1997 Land Rover Range Rover Consumer Reviews

Vehicle

1997 Land Rover Range Rover 4.6 HSE 4dr SUV AWD

Review

This is my daily driver to and from home and school through city streets and the occasional bad traffic. Out of town trips are pleasant for as long as you check the hoses and water level so that overheating wont be a problem. changed suspension to Bilstein heavy duty shocks after the air stanchions gave way. Overhaul the engine every 35k Mi.. it makes a big difference. front windows come off alignment after a while which cause them to fall into the doors. I've already changed the climate control to Sanden AC. Carpeting has also given way and needs to be reupholstered after 30k Mi. Change oil once a year (Mobil 1 synthetic for warm climates)

Best Features

fit and how everything falls into place.. offroad ability through rough hard pack loose and loamy terrain

Worst Features

all mechanical parts work just fine.. lessen the tech and it should out live us all..

Vehicle

1997 Land Rover Range Rover 4.6 HSE 4dr SUV AWD

Review

Beside the electrical problems, and other odds & ends, the truck is fun to drive. The key is have a good mechanic, the one I use has a graveyard of dead land rovers to pick parts from. Also I was recently in an accident (rear ended) and all I can say is you should see the other guy.

Best Features

Stands tall, great windows

Worst Features

Simplify the heating and cooling system

Vehicle

1997 Land Rover Range Rover 4.6 HSE 4dr SUV AWD

Review

Always dreamed of owning a Range Rover. Finally plucked up the courage to buy one in 2005 and after extensive research and product comparison found a one owner low mileage one at a local premier car dealer ship. I must say the after glow of owning my first "luxury" SUV began to dim very soon after we took delivery. Silly things started to go wrong almost immediately. Heated seats stopped working, sway arm needed replacing early on (causing an alarming feature called "wheel wobble"), small coolant pipe perished causing leakage, mega bucks to replace, many many air suspension faults, remote central locking system troublesome, sun roof broke itself! (big money to repair) that was the final straw.

Best Features

Beautiful car, stunning ride, excellent off road-ability and superb around town, beats all other SUV's for luxury and styling. Despite this I have never owned a vehicle so unwilling to keep going, it would break down just sitting in the driveway! Never buy a car with an "extensive service history"

Worst Features

Seemingly "over-engineered" with components that are inherently unreliable. Never before have I owned a vehicle where the service center would say "it's a weakness in this model" and "by the way it'll cost $1,500 to fix".

Vehicle

1997 Land Rover Range Rover 4.0 SE 4dr SUV AWD

Review

I commute in the vehicle on the freeway, and love the height and visibility that I have. The Rover manuvers well on the open road, but pick up can be a problem. Sluggish going up hills. Does well on dirt mountain roads in rain and snow. The AWD is a plus. The cost of driving the car, from gas to repairs to replacement parts is very high. In my 30+ years of driving, I've never had to have my car towed in for repair until my Rover...it's been towed twice. With this vehicle, you must find a reliable, knowledgeable repair facility. This is difficult, even in an urban setting.

Best Features

Interior quality and the interior roominess is excellent. Can haul furniture, lumber or dogs easily. Seat is very comfortable. After an 8 - 10 hour drive, I get out of the car with no aches and pains. Visibility is very good.

Worst Features

The suspension system with the air bags was a big mistake. I've spent plenty repairing and replacing parts of this system more than once. I've also had trouble with the air conditioning system x 2.

Vehicle

1997 Land Rover Range Rover 4.6 HSE 4dr SUV AWD

Review

I have grown to be very disappointed in this vehicle,because its has been a constant struggle to keep the engine light off, air condition continues to not work properly and last but not least I had to have regular shocks installed due the air suspension going out aleast 3 times within the first year of having it. I guess I would say that Land Rover needs to invest more money into their mechanics training, because their truly not get it done correctly. I think I will never invest so much time and money in Range Rover ever again. This was my first and problably the last that I will ever own.

Worst Features

Air suspension