WHICH ONE TO GO FOR
For me it's got to be '70s three-door edition, although sheer age and the inherent abuse the cars took means that relatively few have survived intact. Many have been unattractively modified into pick-ups, shortened for competitive off-roading or given DIY diesel conversions.
Even if you approve of the aesthetic purity of the original, you might find '70s cars a bit too austere. Inside the 1970 Range Rover was probably only luxurious by contemporary Land Rover standards with its wipe down plastic seats, manual steering and chunky four-speed manual transmission. However, there is still something refreshingly simple about its dashboard with just two main instruments and that thin-rimmed steering wheel.
The post-1981 five-door model looked awkwardly out of balance while the Vogue of the same year introduced plush trim, air conditioning and alloy wheels. There were, however, welcome technical improvements that might make later cars more to your taste, at least for everyday use. An automatic (three-speed at first, then four-speed post-October 1985) was introduced in 1982 and then, in 1983, a five-speed manual.
A more beefy injected engine with 165bhp countered weight gains but if you can't cope with its 14mpg thirst there is always the Turbo diesel model, launched in 1986. The 'classic' Range Rover ran through to 1995, by which time the three-door body shell had to be ousted from the line-up (although it made a brief comeback for the desirable limited edition CSK) and the V8 was available in 3.9- and 4.2-litre form.
These later versions had sophistications like air suspension and traction control as well as a posh interior that would have bewildered the Range Rover customer of 1970.
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