Defender - everyday
Discussion
I am thinking about a 4 x 4 and you may be surprised to hear a Defender.
Its iconic and classless and seems a lot of car for £30k, depreciation seems low initially, nearlly new are not much less than a new one. I wonder what will happen to prices when they discontinue it
I drove various series 111 in the 80's both on and off road.
I really like the look of a 110 station wagon but I suppose the 90 would be more sensible.
What can you tell me about life with a late model
Its iconic and classless and seems a lot of car for £30k, depreciation seems low initially, nearlly new are not much less than a new one. I wonder what will happen to prices when they discontinue it
I drove various series 111 in the 80's both on and off road.
I really like the look of a 110 station wagon but I suppose the 90 would be more sensible.
What can you tell me about life with a late model
If you need something you can hose out inside when it gets muddy, put bleeding dead animals in or ridiculous off roading a defender is what you need. Otherwise a discovery will be a nicer place to be day in day out. But more toys means more bits to go wrong on disco's and rangers though!
SeanCW said:
I really like the look of a 110 station wagon but I suppose the 90 would be more sensible.
I'd say not. 90s are very small, with the back seats up there is not a lot of usefull storage. I've run a 110 for the past 12 years and its just brilliant. I used to do 25,000miles+ a year in it, I'm 6' and 16stone and find it comfortable even on long journeys (500mile/days). Its a state of mind, some people are Defender owners some aren't.
There are a few issues with the transit engine models, there are several threads over at landroverscene.com worth reading.
Will
Crossflow Kid said:
Yeah but it makes them less of a barge. And I'm not sure "very" small is really true.
90, compromised but better turning circle. Ride quality can be affected by short wheelbase.110, had 7 people and 2 mountain bikes inside it on Sunday. Terrible turning circle. I have a 110CSW as I prefer the look.
I've been driving a Defender (04 Plate 110 Td5 CSW XS) as my everyday car for the last 6 months - whilst still keeping hold of my 5 year old V70 until I'm sure that the Defender will work out for me - it's worked out very well so far and I'm still thoroughtly enjoying it. Below is the write up I posted about my experience to date on another forum I subscribe to which may be of some use to you:
So – almost 5 months and 5000 miles driving a Defender as an everyday car – and it’s pretty good. Very good actually.
I decided to keep the Volvo for a while to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake – not least because I was staggered to find out how little my 5 year old 60,000 mile V70 D5 was worth – and decide which one I was going to keep after 6 months – so time’s almost up.
I still really enjoy driving it and it makes me smile when I see it parked somewhere – and the family still love it – it’s called Buzz now.
As predicted and hoped for, it’s an entirely different driving experience. In many ways and for obvious reasons it reminds me of the various awful Triumph/BL/Rover stuff that my parents insisted on patriotically buying in the 70s and 80s – the switchgear, instruments and heater controls are all very familiar.
The driving experience is very different and forces you to actually make an effort – but you adapt to it very quickly. It’s taught me that with ordinary cars you can actually drive quite badly and still be rewarded by a pretty smooth drive thereby kidding yourself that you’re doing a good job – not so with a Defender, fail to match the revs to engine speed when changing gear and you’ll have the thing jolting and juddering in protest, sharp steering inputs at speed will induce quite alarming roll and weave.
It’s an XS so well specced for a Defender (Electric Windows, Heated Leather Seats, Aircon) but still ridiculously sparten compared to even the most humble of modern cars. I don’t miss the toys though. I worried that the heater would be rubbish – it’s fine, but the large internal volume means it takes a while to get warm.
It’s not fast. Flat out shows close to 90 indicated but it’s a bit scary and not fun, feels far more twitchy than an ordinary car. We generally trundle along at about 65 in Lane 1 smiling at people trying to bully each other out of the outside lane. I don’t do huge motorway mileage and for most of my driving progress is limited by other traffic, so I don’t find my journey times have increased much if at all.
It’s not going to win any races off the lights – but with a bit of cheeky and judicious positioning you can use its height and bulk to block everyone else’s view thereby guaranteeing that you’re always first away . I don’t miss the speed, the fun makes up for it. Without being too much of a kiss-arse, it’s really nice to be able to go out for a thoroughly enjoyable drive without intentionally putting myself outside the law in order to enjoy the experience.
