Range Rovers and Land Rovers may share similar names, and even look similar. But, they have their fair share of differences.
You'd be right in mistaking the two as well, but a simple rule is that all Range Rovers are Land Rovers, but not all Land Rovers are Range Rovers.
Despite the big writing across the car's bonnet saying "Range Rover", where the brand name would normally be, it's actually the model name, not the brand name.
Unlike a brand such as Hyundai with Genesis, Nissan with Inifiti, or even Toyota with Lexus, Range Rover is still not its own brand. While Range Rover does offer a choice between an Evoque, Sport, Velar, and standard Range Rover, its correct name is actually Land Rover (Brand) Range Rover (Model).
However, unlike models from other brands, the sub-models of Land Rover's Range Rover line-up are built on different platforms.
You have the big standard Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, but then the Range Rover Velar is built on a different platform from those models. Then, another step down the range, the Evoque is even smaller than the Velar.
The best way to explain it is that Land Rover Range Rover is like the Mazda CX range – a Land Rover Range Rover Evoque isn't a different trim like a Mazda CX-8 Akera; it's actually a completely different car. It's more like comparing a Mazda CX-5 to a Mazda CX-8, same family but different engine, chassis and size.
People are most likely confused when thinking Range Rover is its own brand because the name is ambiguous, covering four different sub-models of cars.
Why does the Range Rover exist?
Charles Spencer King was a chief designer/engineer at Rover during the mid-century shift in what people wanted in cars. He pitched the idea of a luxury SUV to the heads of Land Rover. Instead of making a whole new brand, which Rover (parent company at the time) was not afraid to do, it essentially modified what it had with Land Rover to create a new segment.
Land Rover was always a particularly rugged car compared to what the entire range is now, but England was beginning to rebuild its economy again after World War II. With this came a whole new market for these big off-road capable cars that are also luxurious enough to satisfy the top end of the market.
After the first Range Rover concept was unveiled in 1967, the design was finalised in 1969 and the new model essentially transformed the brand from a rugged off-road toy to a luxury family-SUV.
There wasn't really anything else like it on the market at the time, and it paved the way for the 'luxury SUV' market internationally and even just the standard SUV market in Europe.
The brand and model have survived being owned by multiple different familiar parent companies – Rover (1948–1967), Leyland (1967–1968), British Leyland (1968–1978), Land Rover Limited (1978–2012) which was also part of BMW group (2000–2006), before Ford parented the company (2006–2008), and then finally settled down with Tata Motors, which is marketed as Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
As of 2020, over one million Range Rovers have been sold internationally. In Australia, 3862 Land Rover Range Rovers were sold new in 2024, with the Sport being the most popular option.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
