 | Home > My New Defender (L663) > 40k Miles in my 22 Defender D250 |
 
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| 91dm Member Since: 26 Feb 2024 Location: Ireland Posts: 23  
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Hello!
Having covered over 40k miles in my Defender, I think it’s an unbelievable all rounder and very happy with my choice! I ordered in November 21 and collected in February 22. It’s a D250 S with air suspension and in Carpathian grey. Here’s some pictures of the last 40k miles. Collection day!  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Protective stuff. It’s my first brand new car so wanted to try and protect it as best I could so sprayed underneath and ceramic coated the paint. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge First impressions. I covered the first few thousand miles very quickly, very impressed! Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Side steps. First modification was to fit a set of genuine side steps, overall a straight forward task, lots of clips to take off and plastic to cut. It could be made much easier from the factory. I think the silver works well with the bumpers and wheels overall. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Ceramic coating. First wash to see how the ceramic coating was doing, a good pressure washing will take most of the dirt off. A quick wash then brings it back to looking very shiny. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Diesel MPG. Some MPG figures 3 months in! Click image to enlarge 6 Months in. 7k miles into ownership all is going well so far, very impressed with the Defender, its exceeded my expectations. The good and bad + Positives | Ride and engine/gearbox combo, tech, all round ability - Not so good | Boot area is small for the overall size Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Family fleet. Click image to enlarge Best MPG. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge MPG empty trailer Click image to enlarge MPG with car transporter Click image to enlarge 2 Years in. Coming up on 30k miles now with no issues to report. The on board computer says an average of 33.2MPG which is a mixture of town and motorway driving with mixed towing. I managed to pick up a set of wheels which I've been looking for a long time, 20" with diamond cut faces, I think they suit the Defender very well! While I had the wheels off, I gave all a quick clean up. I've gone from a 19" to 20" however it works out the same overall diameter. I really like this style of wheel, I think it works well with the colour and there's a much better selection of all terrain tyres in 20". I've noticed no difference in comfort going to the 20", possibly a slight improvement in handling however hard to tell. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge First fault. Unfortunately, the engine light decided at around 30k miles it wanted to make an appearance. The code reader gave a EGR fault, quick phone call and it was booked in for inspection. A new valve and cooler was fitted which made absolutely no difference. It's a full day round trip to the local dealer for me and the service was so bad I decided I wouldn't go back. After some internet research I managed to trace the fault down to a clogged pipe leading to the exhaust pressure sensor. A quick clean out and all has been good since. I'm not sure is this a euro 6 diesel issue or the fact I was using the pre heat function all winter letting the car sit for 10 mins before starting my journey. Click image to enlarge The pipe was clogged with carbon which I managed to clean out with some strong wire. Click image to enlarge New wheels! Some images of the new wheels, have really transformed the look of it in my eyes! I'm currently up to 36k miles and will be soon due it's fourth oil change. Plenty of towing done in the last while with no issues to report. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Ceramic coating after 40k miles. I’ve covered over 40k miles now and the carbon collective coating is holding up very well. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Summary so far. So coming up on 3 years in I’m still very glad I went with the Defender. It covers all basis, comfortable, fast enough, good on fuel, been reliable so far, excellent on/off road and when towing. My only issues have been the EGR fault code and a front tensioner started making a noise at 20k miles (common issue I think). Otherwise it has just had regular servicing. Mods. I would like to upgrade the current speakers, I only have the base setup. Would like to improve the light setup for winter time, reversing lights and possibly a front light bar. Thanks for reading! |
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20th Oct 2024 6:36pm |
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| jim4244 Member Since: 13 Apr 2014 Location: Bedfordshire Posts: 775  
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Lovely looking car and glad that you are happy with it
Jim |
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21st Oct 2024 4:34am |
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| Tyrrell3 Member Since: 08 Oct 2024 Location: Poole Posts: 14 
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Yes great review thanks for posting
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21st Oct 2024 3:02pm |
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| haymeister Member Since: 24 May 2021 Location: Saitama Posts: 263 
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Thanks for the update! Beautiful car! 22MY Defender 110 D300 S in Pangea Green and Contrast White Roof
IG defender_japan "Hulk san" |
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23rd Oct 2024 1:59am |
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| Stacey007 Member Since: 25 Sep 2015 Location: Cheshire Posts: 3748
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Great Review
The new wheels make it look like a new car
Good real world review using it for a mixture of proper jobs and driving. Speaker upgrade should be a fairly easy upgrade route, hidden small light bar in the front grille would be neat. https://www.stealthled.co.uk/land-rover-de...45EALw_wcB Reversing lamps, I have seen these. However you seem handy so sure you could find the lights and fit them yourself
https://ndpautomotive.com/products/oem-upg...w8EALw_wcB |
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23rd Oct 2024 8:03am |
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| 91dm Member Since: 26 Feb 2024 Location: Ireland Posts: 23
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Thanks everyone for the good comments.
Yes @Stacey007 those are the exact reversing lights I'm looking at. Front light bar would have to work with the auto high beam so I'm looking at the can bus controllers. There's a great thread on here for upgrading the stereo system by @Defendit.. I've just re-read the post and to add some more detail: Power I drove a D300 90 but didn't notice a major difference compared to mine. For everyday driving I haven't found the D250 under powered or lacking when towing. It tows effortlessly and with an empty trailer you wouldn't notice anything behind you, gearbox is great and holds the gear well. 30mpg is easy enough to achieve, 40 on a run and mid-high 20's when towing. I think that is very impressive for the power but I did own a Range Rover P38 diesel so standards are low! I'd love to drive a new D350 to see what it's like and compares to mine. Suspension I test drove a coil sprung Defender and thought it was very good overall, ride was smooth but think air suspension is a must have option. Very useful for connecting up trailers as well with the quick up/down buttons in the rear panel. Even mine without the 'Sport' mode and basic modes drives great and is quick enough in the bends, especially when you remember you're moving 2.4 tons. Tech My Defender has the 360 camera option which is great, very useful when getting through a tight gap or lining up with trailers etc. Car play has worked great since the wireless update. Occasionally it gets confused if you get in and out of the car without locking it or leaving the ignition on. The remote app control works great for me and is handy when the key is left in the house. Overall all the tech has worked great and I haven't had any issues. I think the layout of key buttons and controls is very good, especially compared to cars with touch buttons. Everything is where you want it and clear/easy to control. I think i'd miss this if I went to a new Disco or RR and just having a large screen. Working on it I haven't done much but oil and filter changes however I don't find it hard to get your head around and work on. Alot of sensors and important parts are all accessible. Suspension and steering wise everything looks fairly normal and easy to work on in time. Overall I'd recommend go buy one! |
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23rd Oct 2024 8:52pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2641 
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Similar parallels to my 2021 110 - I’ve done 90k and the only issue has been the same exhaust pressure sensor. Done a couple of sets of brake pads/discs, lots of oil changes, tyres, and swapped the towbar but that’s all.
As you say it is an exceptional all-rounder, I have not really found anything yet that it isn’t good at. |
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26th Oct 2024 11:11am |
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| revd Member Since: 20 Apr 2024 Location: England Posts: 112
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Me too just over 40K miles on my 110 TD5; good to hear overall reliability is excellent. MPG is pretty much the same - no computer obviously but brimming the tank and checking over several fill-ups computes to 34 mpg on premium diesel.
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26th Oct 2024 11:38am |
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