PH Fleet: Land Rover Defender

We welcome a British institution to PH towers

Defender with a load of young upstarts

Say hello to what must be the quirkiest addition to the PH fleet for quite some time - our brand-new Land Rover Defender.

Now, running a car that has a top speed of 85mph for a website with the tagline 'speed matters' might seem a bit strange, but the Defender is one of the most iconic shapes on the British motoring landscape. It's also been around in one form or another since 1948, so we thought it was probably time to see what all the fuss is about.

Besides, it's supposed to be brilliant off road and I needed a tow car for my other long-termer, the PH Caterham Academy race car. And I can't think of many cars we could run that can tackle a 45-degree slope.

Heading out of Land Rover's prep workshop

Being one of the more junior members of the PistonHeads team, it's only right and proper that I get the less flashy long-term motors. But here's the thing: even when you add the cost of the Caterham, the trailer (soon to be arriving), and a season's racing to the not insignificant £27,935-plus-extras cost of the Landie (of which more later), the sum total of just less than £48k still comes in at a good £47k less than editor Chris-R's £95k new BMW M6. And yet I reckon the combination of Landie and Caterham racer is both more practical and more fun.

You can keep your flashy Bee-Ems as far as I'm concerned - the sense of occasion you get from driving the Land Rover alone is every bit as strong as you'll get in sports and luxury cars costing far more.

Hop (or rather climb) behind the wheel of a Defender and you're immediately transported to another era, one when Britain still had an empire and a reputation for rugged, solid engineering. The effect is particularly powerful with the Keswick Green paint finish. Every time I drive it I have an almost overpowering urge to put on a pith helmet and head for Malaya to subdue the natives.

It's also got to be the toughest-looking British design this side of a Challenger tank or the Flying Scotsman and, even with niceties such as proper air vents, air-con, a CD player, heated leather-and-cloth seats and a (sort of) properly designed dash, the Defender still feels like a proper rugged, utilitarian off-roader. The sort that has been missing from the price lists of most other manufacturers (with the possible exception of Toyota and Nissan) for years.

Dogs. They never sit still for photos...

In addition to the ever-so-opulent standard XS spec, we've also plumped for a tow ball and electrics, 'checquer plate' protection bits, an under-ride protection bar, extra driving lamps, a rear worklamp and a fully moulded heavy duty rear load tray. All of which brings the PH Defender to a grand total of £29,372, which isn't cheap, but could be far worse.

We won't pretend that the Defender feels like a modern car to drive, but that doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. But we'll save a discussion on driving dynamics for the next report - for now I'm more than happy to sit back and enjoy the British nostalgia-fest. And what better vehicle to drive home from work in on St George's Day? All together now: "And did those feet, in ancient times..."

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 3 4 5 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

Stuart

Original Poster

11,639 posts

282 months