Both trucks/SUVs have comparable gas consumption. The LR is more refined, better interior, and handles better. The Chevy is reliable, and easier to fix. Since the LR depreciates fast, you can get a 4 or 5 year old one very reasonably-but the repair costs are very high. Which is the better deal?
Restrained to those choices, I’d take the suburban in a heartbeat. Land Rovers are expensive pieces of shit.
Agreed with the Suburban, Range Rovers seem to me like holes in the ground that one throws money into (using the boat analogy)
Land Rover seems determined to disprove the adage that there’s no bad cars anymore. They are truly in a class of their own reliability-wise, and not in a good way.
If you want a big cushy luxury SUV, the Escalades also depreciate very quickly but don’t have the same astronomical repair bill issues. I think the only real argument for the Land Rover is that it is a much more capable off-roader than the big GM’s, so if you simply must crawl over rocks in pampered splendor I suppose it’s the better choice. Although I’d say going for an 8 year old or so Land Cruiser would be the better option there.
That’s a good start, but you wallow in understatement. Hell, you’re drowning in understatement. The repair costs range from extremely high to ridiculously high, and it’s more likely to need repairs than the Suburban. More likely to need repairs than nearly anything. If you’re not wealthy, it’s probably not a great choice.
The Land Rover is better if it is running correctly, but it won’t be. (luxurious, and incredible capable, but unreliable)
The Suburban is better because it will run correctly, but after a while you’ll wish it didn’t.(reliable, but not really super great at doing anything specifically, boring)
It seems to me you need to add some more vehicle to your considerations. These two are not the top two of any list I am aware of.
Agreeing with the majority opinion on this. Land Rovers are crap status symbols for people with more money than brains. The only one I ever drove arrived brand new for one of the medical personnel in Uganda. It was DOA with electrical issues and handled/rode like a hay wagon when running. Granted, it wasn’t the top of the line model.
Given that the first variables you mention are fuel economy, refinement. Interior, and handling, I wonder how these are the two vehicles you are trying to decide between.
Get a Ford.
What kind of “handling” are you doing? The Suburban handles quite nicely for most daily tasks. I’m more of an Expedition fan, but I’ve always secretly admired the Tahoes and Suburbans.
I should add that I used to build Tahoes, but I still like them despite being GM products.