Defender Ownership

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Swampey

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193
Location
Farnham- Surrey
Can some of you tell me, what its really like to own a defender...ie are they thirsty, are they cold in the wnter time, are they cramped ie for the bigger men of us ?????

Whats it like owning with 2 kids.....

At the moment Im in the market for a change of vehicle..Normally had the run of the mill sort of cars, ie Mondeos, verctas, MG's

We did have a K reg ranger rover which turned out to be very costly to fix, but now we are in the market once again.

Weve been looking at the following, range rover 05 -- Hummmm if only i could stretch that far and looks as though it could be expensive to run and repair...

Discovery ..... the 3''s are price OTT so, it will have to be a disco 2.... some nice examples about... maybe work a look..

Defender.. Well the only experiance I have of driving one was many many years ago in the armed forces and an old boss who had a V8 - hummmmm power :D little challenging cos im very broad shouldered so it was some what uncomfortable from what I remember..
 
I have a 110 hard top for work and an opel astra as a family car. In my opinion a defender would not be a practical family car, car park hight restrictions are often 2 meters, they are thristy in stop start city driving and its not easy for kids or old people to get in or out of them. As a work or play vehicle though I'd have nothing else.
 
I use my landy as my everyday runabout. The ballast has a nice economical astra chav mobile as her everyday car. If we're transporting my dad or her mum around we tend to use the chav mobile. If the weather is bad or it's just the 2 of us then we use the landy. Height restrictions are the only thing that really limit the use of the landy. Even the missus likes driving the landy more than the astra. (I think thats why she keeps breaking the astra):mad:.
 
got my defender 6 months ago
godsend in the winter :crazy_driver:
cant carry my girlfriends 2 kids,sumet to do with law and seatbelts,
still looking into it as she ****ed with me for buying it lol
im broad as well but i lean on the cubby box and when summers here arm with live out the window me thinks lol
use mine every day 30miles or so and not bad mpg :rolly:
as yoda would say happy me bist
 
To remember what it was like to drive a Defender get a daily paper... put it under your right arm pit and drive your normal car to Asda:) Hence us big fellas drive with right arm out of window. IMHO a 90 is a nice 2 person vehicle and putting kids in the back in side facing seats... well, I would not be keen. A 110 would be a more practical option. Expect only 35mpg on motorway, 25mpg for town driving.
 
MrJC said:
To remember what it was like to drive a Defender get a daily paper... put it under your right arm pit and drive your normal car to Asda:) Hence us big fellas drive with right arm out of window. IMHO a 90 is a nice 2 person vehicle and putting kids in the back in side facing seats... well, I would not be keen. A 110 would be a more practical option. Expect only 35mpg on motorway, 25mpg for town driving.
Click to expand...

35 mpg on the motorway is groovin'!
I get about 32 mpg usually.

I've never had a problem with 'height restrictions' apart from my garage that it :D

Definately a decent, practical option, unless you live in Birmingham or London...
 
BuzzLand said:
35 mpg on the motorway is groovin'!
I get about 32 mpg usually.

I've never had a problem with 'height restrictions' apart from my garage that it :D

Definately a decent, practical option, unless you live in Birmingham or London...
Click to expand...

32mpg :confused: what motor you got:p? i cant get 22 mpg out of mine i think my safari snorkel has made her gutsy :D still love her though
 
The love of driving my 90 outweighs the fact that I've got virtually no room for my right arm :)

as for being cold in winter time, then no. Despite the fact that I've got cold drafts coming from the doors, the front vents, underneath the seats, the hole in the footwell, and the gaps in the body (etc).. the heaters are so fantastically hot, that it gets nice and cosy in there after about 3-4 miles :) I do have a 2.5NA though, which is a big old diesel, which isn't as efficient as yer later defender engines, but kicks out tonnes of heat!
 
Can some of you tell me, what its really like to own a defender...ie are they thirsty, are they cold in the wnter time, are they cramped ie for the bigger men of us ?????

Whats it like owning with 2 kids.....

