RE: Land Rover Defender 90: PH Fleet

[Psimpson7]

powerstroke said:

Utterly underwhelming tarted up tat, sad really the defender has all the right
bits to be a proper off roader, solid axles coil springs, wheel at each corner ,little
Overhang,but sadly the parts are made of low quality cheese a feeble engine and crap build quality.. Good enough if you want a 4x4 not so good if you need one!!! good job there are landcruisers , G waggons and patrols
Otherwise people in more remote and hostile areas of the world than Surrey would be stranded..

Build quality on my new one seems pretty good so far! No water leaks, nothing has fallen off, no bad panel gaps, very good paint quality and general fitment inside etc. The 2.2 engine goes really well IMO. Unless you thrash my other one a chipped TD5 the 2.2 easily stays with it.

Already been used offroad quite a lot as well. 3 of the wheels have rockrash

Also I don't live in Surrey!

Having said that it has taken them until the last few years to get on top of the build quality

[Zad]

ajmcampbell said:

Or you could have one of these, but that wouldn't allow such hilarity or so many accusations of Barrying!



Incidentally, the one with the tart's knocking shop interior looks like this on the outside:

[billywhizzzzzz]

Oh dear. Poor Defender. All that tat - the wheels, the 'upgrades'... There's only one good defender and that's one as it came from the factory. Then it is sublime.

[skyrover]

PH said:

Around town its size, especially the width, takes some getting used to.

Ford Focus

Length: 4,358 mm (171.6 in)
Width: 1,823 mm (71.8 in)

Defender 90

Length: 4,077 mm (160.5 in)
Width 1,791 mm (70.5 in)

Nearly one foot shorter than a focus and an over an inch narrower

[skyrover]

billywhizzzzzz said:

Oh dear. Poor Defender. All that tat - the wheels, the 'upgrades'... There's only one good defender and that's one as it came from the factory. Then it is sublime.

The beauty of the Defender is it's modular construction, allowing quick and easy upgrades/changes to suit whatever task you want.

You can go fast, or you can go anywhere

[Lucas CAV]

Zad said:

ajmcampbell said:

Or you could have one of these, but that wouldn't allow such hilarity or so many accusations of Barrying!



Incidentally, the one with the tart's knocking shop interior looks like this on the outside:

That still looks st.

[Harry Flashman]

LP670 said:

Harry Flashman said:

Indeed. Mine has had pretty much every upgrade possible by some pretty pricey service providers and is still, objectively, utterly rubbish. Slow (despite engine, brake, suspension, steering and noiseproofing upgrades - still terrifying at 90mph). Thirsty. Probably quite unsafe.

I am completely in love with it.

Muddy Land Rover by baconrashers, on Flickr

DSC_0075.jpg by baconrashers, on Flickr

Love the colour, is it nato green?

It is!

[Pugsey]

HarryW said:

Love landies but Sorry you should have picked up a 50th Anni and kept £20k in the bank.......

+100%. As indeed I posted earlier.

[ajmcampbell]

Also, why spend all that money when we all know that the coolest spec for a new defender is bog-standard, in Keswick Green with white steelies.

[skyrover]

ajmcampbell said:

Also, why spend all that money when we all know that the coolest spec for a new defender is bog-standard, in Keswick Green with white steelies.

Coolest is early 90/110 spec with split tone paint, 80's stripes, galv cappings and sliding windows

[loveice]

skyrover said:

PH said:

Around town its size, especially the width, takes some getting used to.

Ford Focus

Length: 4,358 mm (171.6 in)
Width: 1,823 mm (71.8 in)

Defender 90

Length: 4,077 mm (160.5 in)
Width 1,791 mm (70.5 in)

Nearly one foot shorter than a focus and an over an inch narrower

The C-Segment Ford Focus is way too big to compare to a Defender 90. In fact, the closest car in terms of length and width is the B-Segment Renault Clio.

Renault Clio
Length: 4,090 mm
Width: 1,732 mm

Defender 90
Length: 4,077 mm
Width: 1,791 mm

Don't see anybody complains about hard to get used to the size of Clio around towns...

[oldtimer2]

skyrover said:

billywhizzzzzz said:

Oh dear. Poor Defender. All that tat - the wheels, the 'upgrades'... There's only one good defender and that's one as it came from the factory. Then it is sublime.

The beauty of the Defender is it's modular construction, allowing quick and easy upgrades/changes to suit whatever task you want.

You can go fast, or you can go anywhere

Exactly - it is a platform waiting to be modified and generally messed about to adapt to your needs, remembering that first and foremost it was designed to excel in off road use, not on road performance.

