The point about the FFRR is that it marries the comfort and luxury of an S class with so much more: the imperious and unrivalled driving position, the waft of a Roller, the go anywhere capability of a Land Cruiser, and the complete absence of tacky bling that marrs a Bentley, Aston or, yes, Mercedes. It helps to be British to understand this, but the only vehicle with more class than a Rangey is a Subaru Outback - or, better still, a 15 year old Legacy.

Like you, I’ve had a lot of nice metal, and I haven’t always wanted to be in a 3 ton truck. But whenever I need a break from the Porsches and BMWs, then a Rangey reaches places in every sense that no other vehicle can deliver.

 

Short answer is yes - there's nothing quite like a Range Rover.

 

What DO you like about the Range? What DON'T you like about the MBZ?

There are pros and cons to both, of which and looking at the entire enchilada, only you can put the investment/price ratio on either car purchase. They have their benefits and drawbacks for each. I suggest (and it appears you already have this down) to look at your use case in reality and then apply each vehicle's pros and cons and see if there is a clear winner or a tilt towards one vehicle.

You've owned S Classes, so know the devil there. I'm reading into it that you haven't (?) owned a RR yet.

 

No real comparison and very different cars. Try it out first as only you can decide what you like. In my view RR wins hands down and would never go back to a MB.

 

Agree rather different vehicles. Here in the US I see a lot more Range Rovers than S-classes, and that speaks to people here preferring SUVs over sedans/saloons.

After the initial Range Rover shine wears off, they seem to depreciation similarly although I think the S-Class more so. In my mind they have similar levels of reliability. I've had two JLR products and so far both have been fine.

 

S-Class is a sedan
RR is a suv
NO comparison

 

It is only money! Get the Range Rover, you only live once!

 

The value is entirely dependent on what you prize.

The S580 will be an equally quiet and comfortable ride
The S580 Burmester will sound better
The S580 will likely be more reliable
The S580 can’t be taken off road

For me the first and fourth were most important.
I briefly considered a G class, but it failed the first criteria

 

Is a RR worth the money? That is an opinion 100% because there are a ton of more affordable suv options out there. Is it more value than the S class? Do you have a dog? Do you have to get up a slippery or muddy mile long driveway in bad weather? Do you need to haul a piece of furniture? To me its not even comparable which one has more value as a tool. Both are nice though.

 

I’ve hauled 20 three cubic feet bags of mulch in my RR 😀

 

For some context, I am located in the US and I am a long time Mercedes driver and loved Mercedes. My parents owned (and currently own) S classes. I had 3 Mercedes before I made the switch to the Range Rover, an E300, GLE 350, and a GLE 53 AMG Coupe (ended up being a lemon and Mercedes bought it back). I've driven my parents S classes and have ridden in them. I was considering the S500 after Mercedes bought back my GLE 53 AMG Coupe.

I ultimately decided to go with the Range Rover p400 SE, as there are no HSE models here in the States for 2025. I have had my p400 for almost 2 months and just under 1,300 miles and so far I love it! Although Mercedes IMO is a little more luxurious compared to the Range Rover, they are both very very close. Mercedes seems to be over engineered where they think of little things. For example, the cameras can turn on when you reach a certain place on the GPS, like when you get home and about to pull into the garage. Also the cameras will switch from front to rear when backing up and moving forward (like when trying to park), active ambient lighting (blind spot assist goes off, the whole side of the car will blink red). Part of me wishes Range Rover would think of some of these things to include in their vehicles.

Ride quality of the Range Rover is on the same level as the S class, which has the best ride quality of any sedan (not including Bentley or Rolls Royce) on the market. The cabin of the Range Rover is silent, similar to the S class. I cannot say how the ride quality of the S class with the Active Body Control (ABC) compared to the Range Rover, but the standard air suspension in the S580 is similar to the Range Rover. Both drive as if they are on a cloud.

Regarding power, both vehicles are heavy and have a mild hybrid system. I like the Mercedes mild hybrid system better because it does not turn off the AC system and blow only hot air while the engine is off (like when sitting at a red light). I considered the P530, but the problem is it is a BMW sourced engine and I have seen a lot of reliability concerns with it, which is why I went with the p400. The p400 has plenty of power to move the Range Rover when needed. Sure it's no AMG or M vehicle, but it still moves.

