Has it gotten any better? I've heard horror stories. Why are they notoriously bad?

Let's say '24 or newer? How is the Range Rover Sport vs Defender vs Discovery?

Always liked the look, but can't deal with a car in the shop all the time.

I skipped over it during my latest purchase. Their CPO was only for 1 year in most models. Do not have a good reputation for reliability.

I did a deep dive on their reliability when looking at my last purchase. The best is probably the Defender, and it wasn't good.
Electronic issues, coolant leaks (mainly due to a poorly manufactured reserve tank that would split), and trim issues. When I looked, long term issues weren't fully visible yet, the one thing I saw was the self leveling suspension would have air leaks.
They also seem very hit and miss. The ones that have issues, people complained about a ton of issues.
It felt like a true roll of the dice situation.

So this is one persons experience. We bought a '24 Dynamic Sport CPO with 7000 miles in July 2024. Knock on wood, it has not had one problem. We had to replace to rear brakes and rotors earlier this year which was pushing $2k but other than that, no issues.

It is easily the best driving vehicle I've ever owned and the most fun to drive. Every thing it does it does well. Except the adaptive cruise control. That sucks. Bad.

Plus they are, in my opinion, beautiful inside and out.

CPO warranty is through July 2028 and unlimited mileage. I probably won't own outside warranty but, as of today, we will likely buy another. It's just so good.

Trust me. I see the humor too.

I don't count that one as a problem because it had more to do with our driving style. It can be driven very hard into corners and long sweepers, which is fun.

But, as the tech explained to me, Rover uses the brakes as part of the traction control so you can burn through the rears much faster than the fronts. It's something to consider when looking at these.

I had no expectations that a $100k performance SUV would have inexpensive service/maintenance. Also something to consider.

When the defender was launched, several of the YouTube review channels gave up on doing a long-term test. Because none of the channels could get the test car to stay out of the shop.

One of the bigger channels was given three different cars, and all three had to be returned


Now that was several years ago, but when the starting point is garbage how much better could they actually get?

I have a 2018 and it has been my favorite car I have ever owned. We also used to have a 2022 defender 2 door which we sold because 2 doors is just so inconvienent.

We have had 2 problems over the years, first was the windshield leaked. This was a 2018 specific issue in which they used a bad glue. I took it in, it was done by the next day.

Second issue was legit and is the source of the internet "cooling system" problems. In the coolant system they used piece of plastic about 5 inches long that was mounted on the bottom of the engine. It cracked around year 6 or 7 of ownership and had to be replaced with a metal version. It cost a ton of money to fix because you had to take off everything to get to it.

Yes Brake jobs are expensive as they almost always do the rotors with the pads. We did one around 80k miles and that was with a lot of towing. Oil changes are $300 but it is only recommended every 16k miles so that is a wash.

There have been a few little things, but the Discovery was pretty good and the Defender never had a single problem except windshields tend to break because of the hard rocks here in the mountains. That 2 door defender would go anywhere.


Would I get another? Well not right now because Trump's tariffs have hit JLR worse than any other company as they do not produce ANY parts or cars in America. JLR has been hit hard and the prices reflect it.

If price were not an object I would ABOLUTELY get another. I want a Defender 4 door a lot. We have had a lot of good cars but every time I am driving I still go to the Discovery. I liked it better than the Porsche, Ram 1500, 4runner, Mercedes, Camry. It is my all time favorite car.


Last thing... here is why I like it so much... it tows 8200 pounds, it is incredible in the snow, I have taken it down a LOT of Colorado trails and roads where everyone raises an eyebrow that I am back there, it gets 22 on a trip and is crazy comfy, it still looks great. It is just a bad a$$ car

Appreciate the replies and personal experience.

knoxtom said:

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I have a 2018 and it has been my favorite car I have ever owned. We also used to have a 2022 defender 2 door which we sold because 2 doors is just so inconvienent.

We have had 2 problems over the years, first was the windshield leaked. This was a 2018 specific issue in which they used a bad glue. I took it in, it was done by the next day.

Second issue was legit and is the source of the internet "cooling system" problems. In the coolant system they used piece of plastic about 5 inches long that was mounted on the bottom of the engine. It cracked around year 6 or 7 of ownership and had to be replaced with a metal version. It cost a ton of money to fix because you had to take off everything to get to it.

Yes Brake jobs are expensive as they almost always do the rotors with the pads. We did one around 80k miles and that was with a lot of towing. Oil changes are $300 but it is only recommended every 16k miles so that is a wash.

There have been a few little things, but the Discovery was pretty good and the Defender never had a single problem except windshields tend to break because of the hard rocks here in the mountains. That 2 door defender would go anywhere.


Would I get another? Well not right now because Trump's tariffs have hit JLR worse than any other company as they do not produce ANY parts or cars in America. JLR has been hit hard and the prices reflect it.

If price were not an object I would ABOLUTELY get another. I want a Defender 4 door a lot. We have had a lot of good cars but every time I am driving I still go to the Discovery. I liked it better than the Porsche, Ram 1500, 4runner, Mercedes, Camry. It is my all time favorite car.


Last thing... here is why I like it so much... it tows 8200 pounds, it is incredible in the snow, I have taken it down a LOT of Colorado trails and roads where everyone raises an eyebrow that I am back there, it gets 22 on a trip and is crazy comfy, it still looks great. It is just a bad a$$ car

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Sounds like you got the one that they actually put together correctly.

TXAG 05 said:

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Sounds like you got the one that they actually put together correctly.

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They tossed the assembly manual after building his because....

I have a 2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR, which is just the Jag branded Range Rover Velar SVR. I have wanted a V8 for sound/fun/etc. and it has delivered.

I bought it early in January of 2024, so basically 2.5 years of ownership. Was great to still have manufacturer's warranty until 60k miles (I bought it with 32k). One complaint during that time is that occasionally the AC just wouldn't blow cool air right after startup... and it could take 3-5 minutes before something finally clicked and it would be fine. But pissed off my wife royally (and thus me, too). They never could duplicate it at the dealership (so they said) and then my AC just quit a month ago. $3k repair plus a couple of other little things that needed to get done.

I'm at 76k miles and rattles and squeaks are springing up right and left. I probably need to have the shocks done but I'm considering just moving on to something else. Just don't want to spend money with one going to college next year and we will need to get him something else as well.

Lastly, their Pivi Pro software can be glitchy. Occasionally the CarPlay just stops working mid-trip, so you can't see your navigation.

Tons of fun and you may be fine with warranty and service plan. But starting to show it's age and it's not a good thing.