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H1Tad

Member Since: 20 Jul 2024
Location: Maine
Posts: 107

New Defender 110 for the Wife

Hello,

After driving around a Honda Accord that she bought right out of college and driving it for 245,000 miles, it was time to retire my wife's Honda Accord. It was a very emotional moment for her as she's developed quite a bond with it over the last 20 years. I also have an FJ Cruiser that has about 170k on it that needs to retire soon, so we had to decide on a vehicle that could fulfill both of these vehicles' requirements:
1) Be a daily driver for the wife
2) Transport 4 adults in comfort
3) Handle the inclimate weather that we get up here in Maine during the winters

We've always liked the new Defender. In fact we almost bought one in 2021 when I got T-boned and flipped in my truck. We've rented Land Rovers before and my wife really enjoyed them. So when she gave me the green light to find a new car, I went looking. Found this great 2022 Tasman Blue 110 SE with the Expedition Package and Cold Weather package. It doesn't have the nice camera mirror or adaptive cruise which are the two things that I would have liked to have spec'd. But its gorgeous.

It's just a shame that it won't get to see any offroad use - as we have that requirement firmly and unshakably covered by "Clifford".

Fun fact, that the engines in both Clifford and the new Defender are called "P400". The 6.5L Turbo Diesel in Clifford is a 400 cubic inch, 250hp 500ftlbs detroit-derived engine that only had about 275 engines ever made as a proof of concept for the US Military to put in Humvees. Uncle Sam didn't like the cost of all forged and ceramic coated cranks and pistons and heads so the program was killed and now, I have a P400 in both of my trucks.

I look forward to learning all about our new Defender. I'm very much interested in how I can disable the Auto Start Stop nonsense.

Click image to enlarge

20th Jul 2024 1:18pm

Crazymind

Member Since: 11 Jun 2024
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 120

Enjoy!

20th Jul 2024 6:02pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20265

Very nice, hope you both enjoy it.
Really nice H1 there as well.

Reminds me of one of my favourite YouTube videos:

20th Jul 2024 8:21pm

H1Tad

Member Since: 20 Jul 2024
Location: Maine
Posts: 107

Definitely am enjoying the posh accommodations of the Defender. The H1 has full leather, heated seats, a killer stereo but ... lets be honest - its still very raw on the inside. Last year we drove it down to North Carolina from Maine, about a 850 mile journey one-way with the pooch in the back. We split it up into two days both going and coming back. It was tolerable but definitely not luxurious. My wife is a saint for putting up with it.

Its funny, I know about half those guys in that Moab video.

Mark from ModMafia is my good friend. I run/admin the longest running Hummer H1 forum on the internet (hummernetworkforums.com).

20th Jul 2024 8:39pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20265

Small world isn’t it, I’m down in South West U.K.
There is a really cool crab walk H1 there as well in the video, I’m not sure which ones are and which ones aren’t.
Couple of miles from me, there is a really nice black H2 I often drive past in my 90.
I’m pretty sure it has a lift and muds fitted.

You rarely see a H1 over here, probably due to the size, but H2’s are the most common to see and sometimes there are some H3’s around.
Bearing in mind that is my area only.

A few months back I saw a Dodge Ram TRX which I think appeared to be on German number / registration plates or somewhere near there over in Europe which must have came over.
It was black, really nice machine.
Phenomenal price though!

Y’all got basically the same following over there as we have over here with the Puma and earlier Defender.
Pity the DOT stuff meant you couldn’t buy them for some years.

20th Jul 2024 8:55pm

H1Tad

Member Since: 20 Jul 2024
Location: Maine
Posts: 107

Didn't want to come over and yap about the H1 on a Land Rover forum too much but...

You don't see them over here very often either. Not the civilian versions, and the military HMMWV's are all too common sitting in National Guard depots scattered across the land. You rarely see them on the move.

They made almost 12,000 civilian H1's from 1992 through 2006. They have proper 17 digit VIN's and are 50-state road legal - meaning you can get plates for them and drive them like I do - like a normal car. The HMMWV's are different. They don't have ANY of the standard safety equipment like ABS, collapsible steering columns or a pair of what are called "anti-decapitation brackets" which do exactly what their name suggests. Therefore several states do not allow you to register them for "on road use" - meaning you can't drive them on the street. There are ways around it, such as the infamous "Montana LLC" loophole. But overall its just easier to buy a H1

As for the crab walk - H1's were basically made for a rear-steer setup. Our geared hubs (portals) on are the same both front and back - so you can attach tie rods to them easy as pie. Packaging and control is tougher but the geometry is simple. My buddy Mark has his "test mule" H1 with rear steer - it feels ... odd... driving sideways.

Over here we'll see a TRX every day. Sometimes twice. They're everywhere. Definitely see more TRX's than new Defenders!

20th Jul 2024 11:26pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20265

Yes, I can imagine rear steer being really strange sensation plus the control of it.

A lot of pickup trucks here tend to be Japanese, so Toyota and things like that and often mostly rural.
Depending on where you are in the U.K., many rural places have narrow roads so size is an issue.
Due to width more than anything, Defenders are about right for most places.

Of course they’ve gone and tried to reduce the parking lot space sizes to try and force people to have what “they” want. Height bars on entrances of the parking places as well.

Can really appreciate the miles undertaken going down to Moab, Utah, for sure from where you are.
So I understand it gets down to sub zero temps, and very low temps in wintertime in your State.

Have you ever been up north over the border to BC, Yukon area ? Long way away from you though but must be nice up there though I expect most of the land is protected and private.

21st Jul 2024 6:32pm

H1Tad

Member Since: 20 Jul 2024
Location: Maine
Posts: 107

Over here, the F150 is the most popular vehicle on the road, and the new ones - especially the Raptors, are just as wide if not wider than the H1 so I don't have any problems fitting in parking spots, except in old downtown areas - but even then, I just drive over what gets in my way usually. Parking garages aren't a problem either since its pretty low to the ground (although I'm about to put 40's on it so that might cause some problems - at least I don't need a lift to fit them).

It does get chilly up here, especially when the ocean wind is blowing. It gets cold enough so that I have to keep the diesel truck parked in the garage (it fits!) or else in the morning I won't be able to start it up because ... the diesel has solidified. Thus the reason why the "cold weather package" on the new Defender was not an optional option! Does it get that cool over in the UK? I imagine that your climate is a bit more moderated by being surrounded by water.

As for trips, I've not yet been north of the border. We keep trying to make it up there but events conspire against us. Truth be told, Maine has so much natural beauty and places to go that we'll never see it all, and in the summer we really don't feel like going anywhere since the weather here is perfect.

But maybe now that we have a "civilized" road trip car that will change.

21st Jul 2024 7:34pm

H1Tad

Member Since: 20 Jul 2024
Location: Maine
Posts: 107

First wash! My wife really has enjoyed driving it... she won't let me drive it now. She's incredibly irritated that it always connects to my Samsung before her iPhone. She thinks it likes me more than her.

Her only complaint... "It doesn't take corners very well". This coming from the woman who went through 8 ball joints on her Accord because she didn't see a corner she didn't want to take at 60mph.

Click image to enlarge

28th Jul 2024 7:48pm

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