Range Rover has highest model loyalty among full-size luxury SUVs.
Land Rover designed the Range Rover to get to the top of almost anything it’s pointed at. Mountain paths, steep inclines, snow-covered hills, muddy slopes, sand dunes – it can reach the peak of every one of those. Now, thanks to devoted Range Rover owners, the 2017 model has gotten to the highest point of a very different type of terrain: the pinnacle of industry analysis organization IHS Markit’s Luxury Full-Size SUV segment.
According to Land Rover, the “Range Rover had the greatest percentage of owners, from 2016 model year and earlier, who returned to market to purchase or lease another Land Rover Range Rover in the 2017 model year.”
IHS Markit’s definition of loyalty is when a new vehicle owner returns to market and buys or leases another new vehicle that’s the same make or model or from the same manufacturer. It analyzed almost 17.5 million new vehicle registrations during the 2017 model year (which started Oct. 1, 2016 and ended Sept. 30, 2017) to determine this year’s award winners.
Land Rover certainly gave well-heeled buyers something to come back for when it introduced the 2017 SVAutobiography Dynamic. It’s a short-wheelbase, performance-focused model with unique exterior accents, lower ride height, upgraded suspension, tuned chassis, and 550-horsepower supercharged V8. Sign us up.
Only time will tell if Land Rover can repeat history with the 2018 Range Rover. It features updated exterior styling and a refreshed interior with newly available upgrades. We are particularly fond of the Touch Pro Duo infotainment system, 24-way adjustable and massaging front seats, and cabin air ionization. Power for the base supercharged 5.0-liter V8 is up from 510 to 518 horsepower. The SVAutobiography Dynamic is more potent than it was last year, generating 557 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque – increases of seven and 14, respectively. Prices for the 2018 Range Rover lineup start at $87,350.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
