2005 Land Rover Range Rover

The 2005 model year represents a notable inflection point in this generation's federal record. Complaints surged dramatically from 2002's 14 to 127 in 2003 (with 2 NHTSA investigations) and remained elevated at 101 in 2004 (also 2 investigations), then dropped sharply to 36 in 2005—less than a third of the 2003 peak—while the single investigation also declined. This suggests the 2005 model may have addressed some of the reliability issues that plagued 2003-2004, though 1 investigation remained open and Power Train problems dominated the complaint data (19 of 36 total). By 2006, complaints rose again to 55 and TSBs more than doubled to 109, indicating the improvements were partial or temporary. The 2005's complaint level (36) is more comparable to the stable early-2000s period than the troubled 2003-2004 peak, though it still registers one crash-related and one fire-related complaint. TAKEAWAY: The 2005 appears to be the safest model year within this troubled generation—it falls between the severe 2003-2004 spike and the deteriorating 2006+ period, making it the best candidate for a used purchase in this generation if one accepts the inherent risks of a pre-2010 Range Rover.