Honker wrote:

You're all mad , much as I love my Defender it is definetly at the agricultural end of the vehicle spectrum and offers a relatively unique driving experience today - and for the future. Quiet and refined are not words I'd be using in the same sentence as defender, unless prefaced by not. It's an iconic anachronism from a bygone era that shouldn't really exist in the modern motoring world, but that's why it's so much fun and why I enjoy driving it

Stu

lrmaniac wrote:

22900013A wrote:

This confuses me as I have done all that in my 110 with no problems, I have driven it for hours on end, driven from Eastern Germany to the UK in one sitting, and simply had no problems with it. It is perfectly comfortable, quiet, spacious enough for 5 adults, great sound system...and thats an off the shelf vehicle with no mods. The only thing I wish they would improve is fuel economy.

... Last July/August went from Lisbon to Hendaye-Calais-Dover-Birmingham-Liverpool-Southport-Dover-Calais-Paris-LaRochelle-Asturias-Lisbon....6500km (aprox. 4040 miles)...No problem! Confortable enough, zero problems... Fuel consumption was indeed a little more than planned.

I imagined that if had done this trip in a RR, it would have been better (probably would have not get so tired after driving 1050km in one day)...but hey, the RR costs more 140.000€ than the Defender!(here at least!)

If the next Defende can be more confy, that's fine...But keep it a Defender, not a something-between because for that we have the freelander and the evoque...

When I saw you when you were here you certainly weren't deaf nor did you guys look exhausted. The drive can't have been that bad then eh?

willy eckerslike wrote:

I agree ran my defenders to Aberdeen and back for the last four years, it's not really about the comfort or noise etc but the rubbish build quality for a premium price, they could leave it as is but improve the corrosion issues, leaks, bad panel fit, sound proofing, rubbish securty etc etc. Imagine if the defender had a galvanised chassis, galvanised cappings, decent paint, water tight doors and so on, surely they would sell an awful lot more, at the minute anyone who buys one spends alot of time and money improving and protecting various things out of necessity and when they have finished the car is tons better and usually tons heavier

willy eckerslike wrote:

I agree ran my defenders to Aberdeen and back for the last four years, it's not really about the comfort or noise etc but the rubbish build quality for a premium price, they could leave it as is but improve the corrosion issues, leaks, bad panel fit, sound proofing, rubbish securty etc etc. Imagine if the defender had a galvanised chassis, galvanised cappings, decent paint, water tight doors and so on, surely they would sell an awful lot more, at the minute anyone who buys one spends alot of time and money improving and protecting various things out of necessity and when they have finished the car is tons better and usually tons heavier

chalky wrote:

Well, I keep jumping across from the Disco3 forum hoping to find something worth reading about ?
It's pretty clear that the Defender "a road biased tractor" as it was once explained to me by a chap at Solihull In the SV department, still manages to provoke so much cult appeal !

I'll be honest, speaking from my own experience ! My brand new 08 Defender was the worst vehicle I've ever driven !
I'm not basing my experience on 1 bad purchase, I've had umpteen Defenders, I've driven them with things hanging off them that most people look at in books or magazines, I worked on them whilst serving in the forces at Solihull after the 1st gulf war developing weapons mounts and turrets, lock out suspension, Mazda 5:0 litre engines ! A bloke I served with drive one up Ben Nevis !

Ask some of our Australian counterparts what it's like driving the corrugations in a Defender ?

I've driven them and not been able to stand up straight when I've got out, I've crashed them and had things impaled in me as a result !

I've got a pair of rose tinted spectacles that I put on when I'm driving along some of the best surfaced man made roads in the world, when I used to nip to the shop in mine it felt great, 20 years of driving them resulting in what some call the pinnacle of evolution for a Defender ? Leaking swivels, wipers that don't work, leaking transfer box, hand brakes that don't work, ECU's constantly in limp home mode, numerous bungled attempts to get software issues sorted out, rivets missing from the body, corroded chassis from the factory, and no passenger safety? I wouldn't want my family involved in another accident in a Defender !

A nice to have for sure, but a big ask in this day and age.