Defender 110 VS Toyota Land Cruuser?
Discussion
Ayahuasca said:
I have never felt the need for additional arm support in my Defender. If the window is up, and I feel the need to lean an elbow, it fits into the angle between the window and the door. Same as any other car.
Normally, I drive with both hands on the wheel (thumbs out of course) and don't need to rest an elbow anyway.
I have heard this 'fault' before, but cannot understand it.
Unless the complainers are all fat b
ds.
It's one of the faults I've experienced, however it was intentionally designed in (from what I've been told). The seating position allows a good view of the front right wheel whilst off road by merely leaning to the right.Normally, I drive with both hands on the wheel (thumbs out of course) and don't need to rest an elbow anyway.
I have heard this 'fault' before, but cannot understand it.
Unless the complainers are all fat b
ds.I'm 6' 3" and 14st, so nowhere near fat b'stard status, nor am I 'powerfully built', however being able to rest an arm on long journeys would be nice.
PotHoleHater said:
Ayahuasca said:
I have never felt the need for additional arm support in my Defender. If the window is up, and I feel the need to lean an elbow, it fits into the angle between the window and the door. Same as any other car.
Normally, I drive with both hands on the wheel (thumbs out of course) and don't need to rest an elbow anyway.
I have heard this 'fault' before, but cannot understand it.
Unless the complainers are all fat bds.
It's one of the faults I've experienced, however it was intentionally designed in (from what I've been told). The seating position allows a good view of the front right wheel whilst off road by merely leaning to the right.Normally, I drive with both hands on the wheel (thumbs out of course) and don't need to rest an elbow anyway.
I have heard this 'fault' before, but cannot understand it.
Unless the complainers are all fat b
ds.I'm 6' 3" and 14st, so nowhere near fat b'stard status, nor am I 'powerfully built', however being able to rest an arm on long journeys would be nice.
There are some shocking attempts at justifying the short comings in defender comfort, here. The right front tyre is always right in front of your right foot and you can usually say the outside edge of the tyre will be roughly in line with the outside edge of your right foot if its touching the kick panel. If you have a bull bar you have your front edge, the right body panel is obvious and even on a somewhat bulbous 80 series, the left hand front quarter panel's limit is going to be what you can see plus about 3". Or the left hand limit of the bull bar. 
This is my land cruiser Colorado.(if the picture works)
2 Inch lift, 4 inch diameter SS side exit exhaust,poly bushed,
I replaced my 110 Defender with it..
I do think people who have LR brands also to a certain extent, buy a pair of rose tinted glasses to go with them
Apart from doing the LR itch,normality has now resumed,I am delighted with it, for me it does everything the Defender,did off road, but is also warmer, drier,faster,and no rust.
Just done the first replacement part after three years,alternator.
My Defender was a garage queen,no wading through mud filled bomb craters, and was in mint condition, so I feel had a decent pair of vehicles to compare.
I have also had the V8 RR disco 1 and 2,the Discos in non dissolvable state I would imagine, would be like rocking horse s
t to find.I also dont need to wear a wet suit to stay dry, when driving the LC
I spent two years in Malawi and hired an 80 series for a 1200km journey round the northern part of the country and despite its age and 340,000km odometer reading it was a truly wonderful machine. Sideways on dirt roads, crazy terrain in national parks and deep water, it was nothing short of epic. When I first saw it I nearly complained to the hire place. It quickly got under my skin and the whole family loved it. Truly amazing machine and imho there's nothing else like it.
There's a reason they say if you want to go to the bush take a Land Rover, if you want to get back take a Land Cruiser!! Watched a defender stranded in a game park in Zambia with the driver sucking fuel into his mouth to try getting it going,and I towed a stricken defender with the 80 series.
I've only personally owned a disco 3, not a defender but I know where I'd put my money.
There's a reason they say if you want to go to the bush take a Land Rover, if you want to get back take a Land Cruiser!! Watched a defender stranded in a game park in Zambia with the driver sucking fuel into his mouth to try getting it going,and I towed a stricken defender with the 80 series.
I've only personally owned a disco 3, not a defender but I know where I'd put my money.
It's going to be a Toyota. Just have to find the right car now. Budget has shrunk due to a house purchase, so now looking at £3k.
Hopefully the right Cruiser is out there...it'll be put to work quickly. Towing, tools in the back and as a multiple dog carrier!
Thanks for the input to the thread, guys.
Hopefully the right Cruiser is out there...it'll be put to work quickly. Towing, tools in the back and as a multiple dog carrier!
Thanks for the input to the thread, guys.
Hainey said:
Its not what you want to hear but I'll say it anyway.
Having seen recently and first hand what 3k will get you in the Toyota world, I'd be going Discovery.
Sorry. I'll shut up now.
No worries at all chap. I've looked at too many rotten 300tdi's and TD5's with the usual issues to go that route. I may well up the budget, but not by too much.Having seen recently and first hand what 3k will get you in the Toyota world, I'd be going Discovery.
Sorry. I'll shut up now.
What sort of issues have you seen with the Toyotas? I've found a couple of Colorado's that 'appear' to hold decent, so I'l take a wee trip to see them.
PotHoleHater said:
Hainey said:
Its not what you want to hear but I'll say it anyway.
Having seen recently and first hand what 3k will get you in the Toyota world, I'd be going Discovery.
Sorry. I'll shut up now.
No worries at all chap. I've looked at too many rotten 300tdi's and TD5's with the usual issues to go that route. I may well up the budget, but not by too much.Having seen recently and first hand what 3k will get you in the Toyota world, I'd be going Discovery.
Sorry. I'll shut up now.
What sort of issues have you seen with the Toyotas? I've found a couple of Colorado's that 'appear' to hold decent, so I'l take a wee trip to see them.
