Range Rover review: still the answer if the question is Bahrain's best full-size luxury SUV
4.5/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the P400 in long-wheelbase form if rear-seat comfort matters more than outright pace, and skip the P530 V8 unless you specifically want the performance — the six-cylinder is nearly as fast in real-world driving and meaningfully cheaper to run in Bahrain's fuel and insurance market. Accept going in that a Range Rover loses value faster than almost anything else this expensive, and that the electronics will occasionally remind you why. Buy from the official dealer with a service plan, not privately, unless you already know Land Rover ownership.
Pros
- Air suspension delivers a ride quality few rivals at any price match on Bahrain's patched roads
- P400 six-cylinder is quick enough that the V8 is a want, not a need
- Genuinely capable off-road with up to 900mm wading depth, not styling alone
- Long-wheelbase option gives rear-seat space few SUVs anywhere can match
Cons
- Depreciation in the first three years is steeper than almost any rival at the price
- Infotainment glitches and occasional air suspension warnings recur in regional owner reports
- Running costs — fuel, insurance, tyres — are substantial even before the V8 option
- Best bought from an official dealer with a service plan rather than privately
Every generation of Range Rover has been accused of getting too comfortable to be a real off-roader and too capable off-road to be a real limousine, and the L460 resolves that argument by simply being excellent at both without apologising for either. The air suspension can raise the body for up to 900mm of wading depth on a Friday and lower it to a limousine ride height for a hotel valet on Saturday, and the switch between the two identities is close to seamless.
Which engine actually makes sense
The mild-hybrid P400 inline-six is the GCC volume engine and the right default choice. It is quick enough that the 4.4-litre V8 P530 above it is a want rather than a need — the six covers 0–100 km/h in the mid-five-second range and never feels short of breath on the causeway on-ramp — while costing noticeably less to insure and fuel. The V8 is worth it if you specifically enjoy the extra pace and the sound; it is not worth it as a default.
Life with it in Bahrain
On the causeway and Sheikh Khalifa highway, the Range Rover is arguably the most comfortable way to cover distance in this market — the air suspension filters out expansion joints and patched tarmac that jar in a stiffer German SUV, and cabin noise at 120 km/h is close to silent. It genuinely will cross sand if you want it to, with air suspension raised and Terrain Response set accordingly, though very few Bahraini examples are used that way in practice.
The trade-off is running costs and depreciation. A Range Rover loses value faster in its first three years than almost any rival at the price, which works in favour of buyers shopping the three-to-five-year-old used market and against anyone buying new expecting to hold value. Reliability has historically trailed German rivals on complex electronics — infotainment glitches and occasional air suspension warnings are the recurring theme in regional owner reports — though warranty coverage on a used example this recent should absorb most of it.
Who it is for
Buy it if the rear seats matter as much as the driver's seat, if you want one car that can do the school run, the airport run and an actual desert weekend without changing character. If your budget tops out closer to a Range Rover Sport, that car does most of the same job for meaningfully less money.