Land Rover SUV Range

When this car was new, the recommended change interval for the timing belt was nine years or 230,000km which is an awfully long interval by industry standards. In some markets, this figure was reduced to seven years and 180,000km, which is still a long interval, but much more sensible.

If it was my Land Rover, I’d be changing it even sooner, probably at 150,000km at the outside, just to be certain, as a snapped belt will turn the engine to junk in a split-second. While you’re at it, take the opportunity to change the water pump and idler pulleys while the front of the engine is apart. It’s better than having to go back and disassemble the same part of the engine a few months later when the water pump starts leaking.

Generally speaking, Range Rover isn't a brand known for its reliablility. In fact, Jaguar Land Rover -- Range Rover's owner -- are quite notorious for mechanical and electronic issues. Having said that, many Velar owners report having a positive ownership experience.

That’s quite a broad range of abilities you’ve listed there. Both the Jeep and the Land Rover are pretty serious off-roaders while, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is an SUV that really has no pretenses to working on a bush track.

None of this trio would be cheap to service, and modern turbo-diesel engines really do need their maintenance to remain reliable. In terms of industry reputation, the Jeep has a background of electrical and build-quality problems, while the Land Rover and Alfa Romeo also have their share of quality glitches. Many owners put up with this stuff, but if you’re going to head seriously outback, there are probably better choices.

The other part of the equation is what happens when you wish to sell the vehicle in a few years. Frankly, all three of these cars will be a reasonable bet to suffer plenty of depreciation although, to be fair, a 2021 version of each will already have done some of that.