Sadly, everything I looked at that was straight was either daft money that would have got me into a newer and much plusher Disco 3 with less miles or was abused and crusty and was still overpriced. People were asking a lot of money for starship mileages and patchy or downright suspicious service histories.
One that really hacked me off was a car that looked great in the pics and the video he whatsapped me but when we travelled to see it the back end was rotting off it, and there is no way it hell it should ever have passed an MOT, nevermind one from a month before I saw it. My mate is an MOT tester btw, he was there with me. That car was shiny dogs
t and the vendor knew it.In terms of what to look out for, it seems there is a lot, just as much as an equivalent Discovery. The difference is where there is nothing on a TD5 that will cost you more than a grand to put right no mater how grim the fault, and usually much, much less if you can turn a spanner and watch YouTube, a quick look at parts prices for the Toyota put me right off.
Going back to faults, corrosion on the Toyota is an issue at the back end and the axle mounts and its tricky work for a welder and the UK climate is especially good at promoting it. The other problem is the rear difflocks never seem to work on them which is no good for me as I was looking for that for go into the hills, plus why have a 4x4 if it's compromised like that? To fix it seems to be a £450 upwards job.
The other issue is overheating. I'd been warned about that by someone who had one and sure enough I viewed two that the vendor was evasive as hell when asked the question and both didn't want the cars to be taken for an extended motorway test drive, despite me offering to cover double the cost of the fuel and a tenner on top for any wear and tear.
Next up might not affect you but I wanted an auto box as sod the fuel, I'd like an easy life. That was the next gotcha in that they seem to lunch them through the radiator rotting and mixing coolant with the box oil. Goodbye box in very short order. Not a cheap fix.
In the end I started looking at Discos, which was the one thing I set out NOT to do as I have an old 300tdi I use for quarry bashing and was set on a change. After a few enquiries and visits I found a really good nick early TD5 that was solid at the back end where they seem to go (vendor steam washed it for me before I saw it to show me how clean it was, never welded) that was auto, drove and stopped well and still had smart looking paint. It needed some tidying with little things but nothing that I've not enjoyed doing over the last few weeks and it's been £10/£20 spends on second hand parts like trim and so on to get it to where I want it. All for the sort of money that wouldn't have got me into any sort of Toyota I could park on the drive and not have the neighbours moaning at the estate factor.
The only downside for me was I had to travel for hours right to the warmer part of England to find it as everything up here was abused and rotten and I'd have spent a fortune repairing faults the guy three owners before me should have fixed. I also saw a few Discos locally that should have been scrapped at least two MOTs ago that were being punted for totally unrealistic money so it's not just the Toyota owners that were flying a flag. Fair enough.
The other thing, and I have to say this, is the Disco has the ACE system on it and drives so much better than the Toyotas on the road its unreal. It's night and day better. Have a look at this to see what I mean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4opZF1mDjM
I don't know if you do off road, but the Disco spanks the Toyota due to the suspension set up there as well.
Oh, and I came home with a grand to spare out of my three grand budget.
So there, that was that little life journey. I know its all just one random bloke off the internets opinion but it's an honest one.Hope it helps.
AW111 said:
I don't know the UK situation, but here in Aus I buy all my OEM Toyota parts via amayama.com. It's not only cheaper than going via a dealership, but much quicker than back-order. Usually 5-7 days ex UAE.
sam here Hainey- interesting points. There is a gulf of difference between an amazon and colorado, and its always possible to find a dodgy motor!
If you compare a mid 90's landcruiser to a mid 90s rover product then there is a huge disparity.
I would be less scared from a big bill point of view with an 80 than a Disco 3, but certainly discos will be much nicer to live with on a day to day basis- not as capable offroad, but more capable on road- probably the asme in terms of towing.
From a wading perspective i'd take a mechanical fuel injection TDI any day over a moern electronic motor- that goes for toyotas as much as landrovers (ie a 300tdi is probably a safer wding bet than a TD5)
Pugwash I agree with all that. Its best to have my experience contextualised I think in that I wasn't joking when I said I was shopping at the 3k, council scheme end of the market and with all the challenges that brought me.
When I asked the owners why they thought their vehicle was worth the money asked the general reply seemed to be 'because Toyota' and that didnt do it for me at all. A bag of overpriced nails is what it is, badge not withstanding after all.
On reflection though, I think I made the right choice for me. I'm genuinely chuffed with what my 2k bought in the end. Having did a challenging wee track last night as well as 60 fast miles on highway all in while out for an urbex, including pulling a brand new fiesta out of a ditch at one point, confirmed that I'm very happy with what my pocket money purchase has bought me this time around.
When I asked the owners why they thought their vehicle was worth the money asked the general reply seemed to be 'because Toyota' and that didnt do it for me at all. A bag of overpriced nails is what it is, badge not withstanding after all.
On reflection though, I think I made the right choice for me. I'm genuinely chuffed with what my 2k bought in the end. Having did a challenging wee track last night as well as 60 fast miles on highway all in while out for an urbex, including pulling a brand new fiesta out of a ditch at one point, confirmed that I'm very happy with what my pocket money purchase has bought me this time around.
Ayahuasca said:
Hainey said:
a quick look at parts prices for the Toyota put me right off.
My Land Cruiser's automatic transmission stopped working.No, Sir, it is not repairable.
Guess how much a new auto box is?
$15.000 / £12,500 !!
Wow!Thats the thing. I'm just not in that game at all. If any of my cars show signs of needing something then they get it and I'm a massive believer in preventative maintenence but if I'm running something that can throw me a bill like that then I'm playing well out of my league.
You really did make me go a bit white when I read that
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