2006 Land Rover Range Rover Preview

The Best Gets Better

Three years after it made its debut, Land Rover's Range Rover has received a mild facelift for model year 2006. The vehicle,

Considered by many to be the finest SUV in the world, Land Rover's Range Rover has received a mild facelift for model year 2006. (Photo: Land Rover)

designed and engineered by BMW, is considered by many to be the finest SUV in the world, upholding the British automaker's reputation through unparalleled luxury and sophistication and unchallenged on- and off-road dynamics.

In 2002, Ford purchased Land Rover from BMW, who had grown weary of maintaining and updating the brand's ancient products. The stately firm was the final addition to Ford's completely European "Premium Auto Group" (PAG). Aside from Bentley which was owned by Volkswagen, and Rolls-Royce, which still belonged to BMW, Ford already owned Britain's finest luxury and sports car makers, Jaguar and Aston Martin.

But there was a problem. Despite the resources that Ford had, there was doubt from within the Company that Ford could build a better Range Rover. BMW had developed a vehicle akin to their finest luxury sedans using the best leather, wood and plastics, and even

Despite the resources that Ford had, there was doubt if the company could build a better Range Rover than BMW. (Photo: Land Rover)

though this was BMW's first true off-roader, their efforts in developing the chassis, frame and suspension systems surpassed Land Rover's best efforts to date.

As a result, many of the components used in the Range Rover, including the wonderful but costly 4.4-litre 32-valve V8 and automatic gearbox used in the X5, 5 and 7-Series, were still purchased directly from BMW, even though Land Rover had been under Ford's control for a few years. It would only be a matter of time before this situation would have to change, and that has happened in the form of the face-lifted Range Rover.