Land Rover Defender 90: PH Fleet

The Twisted Defender is driven by other PH staff, the reports are (mostly) positive

That the Twisted Defender hasn't been seen in the PH car park for a few days probably says all you need to know about its popularity; it doesn't stand still for long! We kindly asked our sales bods for their driving impressions but, being so utterly committed to their first jobs, they've not dallied with any editorial whatsoever. Shame. You'll therefore have to excuse us for a slightly shorter Fleet report than usual with just a couple of contributors this month. We'll tell the sales boys their commission is being cut if they don't write anything next time...

"So what's the website again?"

Nathan writes:
I was really looking forward to driving the Defender. I've hankered after one for a good few years and I was hoping that my love wouldn't be shattered; the great news is that it wasn't. I enjoyed every single mile I've covered in it.

Of course the Twisted Defender isn't a sports car but then it doesn't pretend to be. A lot of the things we normally talk about aren't strictly relevant with the Defender. First impressions are that it goes better than expected and you feel almost invincible driving it. With a few more goodies you sense it would be perfect for a zombie apocalypse; fast enough, capable enough, sturdy enough. Luckily the aforementioned apocalypse hasn't happened yet, so how was it to drive on roads with the living?

I was surprised that the Defender footprint is as small as it is, our '90' has a smaller wheelbase at 2,360mm than a Fiesta (2,489mm). The Defender's size is quite deceiving on first driving it as the front left corner seems a lot further away that it actually is; once you get used to this, the Defender is actually quite suited to town driving. You are able to move in and out of small gaps with relative ease although people do tend to move out of the way for it which is nice. [We've heard Sam has learnt his lesson about being a big jesse driving the Defender originally]

It's noisy to drive, has a bouncy ride compared to a lot of vehicles and the steering is really slow but I can forgive it these foibles as it just looks so good.

"Can I have the Caterham back soon? Please?"

Matt writes:
Having spent rather too much time in another British motoring icon with a design many decades old, I was willing to cut the Defender some slack. The Caterham and the Defender of course share quite a few traits; both are built with one purpose in mind, both use fairly simple underpinnings including a borrowed Ford engine and both also attract a ton of positive attention. People stare and wave and point, the relatively small size of each removing the intimidation factor often associated with some sports cars and SUVs. That they're both rare and adorned with PH smileys must contribute a little...

But I can't get on with the Defender right now. Not at all. I won't give up on it just yet as I've not tried it off-road but it's far from love at the moment. The Caterham is just so wonderfully communicative that even on a tedious journey it isn't suited to there will be fleeting moments of joy; a perfect downchange, an unexpected exhaust pop, a perfectly clipped apex. It's hard work and tiring sometimes (they both are) but the Caterham always has an upside that I haven't yet found in the Twisted. I'll repeat that I expect this to come when we try it off the tarmac.

The Defender's vagueness that is probably so beneficial off-road is just disconcerting on it. It's laggy and the brakes are wooden and the ride is atrocious. Yes, it does look very cool but I'm just not willing to compromise that far. Nathan is and it seems many others using Defenders as their London wheels are but it's not for me right now. I'll stick to getting cold then hot then deaf in a fabulous little car that can't go off-road for now.

FACT SHEET
Car: Twisted Land Rover Defender 90
Run by: Everyone!
On fleet since: August 2014
Mileage: TBC, we've not seen it in the car park for a while
List price new: £50,265.04 (Price as standard for Land Rover Defender 90 Hard Top XS £27,490. Twisted options as follows: Twisted P6 Performance Upgrade £2,064, Twisted Progressive Suspension £2,544, Twisted by Alcon brake upgrade £3,984, Corris Grey paint to grill, vent and wing mirrors £474, Java Metallic to rear crossmember and mud flap brackets £493.50, raised intake vents and premium side vent £94.80, Twisted oval badges £38.40, gloss black Land Rover bonnet badge £168.60, BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres 265/65 R18 £1,389, Twisted 18-inch White Sport alloys £1,734, crystal headlights with stainless bezels £256.80, LED brake, tail, reverse and fog lights plus indicators £672, Twisted Zinc coated, Java metallic LED front bumper £591, stainless steel A2 exterior fixings £486, front roll hoop in black with light mounts £1,554, tubular rear step and towing bracket £591, Twisted 6mm black coated steering guard £348, black chequer plate top to tubular side rails and stainless fixings £270, Twisted exterior decals and number plates £12.60, privacy glass £474, Recaro leather CS seats and Twisted raised subframe £3,123, 350mm sport steering wheel and shallow Twisted boss £339, centre raised arm rest and grainy leather and silver stitch to cubby box £393, grainy leather and silver stitch to dash tops and grab handle £432, Land Rover oval rear load liner £159.54 and rubber mats £88.80)
Last month at a glance: The Defender earns itself some fans (and detractors) in its first full month

Previous reports:
Twisted Defender arrives and there's a scramble for the keys!

[Pics: Tom Begley]