I’m conscious that it’s slower than other traffic and make an effort not to hold people up, but I’m not shy about using the overtaking lane for its stated purpose at the stated limit where necessary – people almost invariably respect this but on very rare occasions I’ve been tailgated by some young blade who thinks I’m going to be intimidated by disappearing into the huge blind spot behind the back door and placing the plastic, glass and paper thin steel sheet front end of his car 18 inches from the solid steel I-beam with a tow-hitch sticking out of it that represents the back of my car – “Bring it on Sunshine, I think I know who’s going to come off worse”.
Only driven it properly off road once with one of my friend's 4x4 Group. One guy who’d just driven his 110 to Jo’burg and back took pity on me and taught me how to use the mysterious extra gearstick to good effect and had me slithering up steep muddy tracks that I’d never have dared to attempt on my own – but were apparently kids’ stuff compared to what they can do if needed, numerous YouTube Videos prove him correct. Was pleased to learn that sliding a car around on a muddy lane at walking pace as just as much fun as doing it at naughty speeds on tarmac but without the fear or irresponsibility.
Nothing’s gone badly wrong yet. A couple of comedy moments when the indicator stalk fell to bits on my hands and the plastic surround beneath the steering column fell off. The door locks/catches don’t work properly when the weather’s cold (common issue apparently) requiring moderately severe violence to get the doors closed – a bit pointless having the best car in the world to drive in snow if you can’t open and close the doors when it’s more than a bit chilly.
Rust is going to be the problem. Noticed a bit bubbling through around the door frames which I rubbed back, treated and repainted. Had it jetwashed and steam cleaned underneath and treated it with Dinitrol (like Waxoyl but allegedly better). It’s going to be a losing battle though, they all rot eventually and all you can do is slow down the process.
Fuel economy has been just under 30mpg compared to ~38mpg for the V70 – although if I drove the V70 at comparable motorway speeds as the Defender it would obviously do better.
There are downsides. Coming out of the airport after a 13 hour flight at new year I was very pleased to have the Volvo waiting and just get home with no fuss. Likewise we drove back from the South Coast after then freak hot weekend in October along with half of the rest of the country on the M3. After 1st -> 2nd -> Stop repeat x 5000 I was thoroughly fed up of the heavy clutch and gearchange and the inconveniently placed handbrake.
It’s too high to get into the underground carpark at one of the Local supermarkets, also too high for an automatic car wash. You need to buy a different class of ticket (High Car) for x-Channel ferries but it’s been the same price the 2 times it’s been to France so far. Nigel’s warning that I’d be arrested and sent off to the Foreign Legion for daring to drive it in France (I still don’t know why) have so far come to nothing.
Safety is a concern. The chassis is massively strong but the aluminium bodyshell has very little structural strength. Pictures I’ve seen of Defenders that have been rolled are alarming. The high CofG makes this a more likely occurance than in a normal car. There are no airbags or side impact protection. The only crumple zone is going to be provided by whatever you hit, which is fine (albeit selfish) if that’s a 10 year old Fiat, but less fine it it’s a 100 year old Oak tree.
Security is a joke. You can lock the doors if it makes you feel better but they can be opened with a cutlery knife or take the external door hinges off with a Torx screwdriver. There’s no glove box to keep “stuff” out of sight and no way of concealing whatever’s in the load area.
So all said and done – it’s a flawed and very dated car – and one that makes very little sense for the purpose I need it for. It’s more fun than any other car I’ve driven though. Everyone should have a go in one before the tree-huggers inevitably make them illegal.
So – almost 5 months and 5000 miles driving a Defender as an everyday car – and it’s pretty good. Very good actually.
I decided to keep the Volvo for a while to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake – not least because I was staggered to find out how little my 5 year old 60,000 mile V70 D5 was worth – and decide which one I was going to keep after 6 months – so time’s almost up.
I still really enjoy driving it and it makes me smile when I see it parked somewhere – and the family still love it – it’s called Buzz now.
As predicted and hoped for, it’s an entirely different driving experience. In many ways and for obvious reasons it reminds me of the various awful Triumph/BL/Rover stuff that my parents insisted on patriotically buying in the 70s and 80s – the switchgear, instruments and heater controls are all very familiar.
