Land Rover a Good First Car? (Range Rover, Defender +More)
Land Rover is one of the few automakers in the US to solely sell SUV vehicles.
Are their luxury SUVs any good as first cars?
Generally: Are Land Rovers Good First Cars?
The ownership of the brand changed hands several times since its debut in the US market, and improving the vehicles’ reliability has been a constant struggle.
Luxurious interior and rugged design are Land Rover’s selling points.
Still, Land Rover vehicles have a poor reliability record, high fuel consumption, and weak value retention, making them bad first cars for freshly licensed drivers.
The steep prices also put them out of most first-time drivers’ reach.
Accidents typically lead to costly repairs.
But, would an entry-level or used Land Rover be a relatively better first car?
Specific Land Rover Models:
Available models range from compact to full-size SUVs.
#1 Is a Land Rover Defender a Good First Car?
The Land Rover Defenders available are the all-new 2020 Defender and the Defender of the 1990s.
The new Defender comes with plenty of safety features, but the older model has questionable structural safety that led to the halt in its importation.
Overall, it is a super capable off-roader, but the exorbitant price makes the Land Rover Defender a poor choice for a first car:
- Appalling gas mileage – 18 mpg combined on the base model means you pay dearly and frequently at the pump.
- Expensive first car – any used Defender will still cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
- Awful reliability – JD Power consistently rated it below 75/100 across its model years. 80/100 is the reasonable average.
- Costly maintenance – parts for the old Defender are expensive due to its age. It doesn’t get cheaper with the new Defender; most Land Rovers cost above $1,000/year to maintain.
- High insurance premium – teenage drivers can expect to pay close to $7,000 per year for full coverage, or nearly $600 per month.
- Good visibility – the elevated seating position, upright windshield, and tall front side windows deliver great outward view.
The boxy design offers fantastic outward visibility for the driver, but this quality pales into irrelevance with the massive list of drawbacks.
The Land Rover Defender 90 has a cool two-door design.
However, its smaller dimensions mean you lose significant cargo room, rendering it impractical for road trips – carrying more than one passenger requires you to fold the rear seats.
If you must get a Defender, look for one with a complete service history to ensure reliability.
#2 Is a Land Rover Discovery a Good First Car?
The Land Rover Discovery can be the base Discovery or the Discovery Sport.
The Discovery Sport may be cheaper than the base model, but overall, any Land Rover Discovery is a bad first car:
- Poor gas mileage – 18 mpg combined, even on the most fuel-efficient base model.
- Weak value retention – a brand-new Discovery loses 57% after five-year ownership.
- Atrocious reliability – the base Discovery scored an average of 73/100 (which is already poor), and the Discovery Sport received 69/100 on JD Power.
Unless you need your first car to have incredible off-road capability, you should consider another SUV.
#3 Are Range Rovers Good First Cars?
The Range Rover series covers the brand’s entire price spectrum – the most expensive Range Rover is more than double the price of the cheapest, the Range Rover Evoque.
The Range Rovers are terrible choices for a first car because the cons far outweigh the merits:
- Gas guzzlers – low-20s mpg combined, including the hybrid models, which is disappointing.
- Premium fuel – required or recommended; either way, it’s an unnecessary extra cost for young drivers.
- All-wheel-drive – excellent for all-weather driving but unnecessary for most conditions.
- Too powerful for a first car – from 240-plus horsepower to well over 500 horsepower, depending on the model.
- They are luxury vehicles – outside first car territory.
- Expensive to buy – a brand-new Range Rover costs at least $50k, while a decade-old one is still well over $10k unless you opt for an even older Rover.
- Equally expensive to operate – all Range Rovers cost more than their respective segment averages to maintain.
- Poor value retention – some of the worst on the market.
A brand-new Range Rover depreciates 63% after five years; Range Rover Evoque 54%; Range Rover Velar 57%; Range Rover Sport 53%.
For comparison, a brand-new Honda Civic only loses 39% after the same period.
Which Range Rover Model Is Better?
Table Guide:
- Fuel Economy: mpg city/highway/combined (base; auto).
- Reliability: /100; higher = fewer problems (JD Power).
- Maintenance Costs: per year avg. (RepairPal).
| Model Year | Fuel Econ. | Reliability | Maint. Costs | Price (latest) | Price (10yr old) |
| Range Rover Evoque | 20/27/22 | 73/100 | $1,102 | >$45,000 | >$15,000 |
| Range Rover Velar | 21/27/23 | 69/100 | NA | >$58,000 | NA |
| Range Rover Sport | 19/24/21 | 73/100 | $1,179 | >$70,000 | >$11,000 |
Among the Range Rover models, the Evoque has the lowest price and should theoretically be the best Range Rover for a first car.
However, it is still overpriced for new drivers, and the poor reliability record (see table above; 80/100 or more is good) and expensive upkeep are significant concerns.
Comparison: Best Land Rover for a First Car?
To get an idea of how much you’ll pay to buy and upkeep an SUV, let’s compare the various Land Rover SUVs to the Toyota RAV4.
Table Guide:
- Fuel Economy: mpg city/highway/combined (base model).
- Reliability: /100; higher = fewer problems; 5yr avg. (JD Power).
- Maintenance Costs: per year avg. (RepairPal).
- Visibility: excellent, good, average, poor.s
- Safety (IIHS): 1 (poor) to 4 (good); IIHS tests average.
- Safety (NHTSA): 1 (poor) to 5 (safest); NHTSA overall.
The maintenance cost of luxury compact SUVs average $859/year, and non-luxury compact SUVs average $521/year.
The Toyota RAV4 is a compact SUV that averages $429/year in maintenance; any Land Rover will cost you more than double that to upkeep.
A 10-year old RAV4 may cost a little more than an Evoque of a similar age, but you’re paying significantly more to keep the latter running.
Plus, the relatively smaller drop in value after ten years indicates that the RAV4 is better at value retention and more reliable.
The Range Rover Discovery Sport is the cheapest among the brand’s lineup and should be the best Land Rover for a first car price-wise if you buy new.
However, the Discovery Sport’s upkeep is prohibitively expensive.
All Land Rovers are expensive and unreliable, so teenagers looking to get their first car should look elsewhere.
Alternatives to Land Rover for a Teenager’s First Car
If you want an SUV or crossover for your first car, consider these brands and models:
- Toyota – C-HR, RAV4, Corolla Cross.
- Honda – HR-V, CR-V.
- Mazda – CX-30, CX-5.
- Hyundai – Kona, Tucson.
- Jeep – Renegade, Compass, Cherokee, Wrangler.
The Japanese and Korean SUVs are considerably cheaper, more reliable, and return outstanding gas mileage.
Always do your research, inspect, and test drive before buying.
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