Range Rover HSE 4.6 Vogue Automatic

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Introduced way back in 1970, the Range Rover was so fundamentally 'right' from the outset that it remained in production virtually unaltered for the next 25 years, getting a little bit more luxurious with each passing year.

The bodywork was not substantially redesigned until the second generation P38A model of 1994, which also gained air suspension in place of the original coil-springs. It also gained an improved gearbox, an even stronger chassis, anti-lock brakes, four-wheel traction control, twin front seat air bags and, from 1999, a new Bosch engine management system from the BMW 7-Series in place of the old Lucas unit.

Three engines were available, a 2.5-litre turbo diesel, a 4-litre V8 and a top-of-the-range 4.6-litre V8, as here. The latter produced 224bhp and 277lb/ft of torque, sufficient for a 0-60 dash of 9.9 seconds and a top speed of 123mph. As familiar a part of the British street scene as the red pillar box, all versions are hugely capable machines that are equally at home on the motorway or the school run, or clambering to the top of a mountain.

Dating from February 1996, this particular vehicle comes with a very large history file to show careful maintenance from new and is in remarkably good condition for its age. It has covered some 110,500 with no fewer than 13 stamps in the book (giving an average service interval of just 8,500 miles), the last in April 2013 at 105,251 miles. There are also many bills (totalling some £9,500) charting various improvements over the years to address the known weak spots of the model, including replacing the air suspension with more conventional coil springs in March 2012.

A top spec HSE 4.6 Vogue model, it looks most distinguished in Epsom Green with a Saddle leather interior and lashings of walnut trim. Said to drive beautifully with an MOT until November 2015, it comes with all its original handbooks, the aforementioned service record and virtually all its old MOTs from new. Only recently acquired by the vendor after a long search to find a good one, it is only reluctantly for sale due to an unforeseen change in circumstances.

Costing some £45,000 when new with limousine-like refinement, these late-90s Range Rovers are astonishingly competent machines, both on and off road, and this thoroughly sorted example looks an absolute steal at the modest guide price suggested.