Land Rover’s reliability record has been the butt of a thousand jokes. For years, they’ve lingered at the very bottom of JD Power’s Initial Quality Rankings, one of the major consumer barometers of new vehicle quality. But things are getting much better, and in the 2022 survey, Land Rover is firmly in the middle of the pack, closer to the industry average than they are to the bottom.
This year, Land Rover racked up 193 problems per 100 vehicles. The industry average was 180, and the best brand, Buick, had 139 problems. The worst traditional brand was Chrysler, with 265. (Tesla and Polestar racked up 226 and 328 respectively, but are considered separately because those companies don’t report the same data to JD Power.)
The interesting thing to note is that every automaker is racking up more initial quality complaints than they were a few years ago. If you go back to 2008’s survey, Land Rover was third-to-last, but even the worst marque that year, Jeep, only had 167 problems. The best marque, Porsche, had 87 per 100 – meaning some people in 2008 theoretically drove off in a new Porsche with no initial quality problems. Though Porsche dominated the list for many years, they now lie below Land Rover in 2022.
The reason for this? More technology in cars these days. The JD Power rankings are based on a 223-question survey of new vehicle owners, which covers nine categories: infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; and climate. So many things in these categories are getting more and more complicated, and there’s more to go wrong.
Driving assistance technology is a huge source of problems, especially lane-keeping technology – the largest source of complaints in that sector. Infotainment systems are also a major pain point, and a stereo system that can’t connect to your phone is a major annoyance -- the biggest complaint here is Android Auto/Apple CarPlay systems. When it comes to new tech, battery and hybrid systems also cause lots of issues.
Overall numbers of problems have skyrocketed even since 2019, when Jaguar and Land Rover came in last and second to last at 130 and 123 problems respectively. But nonetheless, with the goalposts having moved overall, Land Rover isn't doing badly, and a reputation built on the backs of blown Discovery Series II head gaskets and Freelander transmissions in the early 2000s just doesn't apply to the vehicles of today.
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