CU LT HERO RANGE ROVER (L322)
HIGH AND MIGHTY
Third-gen Range Rovers are surprisingly affordable. Oliver Young is tempted
I t’s hard to utter the words ‘Range Rover’ without feeling a little smug. The iconic nameplate conjures images of wealthy country folk and Hollywood celebrities. In saying that, ownership isn’t as exclusive as you might think: the L322 generation featured here is arguably the bargain of the century.
Travel back to the late 1990s and you’ll find Land Rover under BMW ownership and this third-generation Range Rover in development. The posh high-rider was revealed in 2001 featuring a 281bhp 4.4-litre V8 petrol and a 174bhp 3.0-litre diesel made by BMW, despite the British brand having been bought by Ford that very year. It retained those two engines until 2005 – a year after its BMW E39 5 Series electronics had been ditched for Jaguar ones.