The driving experience is very different and forces you to actually make an effort – but you adapt to it very quickly. It’s taught me that with ordinary cars you can actually drive quite badly and still be rewarded by a pretty smooth drive thereby kidding yourself that you’re doing a good job – not so with a Defender, fail to match the revs to engine speed when changing gear and you’ll have the thing jolting and juddering in protest, sharp steering inputs at speed will induce quite alarming roll and weave.
It’s an XS so well specced for a Defender (Electric Windows, Heated Leather Seats, Aircon) but still ridiculously sparten compared to even the most humble of modern cars. I don’t miss the toys though. I worried that the heater would be rubbish – it’s fine, but the large internal volume means it takes a while to get warm.
It’s not fast. Flat out shows close to 90 indicated but it’s a bit scary and not fun, feels far more twitchy than an ordinary car. We generally trundle along at about 65 in Lane 1 smiling at people trying to bully each other out of the outside lane. I don’t do huge motorway mileage and for most of my driving progress is limited by other traffic, so I don’t find my journey times have increased much if at all.
It’s not going to win any races off the lights – but with a bit of cheeky and judicious positioning you can use its height and bulk to block everyone else’s view thereby guaranteeing that you’re always first away . I don’t miss the speed, the fun makes up for it. Without being too much of a kiss-arse, it’s really nice to be able to go out for a thoroughly enjoyable drive without intentionally putting myself outside the law in order to enjoy the experience.
I’m conscious that it’s slower than other traffic and make an effort not to hold people up, but I’m not shy about using the overtaking lane for its stated purpose at the stated limit where necessary – people almost invariably respect this but on very rare occasions I’ve been tailgated by some young blade who thinks I’m going to be intimidated by disappearing into the huge blind spot behind the back door and placing the plastic, glass and paper thin steel sheet front end of his car 18 inches from the solid steel I-beam with a tow-hitch sticking out of it that represents the back of my car – “Bring it on Sunshine, I think I know who’s going to come off worse”.
Only driven it properly off road once with one of my friend's 4x4 Group. One guy who’d just driven his 110 to Jo’burg and back took pity on me and taught me how to use the mysterious extra gearstick to good effect and had me slithering up steep muddy tracks that I’d never have dared to attempt on my own – but were apparently kids’ stuff compared to what they can do if needed, numerous YouTube Videos prove him correct. Was pleased to learn that sliding a car around on a muddy lane at walking pace as just as much fun as doing it at naughty speeds on tarmac but without the fear or irresponsibility.
Nothing’s gone badly wrong yet. A couple of comedy moments when the indicator stalk fell to bits on my hands and the plastic surround beneath the steering column fell off. The door locks/catches don’t work properly when the weather’s cold (common issue apparently) requiring moderately severe violence to get the doors closed – a bit pointless having the best car in the world to drive in snow if you can’t open and close the doors when it’s more than a bit chilly.
Rust is going to be the problem. Noticed a bit bubbling through around the door frames which I rubbed back, treated and repainted. Had it jetwashed and steam cleaned underneath and treated it with Dinitrol (like Waxoyl but allegedly better). It’s going to be a losing battle though, they all rot eventually and all you can do is slow down the process.
Fuel economy has been just under 30mpg compared to ~38mpg for the V70 – although if I drove the V70 at comparable motorway speeds as the Defender it would obviously do better.
There are downsides. Coming out of the airport after a 13 hour flight at new year I was very pleased to have the Volvo waiting and just get home with no fuss. Likewise we drove back from the South Coast after then freak hot weekend in October along with half of the rest of the country on the M3. After 1st -> 2nd -> Stop repeat x 5000 I was thoroughly fed up of the heavy clutch and gearchange and the inconveniently placed handbrake.
It’s too high to get into the underground carpark at one of the Local supermarkets, also too high for an automatic car wash. You need to buy a different class of ticket (High Car) for x-Channel ferries but it’s been the same price the 2 times it’s been to France so far. Nigel’s warning that I’d be arrested and sent off to the Foreign Legion for daring to drive it in France (I still don’t know why) have so far come to nothing.
