The tratter guys reckon 100" is the ideal wheelbase, hence all the discoveries / range rovers pressed into service, and some defender hybrids based on RRC chassis'. The D1 / RRC has long rear overhangs, the D2 even more so, however the FL1 has a 102" wheelbase which is close to the ideal, but FL1's got naff all overhangs, so with some mild lift mods the hippo gets some ridiculous approach / departure angles. This caused me so much bother when we first got our hippo as I was looking at saxo sixed parking spaces thinking I'd be able to shoehorn the hippo in there, and wondering why I was failing? It wasn't until I parked at a supermarket one time and when I came back to the landy a D1 had parked side by side wiht my hippo I could pace them out and realised that there wasn't much difference in them, .
One of the best things about the FL1 though is it's windscreen is much more curved / lot less flat than most other landies, so it clears a but quicker than the others do. It's also got a taller windscreen that many of the others, so your vertical field of vision is a lot wider, meaning it's easier to look "up" whether it be looking "ahead" while on a steep descent or looking up at the scenery / terrain, of course that means in winter there is virtually no hiding from the low sun dazzling you, where as in likes of a D1 to sit bolt upright to put the sun behind the roof. FL1's are also good in deep puddles because they are a lot more watertight than other landy models, and they also benefit from the fact their sills are raised above the floorpan, whereas in a D1 / RRC / D2 the floorpan is above the top of the sills.
I think the FL1 kicks up more water than other landies based on my experience of splashing about with them. It's my reckoning that this is because it's underside is relatively smooth it displaces more of the water than a live axled landy which has deep chassis rails that must act like longitudinal baffles retain water between them and at the outsides the underslung door sills must act like skirts to retain water? Also,more importantly in terms of water getting on to the screen, the F1's enginebay is relatively enclosed, with its undertray and arch liners etc, whereas the life axled models are a lot more exposed, so some of the water that would erstwhile have been pusched through the engine bay gets thrown out up and to the sides.
