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Land Rover
2008 Land Rover LR2 compact, near-luxury, crossover sport utility vehicle.
2008 Land Rover L2 - enlargeLand Rover is a British luxury all-terrain vehicle and Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) manufacturer, based in Gaydon, England, UK. 1 Today, the marque is owned by Tata Motors of India after Ford's Premier Automotive Group sold the company in 2008. Land Rover is one of the longest lived Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) brands -- the only brand which is older is the U.S. Jeep, originally trademarked by Willys-Overland Corporation.9
Its current lineup starts with the 2008 Land Rover LR2 compact, near-luxury, crossover sport utility vehicle (MSRP: $34,700 - $36,150, Invoice price: $31,641 - $32,966), which is available in Base and HSE trim levels. The LR2 competes with the Acura RDX, BMW X3, Cadillac SRX, Infiniti EX35, Jeep Liberty, Lincoln MKX, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Nissan XTerra, Saab 9-7 and Volkswagen Tiguan and comes with a 230-horsepower, 3.2-liter I6 engine, a six-speed automatic transmission, and an all-wheel drive system. This model is currently in its second generation.
Next is the 2008 Land Rover LR3 midsize, luxury sport utility vehicle (MSRP: $49,300 - $54,800, Invoice price: $44,933 - $49,938), which is available in Base SE and HSE trim levels. The LR3 was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award and won Motor Trend magazine's Sport/Utility of the Year for 2005. 2 It also won a Popular Science award on account of its ground-breaking on-board systems. 3 The Land Rover LR3 competes with the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Hummer H2, Infiniti FX45, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lexus GX 470, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen Touareg 2, and Volvo XC90. It is available with a 300-horsepower, 4.4-liter V8 engine, a six-speed shiftable automatic transmission, and a four-wheel drive system.
Then, we have the 2008 Land Rover Range Rover fullsize luxury sport utility vehicle (MSRP: $77,950 - $93,600, Invoice price: $71,004 - $85,246), which is available in Base HSE and Supercharged trim levels. The Land Rover Range Rover, usually shortened to just Range Rover, is a four-wheel drive high-performance luxury SUV produced by Land Rover in the United Kingdom. 4 The vehicle is currently one of the most expensive vehicles of its type on the market. 5 Competing models for this SUV are the Cadillac Escalade, Jeep Commander, Lexus LX 570, Lincoln Navigator, Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, Porsche Cayenne, and Volkswagen Touareg 2. Buyers can choose from a 305-horsepower, 4.4-liter V8 engine or a 400-horsepower, 4.2-liter V8 engine. It comes with a six-speed shiftable automatic transmission, a four-wheel drive system, and a cargo capacity of 74 cubic feet.
Rounding out the list is the 2008 Land Rover Range Rover Sport midsize, luxury sport utility vehicle (MSRP: $58,500 - $71,950, Invoice price: $53,305 - $65,544) which is also available in Base HSE and Supercharged trim levels. It shares its platform with the Land Rover Discovery (LR3 in North America) rather than the larger Range Rover. 6 The Land Rover Range Rover Sport competes with the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Hummer H2, Infiniti FX45, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 8, Lexus GX 470, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class AMG, Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen Touareg 2, and Volvo XC90. Buyers can choose from a 300-horsepower, 4.4-liter V8 engine and a 390-horsepower, 4.2-liter V8 engine. It also comes with a six-speed shiftable automatic transmission, a four-wheel drive system, and a maximum cargo capacity of 71 cubic feet. Aside from these, it also sports 19 x 9.0 inch alloy wheels, a power glass sunroof, a mechanical center differential, an electronic hi-lo gear selection, and a center-locking differential.
It was said that the first Land Rover was conceptualized and designed in 1947. British car company Rover chief designer Maurice Wilks was inspired after using an American World War II Jeep and proceeded to designing a prototype. Originally, the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle, a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on April 30, 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all four-wheel drive. 7 Starting out as part of The Rover Car Company, or Rover, Land Rovers were designed and manufactured as a range of four-wheel drive vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Leyland, British Aerospace and BMW. 8 Its current headquarters are located at Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom.
A look at Land Rovers reliability ratings (ConsumerReports.org) showed that the Land Rover LR3 V8 received the following ratings for the year 2006 (major redesign year was 2005): Excellent ratings for major engine, engine cooling, major transmission, and exhaust trouble spots; Very Good ratings for minor engine, minor transmission, and paint and trim trouble spots; Good ratings for its body hardware and electrical system; Fair ratings for squeaks and rattles and climate system trouble spots; and Poor ratings for its power equipment, suspension, brakes, and drive, fuel, and audio trouble spots. The Land Rover Range Rover, meanwhile, received the following ratings for the year 2006 (major redesign year was 2003): Excellent ratings for major engine, major transmission, and exhaust trouble spots; Fair ratings for minor engine, engine cooling, and minor transmission trouble spots; and Poor ratings for power equipment, body hardware, squeaks and rattles, brakes, suspension, paint and trim, and audio, climate, fuel, electrical, and drive systems trouble spots.
Land Rovers are also equipped with a wide range of security features. Data from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) showed that the Land Rover LR2 received Acceptable frontal offset test results, but also received Poor side impact test results. Meanwhile, the Land Rover LR3 received an Acceptable frontal offset test results.
A base 2008 Land Rover Range Rover is more expensive (at MSRP: $77,950) than competing model 2008 Cadillac Escalade (MSRP: $56,890.00), which actually packs more power with its basic package (403-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8 engine) versus the Range Rover's 305-horsepower, 4.4-liter V8 engine. Depreciation-wise however, the Land Rover comes out on top. A 2006 Range Rover (MSRP $75,035) in excellent condition and with a 30,000 mileage currently has a Suggested Retail Value (SRV) of $58,635, while a 2006 Cadillac Escalade with an original MSRP of $53,850 currently has an SRV of just $34,065.
On its website Land Rover buyers can access different shopping tools, keep up-to-date on owners' information, view past and upcoming vehicles, and explore the different models. Prospective buyers can also access the "Build Your Land Rover" feature. Land Rover enthusiasts should watch for the 2011 Land Rover LRX compact crossover vehicle.
Click here for more information on 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Land Rover car prices, auto insurance, auto loans, car dealers, and car leases.
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