Looked at the Defender 60th SVX-not impressed.

[5 wh]

I went into our local dealer the other day to have a look at the 60th SVX that is on display in there.Ive had my defender nearly 2 years now and love it to bits.I was thinking that a SVX could tempt me into a swap.

The soft top version is useless to me as I need 4 seats and it only has 2,so its the hardtop I would be interested in.

From what I can see the extra items it has over my current Defender is the silver dash and gearknobs which I didnt like(looks like a Halfords special),polished alloy wheels which look nice but would probably corrode like mad after a couple of winters,the new headlight grille which I cant make my mind up whether I like or not,the stickers which look okay and the Recaro seats which again look great but dont feel comfy or easy to get in or out of(I am a bit fat so thats probably my fault!)

Am I alone in thinking that a special edition would have been better featuring a bigger more powerful engine(possibly even mated to an auto box),a special tasteful one off colour with just a few tasteful extras(full leather,sunroof,uprated sound system),and maybe an outside roll cage etc.

I wanted to like the SVX but it just left me cold.

Edited by 5 wh on Saturday 7th March 20:44

[Ramthorne]

You are not alone

[BLUETHUNDER]

It didnt appeal to me either.Just not special enough.

[leginigel]

The land rover you want is the 50th came along a few years ago,Ford/tata could not think of anythink better for the 60th.

[defender50th]

5 wh said:

Am I alone in thinking that a special edition would have been better featuring a bigger more powerful engine(possibly even mated to an auto box),a special tasteful one off colour with just a few tasteful extras(full leather,sunroof,uprated sound system),and maybe an outside roll cage etc.

]

You have just described a Defender 50th Still the best one made

[BLUETHUNDER]

Still the best...........................

[Nobody You Know]

leginigel said:

The land rover you want is the 50th came along a few years ago,Ford/tata could not think of anythink better for the 60th.

I think it came along about 10 years before the 60th.....

[5 wh]

Yes I suppose something along the lines of the 50th is what I was hoping for.It would have been nice to see maybe the TDV8 engine in there(or if it wouldnt fit then the biggest most powerful diesel that would) with an auto box.

[Ramthorne]

The supercharged Jag engine would have been nice, with an auto. Add a bit of an upgrade on the interior and a unique paint colour would have had me interested. As it was I went for a new XS, didn't give the 60th much more than a passing glance.

[Darkslider]

Buy a 50th and use it properly. It's a shame all the limited edition defenders end up being used as cars for shopping and school runs. If I could afford one I'd give it a pasting

[clived]

Darkslider said:

Buy a 50th and use it properly. It's a shame all the limited edition defenders end up being used as cars for shopping and school runs. If I could afford one I'd give it a pasting

Don't worry - not all do - my 50th is certainly destined for a life of off-road fun and I don't think I'm the *only* one

[Gentleman Geoff]

I like the SVX.

Well, I like the interior and the black paint... still not a patch on the V8 50th though!

[Mogburner]

Maybe this might impress you
http://www.jeengineering.co.uk/

or this



or this

[Bish]

JE build some of the greatest Defenders on earth and that ZULU is just something else. They did mt TD5.

[Lefty Guns]

Have you seen the cost of that conversion?!

[SpeedYellow]

I've got an SVX soft top and this week it's def the best defender I've ever owned and love the seats... you must have missed the sound system as well as you can even hear it at 80 with the roof off.

The hard top I agree not much there, but the soft top is a great fun truck! (and you get VAT back and it's only £190 a year to tax!)








And with tax man friendly graphics...

[Skywalker]

I think I saw your SVX at Ocean Village last weekend (26th July). Looking v. cool.

[5 wh]

I am the OP on this thread and I am going to have to eat my words as Ive ended up buying a new SVX!Why?I suppose over time it has grown on me a little however I recently was offered a brand new car through a trade contact at a price I could not refuse so Ive decided to give it a whirl.
Initial impressions(I drove the car 300 miles home in one go)-The seats look out of place in a Defender however they are extremely comfortable over a long distance.The headlamps and grille I first thought made the car look as if it is wearing spectacles but Im warming to it now though-theres no headlamp adjustment switch though,just a black plastic blank which looks unsightly against the silver centre console(Cant make my mind up about the silver console and gear knobs)The wheels are attractive but as Ive said before I dont know how they would hold up to use in winter and if they would corrode(My Defender stays off the road in the depths winter so not a big problem for me)
The worst thing about the car(in my opinion of course)is the stereo and in car entertainment-its rubbish.The head unit looks like a £50 Halfords special with distracting flashing lights and graphics-the illumination is blue which doesnt even match the rest of the dash.The switches and buttons are fiddly and not easy to understand.There is a 'woofer'which takes up much of the centre console cubby box which is annoying because it doesnt really serve any purpose and it takes a lot of space away from this very useful storage area.There are also 2 lights now built into the cubby box which robs it of useful space,cant work out why they are there.I was glad to see there was an IPOD connection in the car however when I read the instructions it is a crude system where you have to tune the radio in to listen to the IPOD through FM,and you cannot control it from the head unit-unforgivable in a car with an rrp >£30k!
Im going to rip out all the ICE and start again with a Becker system with Sat Nav,Bluetooth,FULLY integrated IPOD connection and also add some more speakers and power to the system to improve matters.
Here are some pics of my new and old vehicles side by side,

[Dick Fromage]

5 wh said:

Im going to rip out all the ICE and start again with a Becker system with Sat Nav,Bluetooth,FULLY integrated IPOD connection

I have one of those in my Merc and it's very good. Sat nav is not state of the art (post code facility but not full post code) but when it finds the street then it gets you there. Sound quality is very good. Bluetooth is just OK : some people say they can't hear me very well others say they hear me fine so not sure about that. Ipod connection is great. Allows you to hide the iPod away.

[5 wh]

I already have a cascade 7944 and it works well