Price wise, the Range Rover was substantially cheaper than the S500. $122K (130K OTD) vs $140K (roughly, pre tax and fees) for a similarly equipped S500. I had to do a custom build for my Range Rover so I can pick the options I wanted (Varesine Blue on black, semi-analine seats with massage, heated, cooled in the front and ventilated in the back, wood steering wheel, pixel LED headlights, and 22 inch wheels). For a similarly equipped S500 I would have had to pay probably about $15K more than the Range Rover.

Overall, I wanted to experience something different because of the buyback on my prior 2024 GLE 53 AMG Coupe, and the Range Rover dealerships in my area were not longer charging over MSRP for the car, even for a custom build. Like others said, there is nothing quite like a Range Rover as it is a unique vehicle with a lot of capabilities. If you have the means, it is worth exploring the Range Rover if you like SUVs and like to sit higher up. If you do not like SUVs, then you would not want a Range Rover.

 

I too live in Canada with the insane Luxury Tax. I have a one month old Range Rover Sport P400 after driving 2 generations of a BMW M550 and I have a 911. Never had an SUV. Not quite directly comparable to your situation, but similar. I couldn't be happier. It was a very difficult decision for me. But after living with the RR for a month, I really have come to appreciate the interior quality of the car, the ride quality, the excellent P400 engine with good fuel economy, the usability of the infotainment system and the utility of an SUV. As to the sound system, I have the Merdian 3D Surround Sound System and I find it to be relatively good, at least as good as the Harmon Kardon system in the BMW.

The Range Rover has pleasantly surprised me. As others have noted, the Range Rover is unique, and does many things well. As to "rolling the dice" on reliability, I am not so worried. There have been a lot of changes incorporated into the new models and the cars are under warranty. I am finding mine to be rock solid with no issues, but time will tell.

 

Why not lease to mitigate risk? Also look at the residual value percentage and lease rate. Might not be as expensive as you think. I found the residual on the RRS higher than German counterparts.

 

That was the plan. However, and this is the crazy part. The 2025 existing RR full size offer has the monthly lease payments + residual at $10,000 more than the cash purchase price.

In my case, the lease payments ($2500/month) + residual ($102K) = $222K which is $34.5K more than buying it outright.

That's insane. The delta here as a percentage is even worse than the Rolls Royce Ghost!

Re:

Owning a RR must be a „no brainer“, it’s exclusively an emotional decision.
You can collect facts later, why you spent so much money, just for a „car“… 🤫👍

--
Yup. Definitely emotional.

 

Owning a RR must be a „no brainer“, it’s exclusively an emotional decision.
You can collect facts later, why you spent so much money, just for a „car“… 🤫👍

 

@Renaco I agree with you that it is a "no brainer"however, I do not see it as an emotional decision in my case. The Range Rover has always been a great SUV, and when you consider that some Ford trucks are selling for over $120k here in the US, a Range Rover purchase becomes justified as you are getting a lot more for your money than a Ford- I am not bashing Ford at all, I do own one of their trucks and they are great for what they are. The fact with Range Rover is that they built amazing SUVs and they are no less reliable than any other competitor. Land Rover gets a bad reputation for its reliability, but my experience has been is that they are very reliable. Cars nowadays are loaded with computers and sensors and these will glitch up from time to time. We do not bash Windows or IOS systems despite the hundreds of updates they release. Cars also, will always have updates, some do work and some will not and there would be an update for that update. For whatever reason, we expect our cars to be perfect for the amount of money we spend on them, but the reality is not as black and white. The more complicated and sophisticated cars get, the more prone they will be to encounter opportunities for improvement.
In my opinion, the current Range Rover is by far the absolute best one that Land Rover has put out. I guess we are all after perfection...Is there such a perfect car out there in the same league as a Range Rover?

 

@pcc125,
I agree fully.

For „us two“ and many others, the RR is the perfect package.

 

@AngryPenguin I also looked into buy vs lease last year. I looked at a 3 year lease without financing (lump sum payment for 3 years) followed by outright purchase. Despite the $7500 rebate on the lease, this turned out to be a lot more expensive than buying the car outright. I plan to keep this one for seven years, lets see.