Safety is a concern. The chassis is massively strong but the aluminium bodyshell has very little structural strength. Pictures I’ve seen of Defenders that have been rolled are alarming. The high CofG makes this a more likely occurance than in a normal car. There are no airbags or side impact protection. The only crumple zone is going to be provided by whatever you hit, which is fine (albeit selfish) if that’s a 10 year old Fiat, but less fine it it’s a 100 year old Oak tree.
Security is a joke. You can lock the doors if it makes you feel better but they can be opened with a cutlery knife or take the external door hinges off with a Torx screwdriver. There’s no glove box to keep “stuff” out of sight and no way of concealing whatever’s in the load area.
So all said and done – it’s a flawed and very dated car – and one that makes very little sense for the purpose I need it for. It’s more fun than any other car I’ve driven though. Everyone should have a go in one before the tree-huggers inevitably make them illegal.
Edited by Seight_Returns on Friday 2nd March 18:22
Edited by Seight_Returns on Friday 2nd March 18:23
Seight_Returns said:
I've been driving a Defender (04 Plate 110 Td5 CSW XS) as my everyday car for the last 6 months - whilst still keeping hold of my 5 year old V70 until I'm sure that the Defender will work out for me - it's worked out very well so far and I'm still thoroughtly enjoying it. Below is the write up I posted about my experience to date on another forum I subscribe to which may be of some use to you:
So – almost 5 months and 5000 miles driving a Defender as an everyday car – and it’s pretty good. Very good actually.
I decided to keep the Volvo for a while to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake – not least because I was staggered to find out how little my 5 year old 60,000 mile V70 D5 was worth – and decide which one I was going to keep after 6 months – so time’s almost up.
I still really enjoy driving it and it makes me smile when I see it parked somewhere – and the family still love it – it’s called Buzz now.
As predicted and hoped for, it’s an entirely different driving experience. In many ways and for obvious reasons it reminds me of the various awful Triumph/BL/Rover stuff that my parents insisted on patriotically buying in the 70s and 80s – the switchgear, instruments and heater controls are all very familiar.
The driving experience is very different and forces you to actually make an effort – but you adapt to it very quickly. It’s taught me that with ordinary cars you can actually drive quite badly and still be rewarded by a pretty smooth drive thereby kidding yourself that you’re doing a good job – not so with a Defender, fail to match the revs to engine speed when changing gear and you’ll have the thing jolting and juddering in protest, sharp steering inputs at speed will induce quite alarming roll and weave.
It’s an XS so well specced for a Defender (Electric Windows, Heated Leather Seats, Aircon) but still ridiculously sparten compared to even the most humble of modern cars. I don’t miss the toys though. I worried that the heater would be rubbish – it’s fine, but the large internal volume means it takes a while to get warm.
It’s not fast. Flat out shows close to 90 indicated but it’s a bit scary and not fun, feels far more twitchy than an ordinary car. We generally trundle along at about 65 in Lane 1 smiling at people trying to bully each other out of the outside lane. I don’t do huge motorway mileage and for most of my driving progress is limited by other traffic, so I don’t find my journey times have increased much if at all.
It’s not going to win any races off the lights – but with a bit of cheeky and judicious positioning you can use its height and bulk to block everyone else’s view thereby guaranteeing that you’re always first away . I don’t miss the speed, the fun makes up for it. Without being too much of a kiss-arse, it’s really nice to be able to go out for a thoroughly enjoyable drive without intentionally putting myself outside the law in order to enjoy the experience.
I’m conscious that it’s slower than other traffic and make an effort not to hold people up, but I’m not shy about using the overtaking lane for its stated purpose at the stated limit where necessary – people almost invariably respect this but on very rare occasions I’ve been tailgated by some young blade who thinks I’m going to be intimidated by disappearing into the huge blind spot behind the back door and placing the plastic, glass and paper thin steel sheet front end of his car 18 inches from the solid steel I-beam with a tow-hitch sticking out of it that represents the back of my car – “Bring it on Sunshine, I think I know who’s going to come off worse”.
Only driven it properly off road once with one of my friend's 4x4 Group. One guy who’d just driven his 110 to Jo’burg and back took pity on me and taught me how to use the mysterious extra gearstick to good effect and had me slithering up steep muddy tracks that I’d never have dared to attempt on my own – but were apparently kids’ stuff compared to what they can do if needed, numerous YouTube Videos prove him correct. Was pleased to learn that sliding a car around on a muddy lane at walking pace as just as much fun as doing it at naughty speeds on tarmac but without the fear or irresponsibility.
