My dad bought my mum a Land Rover Defender to teach her a lesson after she kept scraping her car down the side of the house. (It was an awkward driveway.) She was horrified and demanded its immediate return. He lost a wedge but she never scraped her car again.
A Landie can have that effect. Some people love them (a family friend had a County that he wouldn’t shut up about) while others loathe them (see above). If you have a proper job for one or just buy into the whole ‘one life, live it’ thing, you’re probably of the former persuasion.
We’re considering the Land Rover Defender here because it’s the version that most buyers are likely to encounter. It was launched in 1990 as the replacement for the prosaically named 90 and 110 (the numbers refer to the length of their wheelbases in inches), its name prompted by the new Land Rover Discovery.
Fortunately more than just a new name, it featured a new, more powerful and economical 2.5-litre turbo diesel engine called the 200 TDi, coil suspension in place of the old leaf spring set-up, the option of power steering and updated styling, all without diluting its predecessor’s legendary off-road ability.
The next big event for the Defender was the 1994 arrival of the 300 TDi – still 2.5 litres but comprehensively reworked and deemed good enough for the Discovery as well. Four years later, this was replaced by the all-new 2.5-litre five-cylinder Td5. Designed to conform to tough new emissions rules, it relied on more electronics than before. Grizzled Landie buyers feared the worst, but the engine has proved to be reliable.
Skip forward to 2007 and the Td5 got the heave-ho in favour of Ford’s torquier 2.4-litre Puma diesel engine (as used in the Transit van), mated to a six-speed gearbox.
It’s fair to say that with this combination, the Defender came of age – sort of. It was still composed of a collection of separate parts and could be dismantled and rebuilt as required, but it was now more powerful, more frugal and more refined, at least in Landie terms.
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Yes Defenders are cool, but they have a fatal flaw - the diesels really smell bad. If you follow one for even a short distance, you soon wish you hadn't, because of all the pollution they create. If you own one, get someone to drive it away while you walk or cycle in the same direction behind it. You will notice that the whole road is filled with fumes. It's like a mobile bonfire. What's the answer? An EV conversion. It's all the rage and definitely the way to go.
Had a 69, 109 pick up with 6 cylinder petrol, smooth as silk. MOT nightmare, welders dream.Got a bottle of whiskey and abunch of flowers for it. A later owner totally restored it and took it to the states. Could probably get a crate of scotch for it now.