 

Yeah that's what I'm now debating as well. Own for >4 years. extended warranty can be purchased for up to 8 years total. Maybe own for 8.

The crazy part is a 3 year old RR (yes, last body style) is less than half the price new. I can flat out purchase a 1 or 2 year old L460 for the total sum of all of the lease payments.

Yeah, I know. This isn't an intellectual purchase but it's crazy to me how Range Rover will not even discount lease payments by a nickel if I pay for all 4 years up front.

Two RR dealers have told me the total margin per Tata is now 3%. When the first one told me, I rolled my eyes. When the 2nd one told me, I started to believe that there really is no negotiation room

Anyway, the price is what it is - I'm not too fussed over it. Just will have to decide if I'll pull the trigger or just spend more of my money on Ritz Carlton cruises. They take $50K a year from me....

 

Further to pcc125’s point I also think it’s a value proposition. My RRS is the first SUV I’ve ever owned. I considered many, was interested in a few. Prices were high for many comparables. The Range Rover seems to be a more unique, upscale offering. It’s different, and good. Range Rover/LR growth has been significant in 2024 and into 2025 with high per end product RR,RRS and the Defender leading the way.

 

Traditionally leasing the RR is a horrible value proposition as dealers rarely discount and mark up the money factor.

I recently toyed with the numbers on a $130k PHEV and even with expiring $7500 and the $3000 conquest and assuming say a 5% discount and buy rate, it was still over $1800 a month for 36 months. With say $4000 due at signing that’s almost $70k to drive it for 3 years 36k miles. Does it really depreciate that much in reality?

 

If it doesn't depreciate that much, you can get a "deal" when the lease is up and just buy it outright at that point and go resell it...or keep it.

Cars are a losing proposition. Every car I buy or lease, I expect the entire cash outflow to be sunk cost and gone, in my head they are worth zero. Just me thought.

@AngryPenguin have you asked this question on the MBZ forums to see what S Class owners might say?

 

Buy vs Lease has been debated in many forums. I've purchased and leased. The opportunity cost of outright buying a depreciating asset like this turns me off. If the lease rate is decent enough and you have the ability to write-off your lease payments; leasing has its advantages, particularly after tax. You have purchase options at the end of lease term and there is little residual value risk. One way or another you pay.

 

How can you compare a sedan with big SUV? You can also drop Porsche 911 to the mix with the same logic (I'm having hard time to get) 😂

 

Problem with any down payment on lease is that money to reduce the cap cost is forfeited if the car is totaled. In other words one pays early to reduce lease payments that no longer exist.

Right now 36 month 12k lease for a P550e has a 50 percent residual with buy rate around 5.2 percent (0.0228? Something like that). Again most LR dealers would jack up money factor so this was best case scenario.

 

Not sure this is the case if you have a waiver of depreciation as part of insurance.

 

It is a thing at least in the US--that's why the common sentiment is not to put a down payment on a lease. I don't know if it's different in Canada.

It makes perfect sense, using very simple numbers:

Let's say the total cost of the lease is $20,000 split up over 10 payments using two scenarios:

A: If I put no money down, then the payments are $2,000 a month.

B: If I put $10,000 down, then the payments are reduced to $1,000 a month.

If the lease is completed, then at the end of the lease in A and B I've paid $20,000 for 10 months.

Lets say the car is totaled after four payments, so the lease is over. The manufacturer gets their money back as a combination of insurance money from the at fault party as well as gap insurance which is included in lease payments.

In A, I've paid $8,000. In B, I've paid $14,000.

 

I get it completely. The lien holder is getting paid, no matter what. You as the equity holder, whether you own it, finance it, whatever, have a risk unless you specifically insure it (which I did). Waiver of depreciation clauses are detailed, so you have to read them carefully and talk with your insurer. It was a big deal with a Range Rover, let me tell you. My point was that its about equity risk, not about forgone lease payments because of a downpayment. But you can manage it...at least in Ontario, you can.

 

I suppose you also have to carry some sort of coverage in case the car gets into an accident during the lease (not totaled) but that reduces the residual value? I’ve never done a lease myself, mostly just outright cash purchases and a few finances when there was an incentive involved.