Nothing’s gone badly wrong yet. A couple of comedy moments when the indicator stalk fell to bits on my hands and the plastic surround beneath the steering column fell off. The door locks/catches don’t work properly when the weather’s cold (common issue apparently) requiring moderately severe violence to get the doors closed – a bit pointless having the best car in the world to drive in snow if you can’t open and close the doors when it’s more than a bit chilly.
Rust is going to be the problem. Noticed a bit bubbling through around the door frames which I rubbed back, treated and repainted. Had it jetwashed and steam cleaned underneath and treated it with Dinitrol (like Waxoyl but allegedly better). It’s going to be a losing battle though, they all rot eventually and all you can do is slow down the process.
Fuel economy has been just under 30mpg compared to ~38mpg for the V70 – although if I drove the V70 at comparable motorway speeds as the Defender it would obviously do better.
There are downsides. Coming out of the airport after a 13 hour flight at new year I was very pleased to have the Volvo waiting and just get home with no fuss. Likewise we drove back from the South Coast after then freak hot weekend in October along with half of the rest of the country on the M3. After 1st -> 2nd -> Stop repeat x 5000 I was thoroughly fed up of the heavy clutch and gearchange and the inconveniently placed handbrake.
It’s too high to get into the underground carpark at one of the Local supermarkets, also too high for an automatic car wash. You need to buy a different class of ticket (High Car) for x-Channel ferries but it’s been the same price the 2 times it’s been to France so far. Nigel’s warning that I’d be arrested and sent off to the Foreign Legion for daring to drive it in France (I still don’t know why) have so far come to nothing.
Safety is a concern. The chassis is massively strong but the aluminium bodyshell has very little structural strength. Pictures I’ve seen of Defenders that have been rolled are alarming. The high CofG makes this a more likely occurance than in a normal car. There are no airbags or side impact protection. The only crumple zone is going to be provided by whatever you hit, which is fine (albeit selfish) if that’s a 10 year old Fiat, but less fine it it’s a 100 year old Oak tree.
Security is a joke. You can lock the doors if it makes you feel better but they can be opened with a cutlery knife or take the external door hinges off with a Torx screwdriver. There’s no glove box to keep “stuff” out of sight and no way of concealing whatever’s in the load area.
So all said and done – it’s a flawed and very dated car – and one that makes very little sense for the purpose I need it for. It’s more fun than any other car I’ve driven though. Everyone should have a go in one before the tree-huggers inevitably make them illegal.
It has character and soul, something lacking in most modern cars...So – almost 5 months and 5000 miles driving a Defender as an everyday car – and it’s pretty good. Very good actually.
I decided to keep the Volvo for a while to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake – not least because I was staggered to find out how little my 5 year old 60,000 mile V70 D5 was worth – and decide which one I was going to keep after 6 months – so time’s almost up.
I still really enjoy driving it and it makes me smile when I see it parked somewhere – and the family still love it – it’s called Buzz now.
As predicted and hoped for, it’s an entirely different driving experience. In many ways and for obvious reasons it reminds me of the various awful Triumph/BL/Rover stuff that my parents insisted on patriotically buying in the 70s and 80s – the switchgear, instruments and heater controls are all very familiar.
The driving experience is very different and forces you to actually make an effort – but you adapt to it very quickly. It’s taught me that with ordinary cars you can actually drive quite badly and still be rewarded by a pretty smooth drive thereby kidding yourself that you’re doing a good job – not so with a Defender, fail to match the revs to engine speed when changing gear and you’ll have the thing jolting and juddering in protest, sharp steering inputs at speed will induce quite alarming roll and weave.
It’s an XS so well specced for a Defender (Electric Windows, Heated Leather Seats, Aircon) but still ridiculously sparten compared to even the most humble of modern cars. I don’t miss the toys though. I worried that the heater would be rubbish – it’s fine, but the large internal volume means it takes a while to get warm.
