This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Land Rover Defender

Has anyone got a Defender 90 or 110? If so, could you give me some info as to what they are like? :smile:

I really like the way they look and I know they drink fuel like it's going out of fashion, but I'd like to know anything else other than that!

Thanks!

:biggrin:

Reply 1

Nuffles

19

It was my first car and I sold it a few months ago after a year of driving. It refused to go in a straight line, thanks to nearly 2 inches of play in the steering and handling was 'different' to say the least. That said, gear shifting was positive and clipped and it was still going strong 180,000 miles in. Interior quality leaves something to be desired but it's functional and it works, which is what it was designed to do. Basically, it's not a car, because Land Rover didn't design it as one. It's a tractor that you can fit a lot of people into (12 for mine) and will just about do motorway speeds. Because of this fact, however, it will tow pretty much anything under the sun and it will drive over anything you point it at.

If you can live with the fact that it's slow, quite noisy, cramped (although I enjoyed the driving position, many people hate it), takes £70 to fill it up, handles like a brick and can be expensive to insure (wasn't for me) then get one. It certainly turns far more heads than a cruddy little euro box and you get a sense when driving it that you're safe. Sort of like being cuddled by a massive teddy bear. No matter what the weather or the terrain can throw at you, it'll get you to where you're going. It may (well, will) leak on you a bit in the process but that's just part of the fun.

Reply 2

Jez RR

14

I used to have a Defender 110 and would agree with pretty much all the above. Mine was a Tdi - think it was 2.3 litre - and it went alright, but it feels agricultural. Maybe that's more a diesel thing. Gearbox was OK, but I hated the driving position - could never get my seat back far enough. Holds a lot of people. Good ground clearance, compared to a Discovery.

I had mine in Zimbabwe, so it got a lot of off-road miles. I still reckon the Defenders were the best off-road vehicles around, but definitely a no-frills way of doing it.

Reply 3

Sync

14

Excellent things; practical and great fun. But, you really need the 200/300 TDI. The older 2.5 turbo lump is just not up to the job, and it will piss you off after a while.

Reply 4

Nuffles

19

Sync

Excellent things; practical and great fun. But, you really need the 200/300 TDI. The older 2.5 turbo lump is just not up to the job, and it will piss you off after a while.

Most definitely, although mine had an Iveco 2.5TD lump in it. I would have rather had a 200Tdi for the tuning potential and ease of parts (finding an exhaust manifold for an Iveco-Defender down pipe is not easy) but the Iveco was a damn good engine, if a little down on power compared to a tweaked Tdi.

Reply 5

Riderz

16

I had a late 300Tdi, and it was a fantastic vehicle. However, it drank like a fish and was far too expensive to insure. Glad I swopped it really. Would defiantly have another one, but when I can afford to run 2 cars - for motorway miles a defender is completely impractical and a very expensive way of getting from A to B. We use them as works vehicles, so I do still get my fix of defender driving, only difference is I get paid for it and get to have some proper terrain to use them on. :biggrin:

Reply 6

mountainmetman

14

Biggest problems I've been finding with the 110s down here are the driving position (seat not far enough back and the fact that my right arm is bent around so the elbow is closer in than the wrist due to the window and steering wheel positions and the general lack of comfort in the seat), the windscreen wipers being pretty much useless, the handbrake needing to come back to the ceiling to bite, the low ratio box jumping out every so often and the mirrors being frankly pants.
Most of the that will be down to the maintainance issues on the Islands but the driving position will be pretty similar with all of them I think.

Reply 7

Nuffles

19

mountainmetman

Biggest problems I've been finding with the 110s down here are the driving position (seat not far enough back and the fact that my right arm is bent around so the elbow is closer in than the wrist due to the window and steering wheel positions and the general lack of comfort in the seat), the windscreen wipers being pretty much useless, the handbrake needing to come back to the ceiling to bite, the low ratio box jumping out every so often and the mirrors being frankly pants.
Most of the that will be down to the maintainance issues on the Islands but the driving position will be pretty similar with all of them I think.

I loved the driving position. I found it far more comfortable than most normal cars due to my bad back liking the upright position, although I physically couldn't drive if the seat was any further forward than right back. If you don't mind losing some rear leg room (already at a premium) you can lift the sliders up over the rear ledge and drill new holes to move the hole lot backwards. I tended to drive with my right hand on 12 o'clock and my left hand on the gear knob which left me with enough room to drive comfortably. Handbrakes just work in a different angle to those in cars, but I found it fine. It allows you to sit someone (small) in the middle seat which is cosy :smile:

Windscreen wipers are fine and do the job they're meant to do unless you're doing 90mph+ in driving rain, and seeing as Defenders don't really go that fast you're good to go. Mirrors are excellent, and give far more visibility than normal-shaped mirrors.

Reply 8

warrenpenalver

11

if your really nuts you could always drop in a TVR V8!

mountainmetman

the fact that my right arm is bent around so the elbow is closer in than the wrist due to the window and steering wheel positions

Stick your elbow out the window!! :wink:

faaarrrr more comfortable in warmer weather!

Reply 9

mycodenameis:rosie

my brother owns a landy.....a blue 1982 one, petrol powered.
as you say in the op it _is_ a very thirsty mofo, but it was actually very cheap to insure - for him it was even cheaper to insure fully-comp than the usual corsas or micras.

so where he loses money on petrol, he gains it back from the cheaper insurance (oh, and the fact that it's just cooler than a corsa.... which you can't put a price on). :'D

.....i feel like a soldier being taken to a battlefield every time he gives me a lift to the shops in it. :|

Reply 10

ookathephouka

learnt in them, drove one since i was 12... can i say driving a real car after a landrover felt like driving a feather?
also when done right (get rid of that standard lump - we had a bmw 3.5 in this) they go like **** off a shovel

we actually have NO photos of this thing with all four wheels on the ground.

Reply 11

mountainmetman

14

warrenpenalver

if your really nuts you could always drop in a TVR V8!

Stick your elbow out the window!! :wink:

faaarrrr more comfortable in warmer weather!

Slight problem with some of the suggestions, the military tend to frown on people making "adjustments" to their vehicles to move the seat back and it's the back end of winter down here, not exactly conducive to driving with windows open... :p:

As for the hand-brake and wipers, that's mainly to do with there being no spares or anyone with time to adjust things rather than the design. The speed limit on camp is 30, off it's 40 but we never drive off camp in the works landie so driving at high speed isn't an issue.
I do love them though, have fond memories of blatting through the Lake District in one of the RAF Mountain Rescue ones, stereo blasting and people giving us a look that I can only describe as approving. There's just something about that moment when everything has gone to hull, you're soaked and miserable and a 110 comes over the hill; the sight of that boxy wonder makes you think “its ok, everything’s going to be all right now.” I would love to have one (and it would be pretty practical back home for heading into the hills with a snowboard or bike in the back depending on the season) but they’re just too pricey and still that bit too thirsty for my tastes.

Land Rover Defender

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you