The Range Rover P38

Gear Patrol has a great ode to the Range Rover P38, and as someone who owned a 1998 model year 4.6HSE for a long time I can concur — this is a fantastic vehicle.

But there’s a caveat.

The caveat is that these epitomize the Land Rover stigma of always being in the shop, and thus needing two. In fact, when I met my wife, I had this generation Range Rover — she had to drive me to and from the shop so much, that I am henceforth banned from owning another Land Rover.

That said, these are just a beast of a vehicle. They drive like a tank, they are fantastic off roaders, and smooth on the road. The interior is obnoxiously comfortable, and they have loads of space. I once drove this through 12-14” in snow and ice up a hill without the car flinching while others slid back down. Confidence inspiring.

The V8 is mated to a 4-speed, which is not the smoothest, as it struggles with gearing at modern highway speeds, with constant shifting issues to keep the power in-band.

So, I do think the P38 is stellar, but I also would advise you not own one. Like, at all. Unless it’s a second car you never need to rely on, whether day to day, or on a trip of any kind. It never left me stranded, but I still have error codes and multi-thousand dollar invoices burned into my head.