Defenders - How do people drive them every day?

[bitchstewie]

I have my Freelander 2 in for service today and due to a minor hiccup at the dealers the only loan vehicle they had was a 64 plate Defender Hardtop - which is great as I've always liked Defenders and it beats just being given another Freelander 2.

How the fk do people drive these things every day? The novelty value is there but fk me I've done 25 miles back home and I'm bloody knackered - the clutch is evil, the gearshift is evil, if I crash I guess I just pray my head doesn't hit the steering wheel

Don't get me wrong I actually like it on the basis I'd happily be thrown the keys for a few hours every few weeks but how does anyone drive one for any distance on a daily basis?

[BritishRacinGrin]

You have to be mad. I'm not mad enough and I drive a Caterham as a daily for over a year.

[addz86]

I had one for about a year and did about 4 miles each way daily in it and wasn't too bad, cold in winter though!

Did a 200 mile round trip in it one day on motorways and it was hell, sold it soon after that.

[aclivity]

Open the window - that way you get enough arm room.

It's a nice car as long as you don't want to have anything designed in the last 30 years on it!

[TurboHatchback]

Hypothesis 1: They're real men (albeit small ones).

Hypothesis 2: They've never driven anything else and assume this is normal.

Hypothesis 3: They need decent off road capability but have yet to discover Toyotas.

Hypothesis 4: They're the sort of person that has a dungeon and whose idea of a pleasant night in involves wearing a ball gag & gimp suit, being suspended from the ceiling and beaten.

[hondansx]

They are terrible; the charm has to outweigh the shortcomings because there are a lot of them!

I am terrified seeing a Defender going at a bit of a lick as i'm well aware of how terrible the standard brakes are. You really have to look far ahead and plan your braking.

However, i love the quirky driving position and the general feeling of feeling like a kid in a real life tonka toy.

[Baryonyx]

My neighbour uses one as his daily. He values a vehicle that will get up the farm tracks in any weather for his shooting work more than comfort. It's an ancient diesel model that has perspex sliding windows, a bench seat in the front and wears a blanking plate in the winter!

[vtecyo]

They're rubbish. They were very good back when cooking was done over an open fire but by todays standards they are dreadful. How they manage to get such little space in the LWB one is baffling.

Awful awful things.

I don't like them. Can you tell?

[bitchstewie]

I like the windscreen washers. When I was a kid I think I had a water pistol that was more powerful - WTF?!

[Jim AK]

Had an SII LWB for about 3 years. Great for hauling our boat in & out of the water, tip runs etc, but when I tried to use it as a daily for a while whilst choosing a new car & discovered that due to a broken ankle some 25 years earlier I could only manage half an hour on stop start traffic before my dodgy ankle was too painful when I depressed the clutch.

Bought a Discovery auto, had to sell that after a few months due to MiL being unable to get into it!!!

Have since given up on owning anything with ground clearance.

[Gruber]

TurboHatchback said:

Hypothesis 1: They're real men (albeit small ones).

Hypothesis 2: They've never driven anything else and assume this is normal.

Hypothesis 3: They need decent off road capability but have yet to discover Toyotas.

Hypothesis 4: They're the sort of person that has a dungeon and whose idea of a pleasant night in involves wearing a ball gag & gimp suit, being suspended from the ceiling and beaten.

I know they're objectively terrible, but I really, really, really, really want one.

[GTIAlex]

They are rubbish but I've always wanted one!

[AJordan]

I have one currently on order for delivery in September.

Keeping my fingers crossed that, being young and fit, but of slight build, I won't find it too crippling to punt around as a daily!

[Dixy]

I love mine, it puts as much of a smile on my face to drive it as any of my other cars, I would not choose it to drive 800 miles to the Alps to go skiing but it is fine for up to a couple of hours.
If you want a boring generic Euro box then its not for you, if you want something that does not depreciate, does what it says on the tin and will do so for the next 30 years then there great.

[zoom star]

Had a 2 inch lifted 110 hardtop.
Walking towards it it's a mans toy..
Scratched the itch,you have to convince yourself you need one.
The novelty soon wears off though, and the winter,no heater, no window clearing fan, frost inside..
Saw the light, sold it and bought a Toyota Land Cruiser.

[thismonkeyhere]

I had one, as my only car, for a couple of years. At the time, I was working in Portsmouth, but living in Plymouth, so a fair old trek every Friday/Sunday.

It was really, really st as long distance transport, and not really any better as short distance transport. Awesome off-road, naturally, but then so are other, more comfortable and reliable vehicles.

Uncomfortable seats, weird uncomfortable driving seat position, vague steering, very noisy (road noise, engine noise, transmission noise and a plethora of rattles all combined), crap brakes, crap lights, crap heater - being just some of the things worthy of note.

I remember doing the A303 run in Winter, wrapped up in so many layers I was looking like the Michelin man, the bloody thing was so draughty and the heater so ineffective.

Bit like the TVR I owned, I'd wanted one since I was a boy. Now I've done it, I won't do it again - in fact I wouldn't touch a LR product at all now - my own experiences added to those of my friends and collegaues in RR, Disco, Freelanders et al - have convinced me that it's just not worth it when far superior similar vehicles are so readily available.

Edited by thismonkeyhere on Thursday 12th March 12:37

[TooMany2cvs]

bhstewie said:

I have my Freelander 2 in for service today and due to a minor hiccup at the dealers the only loan vehicle they had was a 64 plate Defender Hardtop - which is great as I've always liked Defenders and it beats just being given another Freelander 2.

How the fk do people drive these things every day? The novelty value is there but fk me I've done 25 miles back home and I'm bloody knackered - the clutch is evil, the gearshift is evil, if I crash I guess I just pray my head doesn't hit the steering wheel

Don't get me wrong I actually like it on the basis I'd happily be thrown the keys for a few hours every few weeks but how does anyone drive one for any distance on a daily basis?

Yer a big girl's blouse. It's a Defender, not a proper Landy. It's a big softy, with all sorts of soft stuff on it. It even has those strange boingy things holding it up, instead of Real Man's Leaf Springs. I'll bet it'll even exceed the national speed limit, and you can even hold a conversation inside at the same time.

[J4CKO]

Yeah, I just dont get why anyone would choose a piece of farm equipment to use as a daily.

I do laugh when I see young lads driving forty grands worth of fully spammed up Land Rover, all bull bars, big wheels, black paint and attitude, usually young posho farmers round our way.

[bitchstewie]

J4CKO said:

Yeah, I just dont get why anyone would choose a piece of farm equipment to use as a daily.

Oh don't get me wrong I keep looking out the window at it as there is something very nice about them, it just doesn't translate into the driving experience if you're doing more than a few miles or you don't need to put sheep in the back, least that's how it seems.

That said I probably will be taking the long way back to the dealers when I go to collect mine

[unpc]

I ran a 110 commercial for 2 years and 30000 miles and sometimes spent 8 hours a day in it. Yes they are rubbish in many/all respects but they get under your skin eventually in a way no modern vehicle can. I think part of the problem is perception. They are not cars but tool to do a job.

I'd have another tomorrow...