[garypotter]

No one has mentioned the dreaded project Kahn or chelsea tractor company conversions, upto £60k for a defender 90 !!!

Money cannot buy taste..............

[FWDRacer]

AJ-T said:

Please don't stick a 'one life live it' sticker on it, whenever I see those sad stickers always makes me think of the two off road geeks on the fast show failing miserably at off road!

Spat Coffeee Let's Off road!!!

[The Wookie]

sanctum said:

Quote "Around town its size, especially the width, takes some getting used to."
--You must mean how narrow they are! They're one of the narrowest proper 4x4's you can get, I find my 110 slips easily through city traffic.
Would love to try the Twisted suspension upgrade, as I find I can "corner at full power" with standard stuff too, and "flat" is purely relative

Best 4x4xfar!

I've just fitted the basic Twisted Spring and Bilstein Damper kit to my 50th anniversary 2.8i which previously had an old Overfinch Koni Setup. The Koni setup wasn't bad, it rode pretty well for a Defender but was still bouncy and rolled quickly with a fair amount of angle.

The Twisted kit is a massive improvement, body control is much improved and it corners with genuinely little roll, rides well (although a little more choppy than the Konis) and the braking stability is much improved. The steering is still vague and slow (although I haven't fitted the steering damper yet), but it's chuckable and safe... although I do think it would lift a wheel before it slides at higher speeds so it does need to be treated with a bit of respect!

If you're using your Landy for towing and a bit of light off-road then I'd strongly recommend it. It's good value too.

Here's how it sits on 18" Boost wheels, the only significant visual modification from standard on mine I might add and there so I can fit Alcon brakes, the rest of it is restored but absolutely as it came:

Edited by The Wookie on Wednesday 20th August 13:16

[Cotty]

It does look nice though.

[hondansx]

Harry Flashman said:

cheddar said:

I love owners honest appraisals and this seems to sum it up very well - huge character, great looks, rubbish to drive.

Indeed. Mine has had pretty much every upgrade possible by some pretty pricey service providers and is still, objectively, utterly rubbish. Slow (despite engine, brake, suspension, steering and noiseproofing upgrades - still terrifying at 90mph). Thirsty. Probably quite unsafe.

I am completely in love with it.

Muddy Land Rover by baconrashers, on Flickr

DSC_0075.jpg by baconrashers, on Flickr

That looks fantastic! Where was the last picture taken?

It was after a trip to Iceland where Defenders with huge lifts and tyres were ten a penny that proved the final straw - we had to get one!

[Pugsey]

The Wookie said:

sanctum said:

Quote "Around town its size, especially the width, takes some getting used to."
--You must mean how narrow they are! They're one of the narrowest proper 4x4's you can get, I find my 110 slips easily through city traffic.
Would love to try the Twisted suspension upgrade, as I find I can "corner at full power" with standard stuff too, and "flat" is purely relative

Best 4x4xfar!

I've just fitted the basic Twisted Spring and Bilstein Damper kit to my 50th anniversary 2.8i which previously had an old Overfinch Koni Setup. The Koni setup wasn't bad, it rode pretty well for a Defender but was still bouncy and rolled quickly with a fair amount of angle.

The Twisted kit is a massive improvement, body control is much improved and it corners with genuinely little roll, rides well (although a little more choppy than the Konis) and the braking stability is much improved. The steering is still vague and slow (although I haven't fitted the steering damper yet), but it's chuckable and safe... although I do think it would lift a wheel before it slides at higher speeds so it does need to be treated with a bit of respect!

If you're using your Landy for towing and a bit of light off-road then I'd strongly recommend it. It's good value too.

Here's how it sits on 18" Boost wheels, the only significant visual modification from standard on mine I might add and there so I can fit Alcon brakes, the rest of it is restored but absolutely as it came:

Edited by The Wookie on Wednesday 20th August 13:16

I assume that (very nice) car is a SA one as I thought all GB 50ths were 4L V8 Autos.

[The Wookie]

Yep! They did a 50th in SA, but with the 2.8i being a generally available model it was basically the Santorini blue paint job (although I think there were a few options with the same two tone layout and decals) and leather interior.

[Pip1968]

Yes, erm, I am not sure if the author proof read or thought his article through. Who on earth takes a Landrover out and then complains about a lack of Satnav and then about how big it is. As has been said they are actually very narrow and not particularly big (in overall volume/displacement) overall when compared to a family saloon these days.

He will be complaining of lack of boot space and off road capability in a Porsche Boxster next.

Incidentally he has a fiancee (female) or a fiance (male).... I am just 'bi' curious ;-)

Pip