SECOND-HAND SENSEWhen you consider that the Range Rover has been around for over 30 years you can appreciate what a revolutionary car it was for its time. A big, spacious and luxurious step-up from the utilitarian Land Rover, the Range Rover became an instant hit with sheiks and race horse breeders.
A phenomenally capable machine, it can perform off-road tasks that severely challenge other four wheel drives. Yet, it was never really meant for the hard life - its natural habitat was always going to be Knightsbridge or the Stillorgan dual carriageway.
The greatest appeal for many is commanding presence on the road. It's a car that tends to get bit more respect than others. There is no doubting its style - the Range Rover has always been the one to match in terms of sheer luxury looks.
It's also a fine car to drive, smooth and powerful (except the 2.5 diesel) with big and thirsty petrol engines. The 4.6 Vogue recently featured in Motors as being the dirtiest car on the planet in terms of its city-polluting abilities.
This is a very practical vehicle. Every detail has been well thought out. Its tailgate, for instance, whose glass top and metal bottom open individually makes for very easy access to what you have stored in the rear. With other four-wheel drives you have a heavy rear door, often with a huge spare wheel attached.
The Range Rover also has a dark side, perhaps best illustrated by the owner who once talked to me non-stop for half an hour about his woes. The 2002 Which? reliability survey put Land Rover the third least reliable of 31 makes and Britain's Warranty Direct index last year shows Land Rovers with the third highest warranty repair costs.
There have been problems with electrics, oil leaks from axles, gearboxes and transfer cases, failures of ABS braking hoses, corroding hubs on alloy wheels and major engine problems caused by coolant leaks and failing head gaskets. A number of recalls have also affected various models - so we strongly recommend that you find someone familiar with recalls to check before buying.
The recalls have been for faults with cooling system hoses, gearbox fluid leaks causing a potential fire hazard, power steering failure, gearbox failure and faulty ABS braking hoses.
In its latest BMW-influenced guise the Range Rover has a four out of five stars rating in the Euro NCAP crash tests because of its "immensely strong body that provides for its occupants safe, well balanced protection in severe frontal and lateral impacts". However, the car was criticised for high impact forces on the driver's chest in a real crash - and pedestrian protection was "dire".
Range Rovers don't come cheap on the second-hand market. A 2001 2.5 diesel with 48,000 on the clock has an asking price at one garage of €43,975 ! A two year-old 4.4 petrol Vogue with all the extra trimmings is on offer at €87,500.
In summary, a used Range Rover is a very desirable but potentially very risky investment. However, we should point out that the newer model has a way to go before any major faults become apparent.