Originally Posted by 
gromit
				 
			I did buy without a test drive a few years ago but to be fair it was an engine change & facelift so no problem apart from the delivery delays because of 'body control module' issues. I ordered before it was available !
A company I worked for in the UK had a policy with lease cars 'no new models'.
There was the Peugeot 405 where the handbrake used the discs. Pull up on a hill with hot brakes, when they cooled down the car headed downhill.
Then the Renault 19 16V that if you drove carefully went through a set of front tyres in under 6,000miles, super sticky compound and expensive.
I had several Renaults in the UK, two company vehicles then I ran a 21 Savannah and an Espace all trouble free.
The Espace was at 230,000miles when I sold it after 4 years, no major issues just routine servicing and a head gasket (under the extended warranty) at about 120,000miles which was a common problem.
Part of the problem in Australia is the lack of dealerships, Land Rover & Renault come to mind.
My young bloke worked at the Local LR dealership and I'm aware of the servicing costs and some of the problems with Land Rovers. Not sure which model but an electronic oil level sensor failed in one vehicle and the diff had to be removed to get the sump off, fine while under warranty but if you had to pay !
I think it's the Evoque where it has a large knob (for want of a better description) that is used to select Drive, Neutral etc. This rises up when you turn the vehicle on, I guess the designers think it looks cool that it rises up & down ?!
Flat battery and you can't select neutral to get it on a tilt tray unless you know about the secret lever under the bonnet. Probably mentioned in the manual but who reads the manual.
Servicing costs are obscene for a number of the so called prestige manufacturers but if you go to an Independent they don't get access to the software updates.
Colin