I have a defender 90 and two young kids. We use other cars often but days out in the defender and always used to tow caravan for days away. Kids love it, possibly the height. Some may argue about safety issues but we have two family cars which I feel the kids are less safe in....kids travel in tiny wee cars with less safety than a defender. I got seatbelts fitted to forward facing seats and as said I thin it is safe. After all we drive slowly in it, it ain't a sports motor. Mine is warm/hot even in the coldest morning albeit does take 10 minutes or so to heat up. I get 30ish to the gallon as an average, even towing caravan but falls to 20ish in towns. The cabin can be a bit cramped but if you want comfort you don't want a defender. If you want a massive sense of pride and joy in your vehicle, notthing an compare(for me anyway) Costs can be heavy unless you are willing to learn and fix yourself, and thats the fun and bonding part. Defenders simply are superb and unique but you need open eyes to own and deep pockets or plenty spare time to tinker with......I have had my defender 90 200tdi for past 3 years with not a single regret(or penny left in pocket):):):):)
 
I have 110 7 seater! 3 kids + dog!
It's a perfect family car for us, I have tried a few!

Peugeot estate!
Volkswagon Sharan!
Honda CRV!
Chrysler Voyager! (my 110 is no more juicy, than any of these!)

Nothing can beat my 110.
The spacious room for the kids/adults in the back and very back, is loved by everyone. Easy to clean inside, which is a must with kids/dogs! They love being high up, they can see so much more. Dog loves hanging out the window, and eyeing up the sheep!

I have a very serious back condition! This is the most comfortable vehicle I have ever driven. My only issue, is getting in if I am in pain, but thinking of putting an extra step on if I can, and also the handbrake, as I am on the petite side! but I am going to get an adaption for that.

I find it's so easy to modify for every circumstance.

The big bonus is then we can go places, we couldn't in a car!!!! WOOHOO! We go off the beaten track at every opportunity, kids/dog love that too!
 
What's a Landie like to own?

90's, 110's and classic Rangies are all very special to own and drive.

Each has it's own character - all are special.
From the sweet humming "little" 2.25 petrol, the very competent 200 and 300TDI's the really hard pulling TD5's through to the Joy to the ears(but not the wallet) V8's. (Not driven the 2.4 TDCI yet...)

At worst, on the hard shoulder at 11.00 at night when the cheapo Britpart rotor arm falls apart on you - at best, strutting their stuff in the latest snow, going where little else can follow - snow - what snow?

Yes, height restrictions can be a problem with 90/110's in major cities carparks etc. This has not been a problem with my 1992 Rangie (V8 of course!).

These cars are very practical - excellent visibility (van variants permitting)

Handling and roadholding are all fine - but don't be in a hurry - you'll just get very frustrated.

They aren't a car for everyone - but everyone should try one once.

In a world of ever increasing top speeds of cars, it's nice to drive something different, and suprisingly good fun.

And very cheap to run to - the Turbo diesels offer reasonable fuel economy - on a diving trip run from South Wales to Penzance in a 300TDi 110 CSW, we averaged 35 mpg. The V8's on LPG are a reasonable alternative too...

My other car is a 235 BHP monster of a Saab - but I get increasingly frustrated because I can never really flex the car's muscles without being frowned by by the plod. The Rangie is far calmer and more civilised - and fun! I'm looking for a 90 right now to replace it...

Go-on - you won't really know if you like it till you try it...
 
Had me 110 for 10 yrs travelled the eu 6 of us in the family as cumfy as any car iv had 25 to the gall not bad for a big lump just done a refurb with second hand seats fitted an paint jobby staino this an that it looks the dogs tessys will post some pics when kid are about.
 
i've driven defenders since i was 18 and I love them. A 110 sounds like what you would need but I would take a serious look at a td5 series 2 disco mate there are some real tidy ones about and that might be better for doing the family thing... and u will get more for your money (electric windows etc)

Its personal mate I can list loads of things i hate about my landy but I still love it. Bit like the mrs i suppose lol. And NOTHING commands more respect on the roads than the last bit of british about these days.

Dave
 
Just done some 6000 Miles around the UK in last 6 weeks in all weather conditions, It managed to go places that it shouldn't have in the Highlands when the roads were "closed" due to extreme snow conditions ( I was driving on top of 24" of snow), I managed this in a very comfortable environment at around 21 degrees cabin temp whilst it was minus 8 outside, all this is my Td5 Disco. Also had it fully loaded and it still pulled like a train whilst returning approx 30 Mpg. Did consider buying a 110 but the comfort side of life swayed me to the Disco. And the Disco is more adaptable from the box.
Hope this helps.
 
i agree more comfortable but more adaptable? No way Defenders got that down...

you can't change a disco into a pick up in an hour and back again can you? You can't turn it from a 12 seater mini bus then back to a 2 seater van and then back to a pick up.
 
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