor for the comments.
Videographer, Cameraman…same difference…this is like complaining about calling a Meteorologist a Weatherman…they’re still a Weatherman/woman…that’s what they are
Aren’t we sorta preconditioned to accept British vehicle styling as “contemporary” way longer than other nationalities’ by virtue of the almost extreme reluctance of the firms to change things in any big way. The Jaguar XJ sedan series went on forever with just modest styling changes along the way.
Also, I enjoy the subtle tell of LA David – putting “the” in front of the highway number.
.The British hold onto something until past its prime, and then make an abrupt shifting course correction well after sell-by dates have passed.
This Range Rover is firmly in that camp of yesteryear – it’s old and looks old. Perhaps to David it’s positively modern next to a Jeep.
It’s the slow methodical march of VW corporate styling makes each year blend into the next. There is no Blitzkrieg styling at VW.
Considering what modern range rovers have started to look like, I’ll take old. But I do agree with DT. The exterior doesn’t look anywhere near as dated other vehicles of the same vintage. It will mostly only look dated to people who know Range Rover and can say how many generations ago the vehicle was now.
Yeah, all black everything including the oversized rims? I’m sure it looks good, but I guarantee the former owner hooned the fuck out of it and skimped on maintenance. Hard pass.
I can’t believe the bags weren’t blown on that thing. If it’s like Mercs, once one blows the pump isn’t far behind as it makes futile attempts to reinflate the leaky one…
Which LA Reality-TV personality/Real Estate Agent leased it first?
Take the looks and trader them onto something modern and you could have a hit. Stellantis, you can have that one for free.
Looks good and does well as far as a drive around the block goes (which is not nothing). But would you buy it, take it home, and expect it to go a year without some expensive issue cropping up?
Unfortunately no. I would rather take an 18 year old EXT Escalade or a LX470 and slap method offroad wheels onto it rather than an RR that was driven by a female who liked to abuse it to the ground…
I will need to watch the video later, but wanted to mention a couple of things.
Most of the people who regurgitate the “Land Rover unreliable lololol” stuff have never even sat in one, let alone owned or even driven one. 🙂 My RRS Supercharged had one issue that was fixed under warranty.
The air suspension on mine – a later gen with the 5.0-liter – had auto-leveling. I could load a bunch of stuff in the back, start the car, and the suspension would do its thing.
The interior in mine held up noticeably better than that: no worn seats, no dash cracks, etc. I guess they started doing things better after 2006.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to the video.
Sure Jen
I would assume JD Power, that has it as the 3rd least reliable brand only beat Audi and Chrysler, knows what they are talking about. Sitting in or driving one has nothing to do with reliability.
https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds
JD power, where they count “a problem” as anything from a faulty interior light bulb to a loud shifting noise to catastrophic engine failure?
They actually don’t. You should read how they came up with their scores and the criteria used to determine “reliability.”. A Kia needing a transmission replacement is somehow equivalent to a loose interior clip causing a rattle.
Even if we chose to pay any attention JD Powers ratings (as stated below, there are reasons most of us don’t), who cares how the 2023 model rates for reliability when we are discussing an early 00s? Companies change over time. Oddly enough in 2006, a new Toyota V8 was bulletproof. Yet in 2024 they had a massive recall? Crud, that 06 v8 is STILL considered worth buying because its bulletproof.
i have never had a RR, but have had very few problems with my Jag.. i dont want to temp the car gods.. but generally i feel like if you manage your expectations RRs and jags are just fine.
check engine light is on which was from the factory
Gold, Jerry! Gold!
My god watched the video my head is about to explode. Been reading Jeep DT since Jalopnik and those others here who have will recognize this comment. We now have Fancy Davearino.
1. Let’s make sure the crotch vent works. Prior DT crotch vent was a hole in the floor boards of his jeeps.
2. Oh Buffy the airbags seem to have a split the ride will be awful. From a man driving a $500 mail jeep in Moab.
3. Oops we have an engine light on. Really from the guy who’s entire fleet would need rewiring just to see if the vehicle had warning lights?
4. Also let’s admit a Land Rover heap is still better than any jeep DT has ever owned.
My brain is trying to climb out of my skull after watching the Fancy Davearino video
I accidentally got to the youtube video when it was still titled “*****DO NOT PUB David Drives an old Range Rover and LOVES it?”
😀
This looks alarmingly similar to the murdered-out RR Sport my neighbor bought around that time (2006) when I lived in Pasadena. I remember being very jealous for a few fleeting moments and then remembering, oh yeah, its a Range Rover, never mind.
This is FOR SURE the crappiest car I love. Every time I see one my heart starts to flutter.