It’s not fast. Flat out shows close to 90 indicated but it’s a bit scary and not fun, feels far more twitchy than an ordinary car. We generally trundle along at about 65 in Lane 1 smiling at people trying to bully each other out of the outside lane. I don’t do huge motorway mileage and for most of my driving progress is limited by other traffic, so I don’t find my journey times have increased much if at all.
It’s not going to win any races off the lights – but with a bit of cheeky and judicious positioning you can use its height and bulk to block everyone else’s view thereby guaranteeing that you’re always first away . I don’t miss the speed, the fun makes up for it. Without being too much of a kiss-arse, it’s really nice to be able to go out for a thoroughly enjoyable drive without intentionally putting myself outside the law in order to enjoy the experience.
I’m conscious that it’s slower than other traffic and make an effort not to hold people up, but I’m not shy about using the overtaking lane for its stated purpose at the stated limit where necessary – people almost invariably respect this but on very rare occasions I’ve been tailgated by some young blade who thinks I’m going to be intimidated by disappearing into the huge blind spot behind the back door and placing the plastic, glass and paper thin steel sheet front end of his car 18 inches from the solid steel I-beam with a tow-hitch sticking out of it that represents the back of my car – “Bring it on Sunshine, I think I know who’s going to come off worse”.
Only driven it properly off road once with one of my friend's 4x4 Group. One guy who’d just driven his 110 to Jo’burg and back took pity on me and taught me how to use the mysterious extra gearstick to good effect and had me slithering up steep muddy tracks that I’d never have dared to attempt on my own – but were apparently kids’ stuff compared to what they can do if needed, numerous YouTube Videos prove him correct. Was pleased to learn that sliding a car around on a muddy lane at walking pace as just as much fun as doing it at naughty speeds on tarmac but without the fear or irresponsibility.
Nothing’s gone badly wrong yet. A couple of comedy moments when the indicator stalk fell to bits on my hands and the plastic surround beneath the steering column fell off. The door locks/catches don’t work properly when the weather’s cold (common issue apparently) requiring moderately severe violence to get the doors closed – a bit pointless having the best car in the world to drive in snow if you can’t open and close the doors when it’s more than a bit chilly.
Rust is going to be the problem. Noticed a bit bubbling through around the door frames which I rubbed back, treated and repainted. Had it jetwashed and steam cleaned underneath and treated it with Dinitrol (like Waxoyl but allegedly better). It’s going to be a losing battle though, they all rot eventually and all you can do is slow down the process.
Fuel economy has been just under 30mpg compared to ~38mpg for the V70 – although if I drove the V70 at comparable motorway speeds as the Defender it would obviously do better.
There are downsides. Coming out of the airport after a 13 hour flight at new year I was very pleased to have the Volvo waiting and just get home with no fuss. Likewise we drove back from the South Coast after then freak hot weekend in October along with half of the rest of the country on the M3. After 1st -> 2nd -> Stop repeat x 5000 I was thoroughly fed up of the heavy clutch and gearchange and the inconveniently placed handbrake.
It’s too high to get into the underground carpark at one of the Local supermarkets, also too high for an automatic car wash. You need to buy a different class of ticket (High Car) for x-Channel ferries but it’s been the same price the 2 times it’s been to France so far. Nigel’s warning that I’d be arrested and sent off to the Foreign Legion for daring to drive it in France (I still don’t know why) have so far come to nothing.
Safety is a concern. The chassis is massively strong but the aluminium bodyshell has very little structural strength. Pictures I’ve seen of Defenders that have been rolled are alarming. The high CofG makes this a more likely occurance than in a normal car. There are no airbags or side impact protection. The only crumple zone is going to be provided by whatever you hit, which is fine (albeit selfish) if that’s a 10 year old Fiat, but less fine it it’s a 100 year old Oak tree.
Security is a joke. You can lock the doors if it makes you feel better but they can be opened with a cutlery knife or take the external door hinges off with a Torx screwdriver. There’s no glove box to keep “stuff” out of sight and no way of concealing whatever’s in the load area.
So all said and done – it’s a flawed and very dated car – and one that makes very little sense for the purpose I need it for. It’s more fun than any other car I’ve driven though. Everyone should have a go in one before the tree-huggers inevitably make them illegal.
