What's it like to live with a TD5 Defender 90?

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mtbjonny

New Member
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3
Location
Berkshire
Hi all,

Reasonably new here... Been looking around for agessss but never posted.

Anyway, on to my question. Is it feasible to live with a TD5 Defender day to day? I don't do massive mileage (10 mile commute to work) and I come from a background of hot hatches. I'm currently in a fiesta ST.

However, I have always wanted a defender since before I could drive and I'm starting to think about life in the slow lane...

Plans for the Defender would be to use it for a daily, take it away camping, some light off roading with the ultimate goal of a European Overland trip. Maybe beyond!

I have no kids, its just me and my partner :)

So, what are your thoughts? Feasible to have as a daily, or best off as a second vehicle?

Thanks,

Jonny
 
To be honest, it was never our intention to use the Landy for accomodation - we'd only be looking at a 90 really. I think a 110 would be a little too big for use as a daily IMO.

My other half likes the idea of a roof tent... And I quite like it too. Get a proper mattress in them!

I drove a 90 about 5 years ago, and yes it was crampt but I've heard of some mods to move the drivers seat back slightly. With that, I reckon we could make it more bearable in the cab.
 
The td5's a good engine, plenty of poke ( well, for a Landy! ). Perfectly fine for normal journeys. Motorway speeds for long distances can be a little bit tiring in one, but you can improve things by adding extra insulation and maybe a Discovery transfer box ( lower revs needed for equal speed ).
If you are tall you would probably want to consider rear bulkhead removal ( fit a MUD bar instead ), as the seats don't slide back that far.
 
Thanks for the advice.

I drove one about 5 years ago for about an hour or so and did some light green laning. From what I remember, it was very basic, the transmission felt very old school and the whole experience was very raw.

That is exactly the reason why I'd love one, especially as I now have funds available to do so, but that is also the reason why I am skeptical about it being a daily driver. Is it too much of a raw experience to live with?

Might go find one or two to test drive this weekend and get a feel for them. :)
 
They're perfectly good as everyday cars. Obviously, they don't feel or sound like modern saloon cars, but then that's part of the charm. The 90s are not very capacious and if I had my time over again I'd consider a 110. Whilst I have an overdrive fitted now, I've quite happily undertaken long trips in it with a standard transmission, up to around 6-700 miles a day. What slows you down is not the Land Rover, it's the other traffic. Get out early in the morning so you can put a few hours motoring in before the roads get busy and it is quite amazing how much ground you can cover. Why would anyone want to drive anything else?
 
mtbjonny said:
Hi all,

Reasonably new here... Been looking around for agessss but never posted.

Anyway, on to my question. Is it feasible to live with a TD5 Defender day to day? I don't do massive mileage (10 mile commute to work) and I come from a background of hot hatches. I'm currently in a fiesta ST.

However, I have always wanted a defender since before I could drive and I'm starting to think about life in the slow lane...

Plans for the Defender would be to use it for a daily, take it away camping, some light off roading with the ultimate goal of a European Overland trip. Maybe beyond!

I have no kids, its just me and my partner :)

So, what are your thoughts? Feasible to have as a daily, or best off as a second vehicle?

Thanks,

Jonny
Click to expand...
I own a 110 TD5 which I brought more or less for what your thinking of using the 90 for, I'd agree with Seffy a 90 maybe too cramped and disagree with mtbjonny as I use mine everyday for travling to and from work and does not seem to use much more fuel than my old VW Bora 1.9TDi did on the plus side when towing the caravan the landy uses way less fuel than the Bora did too
 
I think the story is a bit like visiting somewhere on holiday and then living there, be sure its what you want.
I love my TD5 90 and spend may happy hours messing with it, but I also have another vehicle. My wife can manage the odd trip into town in the Defender and even the odd trip to the coast but draws the line at traveling long distances in it.
You can forget the slick gear changes ( just be happy if it changes at all) and any hot hatch performance, but if you look at the pages on this site you will see may people who are more than happy to live with all the faults.
 
MJI said:
Remaps would solve this
Click to expand...
Yes you can up the engine output, but quite honestly the whole thing was not designed for speed with the aerodynamics of a breeze block and a high center of gravity, I am not sure I would want to go fast in one, and cornering is best done with caution. If I want to go quickly I go elsewhere, I am happy to do what it does the TD5 engine in good condition will pull you down the motorway at 60 - 70, but they get pretty thirsty above 65, but down county lanes and dirt tracks they show you what they were made to do.
 
raywin said:
Yes you can up the engine output, but quite honestly the whole thing was not designed for speed with the aerodynamics of a breeze block and a high center of gravity, I am not sure I would want to go fast in one, and cornering is best done with caution. If I want to go quickly I go elsewhere, I am happy to do what it does the TD5 engine in good condition will pull you down the motorway at 60 - 70, but they get pretty thirsty above 65, but down county lanes and dirt tracks they show you what they were made to do.
Click to expand...

To be honest not top speed but acceleration. the Discovery TD5 is a bit more power than a Defender so go a bit better.

Nipping up to 50 to 60 is where you want the grunt.
 
Personally I haven't noticed this tendency to get thirstier over 65 on mine. I can get furthest for my money if I keep it in 5th and drive at the national speed limit. Yes, you can easily find other traffic getting ahead of you as you pull away from junctions, but as I keep saying, what limits the amount of ground you can cover is congestion rather than the Land Rover's capabilities. It's not a good overtaking car though. You need to spend an awful lot of time on the wrong side of the road to get past anything other than a tractor. So usually I don't bother unless there's an overtaking lane or a dual carriageway. In this respect, other cars can get ahead of you, but you often catch up with them as soon as you reach the next town, so you don't really lose anything.
 
raywin said:
Yes you can up the engine output, but quite honestly the whole thing was not designed for speed with the aerodynamics of a breeze block and a high center of gravity, I am not sure I would want to go fast in one, and cornering is best done with caution. If I want to go quickly I go elsewhere, I am happy to do what it does the TD5 engine in good condition will pull you down the motorway at 60 - 70, but they get pretty thirsty above 65, but down county lanes and dirt tracks they show you what they were made to do.
Click to expand...
Totally agree with you 100%
 
I came from a Fiesta too! Had my 90 for the past 4 years, since then it has had a transformation (see thread below).

Overall once your sort out all the niggles and issues it will have its great (took 2 years to sort all of mine!). Few small cheap things like a Slickshift (£80, short throw between gears), lightened clutch pedal (£30) and a smaller steering wheel make it infinitely better to drive around. Then theres the more expensive things such as remaps, bigger intercooler and sound proofing make it even better and easier to drive. Really very happy with mine and only selling it as I found its a little small, ideally need some proper rear seats and still have the cargo space, so buying a 110 pickup.

As for space, either change to bucket seats, mine are designed to move the driver about 1" away from the door give a little extra space, MUD rails for other seats- raises the seats about 1" and they slide further back. Then bulkhead removal bars which give movement back and the ability to recline more - Some come with these as standard some don't, though not too hard to fit.

As for mpg, with all the usual upgrades/mods plus a map, big IC and a higher ratio 5th gear around town averages around 25 - 27mpg, motorway runs around 28 - 30mpg, best run was down to Brighton 35mpg! half loaded as well. I have a lot of added weight so a standard one should match those figures easily. Obviously the higher ratio 5th gear helps massively on the Mway, cruises at 70 as if it was 60.

I'm in South East London but my girlfriend lives in Kingston, which isnt too far from you, if you want to come have a look or a chat send me message.
 
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