Here's Why You Don't Want a Land Rover Defender
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Date: 2021-08-22
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Comments and reviews: 9
autos
The clue is in the name: Defender, is the civilian version of a UK military vehicle, not an SUV, so expect it to be basic and capable offroading vehicle, think Humvee H1. I have a heavily modified one as a third car, it's a toy that I do a couple of thousand miles a year, often in the winter in the snow and ice. Here in the UK there are loads of them, often used by farmers, vets, gamekeepers, landowners, utility companies, forestry and mountain rescue, folks that need serious off road capabilities. While they are not as expensive as in the US they are going up in price here, often private owners will modify them for offroading or overlanding, the personalising and modifying of their Defender is a hobby in itself and sometimes a Defender can get passed down in a family though the generations, a bit like an heirloom.
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The clue is in the name: Defender, is the civilian version of a UK military vehicle, not an SUV, so expect it to be basic and capable offroading vehicle, think Humvee H1. I have a heavily modified one as a third car, it's a toy that I do a couple of thousand miles a year, often in the winter in the snow and ice. Here in the UK there are loads of them, often used by farmers, vets, gamekeepers, landowners, utility companies, forestry and mountain rescue, folks that need serious off road capabilities. While they are not as expensive as in the US they are going up in price here, often private owners will modify them for offroading or overlanding, the personalising and modifying of their Defender is a hobby in itself and sometimes a Defender can get passed down in a family though the generations, a bit like an heirloom.
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PerfectSpainValencia
They are terrible. Loud and bumpy. Unreliable, but simple so easy to fix. . Horrible on the road. Slow. Vague steering is an understatement. turning radius enormous. I bought my 03 a 9 hour drive from home. I did pay much less than US prices. We could not hear each other for 12 hours of driving. We had to stay a night at the hotel. We hit 65 mph but the GPS said we were at 58 or 60.
But I love it.
Offroad it is a lot of fun and drives great. I use it for moving materials, firewood, stones, logs etc. and rarely go on public roads. On trails and in fields it is a blast. I can house it down inside after I use it as intended. The value has gone up even with my abusing it. Of course my wife wants me to sell it.
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They are terrible. Loud and bumpy. Unreliable, but simple so easy to fix. . Horrible on the road. Slow. Vague steering is an understatement. turning radius enormous. I bought my 03 a 9 hour drive from home. I did pay much less than US prices. We could not hear each other for 12 hours of driving. We had to stay a night at the hotel. We hit 65 mph but the GPS said we were at 58 or 60.
But I love it.
Offroad it is a lot of fun and drives great. I use it for moving materials, firewood, stones, logs etc. and rarely go on public roads. On trails and in fields it is a blast. I can house it down inside after I use it as intended. The value has gone up even with my abusing it. Of course my wife wants me to sell it.
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David
Defenders are not unreliable, they are maintenance intensive. The first Land Rovers were made from left over WW2 British aircraft materials, and they were designed similarly. Treat it as such.
You may actually want one, but you need to want it for what it is, not for what you hope it is.
It's pure automotive masochism, and I have no idea why Tyler Hoover doesn't have one.
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Defenders are not unreliable, they are maintenance intensive. The first Land Rovers were made from left over WW2 British aircraft materials, and they were designed similarly. Treat it as such.
You may actually want one, but you need to want it for what it is, not for what you hope it is.
It's pure automotive masochism, and I have no idea why Tyler Hoover doesn't have one.
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horeia6778
I have a Land Rover repair shop near my house. i pass through it everyday on my commute to work, is funny the amount of time they spend in the shop. Dont get me wrong if i had the money i would do the same, but is really insane once you experience it almost everyday like i do. i even get happy when a cool one vanishes, because they stay there for aaaaaaaaaaa long time.
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I have a Land Rover repair shop near my house. i pass through it everyday on my commute to work, is funny the amount of time they spend in the shop. Dont get me wrong if i had the money i would do the same, but is really insane once you experience it almost everyday like i do. i even get happy when a cool one vanishes, because they stay there for aaaaaaaaaaa long time.
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Dean
I was on staff at Road & Track Magazine back when this version was introduced. We went on a multi day comparison test with it and other SUVs of the time, like the Jeep Wrangler. The Defender was the one vehicle that none of us wanted to drive. I ended up getting stuck with it because I was the youngest/newest of the group. It s an uncomfortable piece of crap!
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I was on staff at Road & Track Magazine back when this version was introduced. We went on a multi day comparison test with it and other SUVs of the time, like the Jeep Wrangler. The Defender was the one vehicle that none of us wanted to drive. I ended up getting stuck with it because I was the youngest/newest of the group. It s an uncomfortable piece of crap!
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Michael
Thank you Doug. Excellent as always. Same experience with a jeep. I ll drive for an hour to the ski slope. Some guy will engage me about my cool jeep. Then I ll give my same, but not as good version, of your video. Then they will say hmmm you re right. I had one and now I have this audi etc. They are enthusiast cars lacking in day to day goodness.
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Thank you Doug. Excellent as always. Same experience with a jeep. I ll drive for an hour to the ski slope. Some guy will engage me about my cool jeep. Then I ll give my same, but not as good version, of your video. Then they will say hmmm you re right. I had one and now I have this audi etc. They are enthusiast cars lacking in day to day goodness.
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En
I really wanted something robust and pure like an old Defender but after checking with the guy that does servicing on my car (and he mostly services Land/Range Rovers and buys old ones and restores them) I'll probably get something new like Mazda CX-30 or the new Tucson. He said it kills you if you drive it on a longer tour.
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I really wanted something robust and pure like an old Defender but after checking with the guy that does servicing on my car (and he mostly services Land/Range Rovers and buys old ones and restores them) I'll probably get something new like Mazda CX-30 or the new Tucson. He said it kills you if you drive it on a longer tour.
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The
Saying by someone who owns one. Id rather take a GM than anything, lots of support anywhere. I don t want something on the defence, I want something on the offensive. You could go Ram, Challenger, Charger, Trail Boss, and more (yeah I can t recall the GM names at the moment. But Defender? Sounds like reverse works best.
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Saying by someone who owns one. Id rather take a GM than anything, lots of support anywhere. I don t want something on the defence, I want something on the offensive. You could go Ram, Challenger, Charger, Trail Boss, and more (yeah I can t recall the GM names at the moment. But Defender? Sounds like reverse works best.
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autos
Doug is right, old Defenders are terrible beyond driving one maybe 50 miles. I drove one 1300 miles in one day and it was miserable. Speed gov kicks in at like 86mph, the mirrors shake so badly you cannot see out of them at night. Around town or around the beach, it s fine, road trip? Hard no.
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Doug is right, old Defenders are terrible beyond driving one maybe 50 miles. I drove one 1300 miles in one day and it was miserable. Speed gov kicks in at like 86mph, the mirrors shake so badly you cannot see out of them at night. Around town or around the beach, it s fine, road trip? Hard no.
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