Edited by Seight_Returns on Friday 2nd March 18:22
Edited by Seight_Returns on Friday 2nd March 18:23
What a great write up!
I'm currently sniffing around for something 'sensible' and was thinking about a Disco 4. I have a few friends who are into Defenders in a big way and love them. I reckon I may be tempted into a nice Defender, it would be nice to have one before they are killed off for good.
I'm currently sniffing around for something 'sensible' and was thinking about a Disco 4. I have a few friends who are into Defenders in a big way and love them. I reckon I may be tempted into a nice Defender, it would be nice to have one before they are killed off for good.
bob1179 said:
What a great write up!
I'm currently sniffing around for something 'sensible' and was thinking about a Disco 4. I have a few friends who are into Defenders in a big way and love them. I reckon I may be tempted into a nice Defender, it would be nice to have one before they are killed off for good.
Go one better Bobski, buy my ltwt that's had a V8 dropped in it. It's on ebay right now I'm currently sniffing around for something 'sensible' and was thinking about a Disco 4. I have a few friends who are into Defenders in a big way and love them. I reckon I may be tempted into a nice Defender, it would be nice to have one before they are killed off for good.
Hooli said:
bob1179 said:
What a great write up!
I'm currently sniffing around for something 'sensible' and was thinking about a Disco 4. I have a few friends who are into Defenders in a big way and love them. I reckon I may be tempted into a nice Defender, it would be nice to have one before they are killed off for good.
Go one better Bobski, buy my ltwt that's had a V8 dropped in it. It's on ebay right now I'm currently sniffing around for something 'sensible' and was thinking about a Disco 4. I have a few friends who are into Defenders in a big way and love them. I reckon I may be tempted into a nice Defender, it would be nice to have one before they are killed off for good.
Seight_Returns said:
So all said and done – it’s a flawed and very dated car – and one that makes very little sense for the purpose I need it for. It’s more fun than any other car I’ve driven though. Everyone should have a go in one before the tree-huggers inevitably make them illegal.
Excellent write up, that pretty much mirrors my experience.I'm just coming to the end of running a TD5 110 for 5 years and have thoroughly enjoyed it overall. It's been a great experience that I'd recommend, and I reckon a Defender is great fun to drive if you 'get it'. I also have another car for track days etc
I've just purchased a 90 TD5 for everyday use as the Merc was getting trashed by the kids ( we live in the sticks ) so mud and stuff now not an issue, we also have a Great Dane 
I used to own a lightweight some time back and was shocked how good the TD5 was on the roads!, fast too for such a heavy car, very very impressed, that impressed i'm thinking of getting a 110 also
I used to own a lightweight some time back and was shocked how good the TD5 was on the roads!, fast too for such a heavy car, very very impressed, that impressed i'm thinking of getting a 110 also
I have bought a new Defender every two years since 1990. I cannot imagine owning any other car for what I need it for and I use it in preference to my Supercharged RR given the choice.
It goes anywhere, it says nothing about me, it doesn't matter if it's filthy inside or outside and I have yet to have a moment where I have wished I had been driving something else.
For everyday use you need to get on the wavelength of the Defnder and you will either love it or hate it. A 10 minute test drive won't be long enough to decide if you can live with one so you might need to borrow one for a few days.
Ignore bulls
te about poor reliability. The new ones are bombproof.
They depreciate ridiculously slowly. If you spend 30k on a new one today you will get 25k back on a dealer trade in when you come to change in 3 years time (assuming no more than 40k miles).
I will be buying two of the last ones when they come out of the factory in 18 months. One to use, and one to inhibit and store for 30 years.
It goes anywhere, it says nothing about me, it doesn't matter if it's filthy inside or outside and I have yet to have a moment where I have wished I had been driving something else.
For everyday use you need to get on the wavelength of the Defnder and you will either love it or hate it. A 10 minute test drive won't be long enough to decide if you can live with one so you might need to borrow one for a few days.
Ignore bulls
te about poor reliability. The new ones are bombproof.They depreciate ridiculously slowly. If you spend 30k on a new one today you will get 25k back on a dealer trade in when you come to change in 3 years time (assuming no more than 40k miles).
I will be buying two of the last ones when they come out of the factory in 18 months. One to use, and one to inhibit and store for 30 years.
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