L322, the best Range Rover so far?
+2002 - 2012
++ The third generation Range Rover from Land Rover is known amongst Land + Rover nerds by it's model name; L322. +
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+ The end of a turbulent period
++ Whilst many periods in the Land Rover history have been + turbulent, this period stands out to me because even after being + released from the shackles of state ownership and sold to + BMW in 1994, with their deep pockets and generally accepted + high levels of quality control (relative to Land Rover/Rover/British + Leyland), BMW couldn't carry the Rover Group any longer. It wasn't so + much the Land Rover brand, but the Rover brand that was causing + problems for BMW, and so in 2000, the Rover group was broken up, with + Land Rover being sold to the Ford Motor Company. +
+The mark of BMW
++ Whilst many Land Rover fans look at this period as a time when + BMW "stole the ideas needed to launch and build the + X3, X5" etc, series of BMW vehicles, I am personally of the opinion + that the Land Rovers that came out during this period are some of the + best to have been badged with the green oval, not only the + L322 vs the 2nd generation Range Rover (known as the + P38a), but also the L319, or third generation Discovery, + when compared to the Discovery 2. +
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+ + The styling and the quality control for both the L322 and the + L319 when compared to the vehicles they replaced stands high + above the yard stick set by the P38a and the + L318 respectively. Anyone that has owned, driven, or possibly + just been a passenger in an L318/P38a can attest to the changes seen + in the L322 and L319, from styling (which is always a relative point + anyway) to materials used both inside and outside the vehicles. I know + many a person that never managed to seal up the leaky sun-roofs on + L318 Discovery 2's yet have never met a single person that had the + same issue with an L319 for example. +
+The Blue and Green Ovals
++ BMW engineers had worked with Land Rover engineers on + the designs and production plans for the L322 and much of this + was in place by the time BMW broke the Rover group up and sold + Land Rover to Ford in 2000, yet the first L322 did not roll off + the lines until end of 2001 (technically, but released in model year + 2002). This meant that Ford inherited a nearly complete L322 project, + in fact, as a sweetner to the deal, the sale agreement between BMW & + Ford committed BMW to support the production of the L322 until it had + entered volume production. +
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+ + As an owner of an early L322, the main issue I have with the hand off + from BMW to Ford is that the L322 was designed and planned around + sharing the electronics and engines from BMW product lines, yet, as + soon as Ford had control of the project, they quickly wanted to + distance themselvs from commitments to buy or license BMW components, + therefore the earlier ones can be a bit of a mash-up of companies, + such as a BMW engine, but the Ford "in car entertainment (ICE)" units. It's + not that the BMW engines are bad, far from it, and the Ford + entertainment units are not bad either, it just means you have to be a + little more nerdy before trying to buy used components as replacements + for those on earlier L322's. +
+Revisions
++ (M) denotes major styling revision +
+-
+
- 2002 - based on the BMW Engines +
- 2005 - Shift to Ford Engines +
- 2006 - Interior/Exterior Styling & Jaguar Engine (M) +
- 2007 - Mostly minor Interior & Mechanical changes +
- 2009 - Interior/Exterior Styling, new engines (M) +
+ 
+ 
+ + It has been said that the newer Range Rover, the 4th generation or + L405 is a far better car than the L322 was, and that I agree with, the + L405 is lighter, stiffer, has more fuel efficient engines, a + more modern look inside and out and it can still do all the off-road + things than an L322 can. But it's not really a Range Rover anymore. +
+
+ + Stay with me for a moment. The original Range Rover was designed for + the slightly well to do farmer, it was meant to be an agricutural + vehicle first, something that could muscle its way across a muddy + field, but could still take the farmer and their family into town for + a nice meal at the weekend. Somewhere along the way, the Range Rover + marquee and indeed the Land Rover brand have been hijacked by a very + different market, which is very good for Land Rover and British + automobile engineering and the thousands of jobs it supports both + directly and indirectly, but it also means that newer Land Rover + products are not really designed to be agricultural first. There's no + denying, they can still get through the toughest of situations, in + fact, it can be argued that the electronics in the newer vehicles + makes them more capable than previous models. However, both + the styling and the cost of newer generations just means that + 'agriculture first' no longer makes sense. An Izusu truck is cheaper + to buy, run, maintain and doesn't have anywhere near the complexity of + a modern Land Rover and is therefore the agricultural vehicle of + choice across the UK these days. Therefore, I come back to my point + that whilst the L405 is better than the L322 in every measurable way, + it isn't really a Range Rover any longer. The last proper Range Rover + was the L322 as it was the last that could still be considered as 'agriculture + first'. +
++ If you want to know more about the L322, which in my opinion is the + greatest Range Rover so far, then + follow this link to Wikipedia. +
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