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Essel



Member Since: 28 Apr 2021
Location: Tyne & wear
Posts: 16

United Kingdom 
specing a new Defender 110
Hi All,

I'm in the UK and looking to replace our Freelander 2 with a new Defender 110. I have a quote from drive the Deal and also speaking to our local dealer but to be honest I'm happy to pick it up from anywhere in the country.

It will be the second car and our workhorse, I just have a few questions as I'm going through the configurator;

My first choice is Petrol, P300, as 90% of the journeys will be repeated short distance and local I "believe" this is a better choice than the D200? from a maintenance point of view we won't need to worry about an Adblue system and the Petrol has one turbo, diesel has two. is a Petrol still better than modern diesel re short distances?

On the configurator I can select coil suspension, this could be another positive as i'll be keeping it on the 18" steel wheels so ride quality shouldn't be an issue and again one less system to worry about, does that make sense or is the Air Susp the way to go? we plan on keeping this car for at least 10 years so the less complicated the better.

My last question is about the tow bar, the deployable will probably stick or be covered in mud when I need it most so I'll be going with the fixed height tow hitch, for some reason its dropped from the configurator, price wise it was £1500 which sounds way too high to me. Has anyone gone with an aftermarket one? Does the Fixed height hitch interfere with the parking sensors or is this compensated for as part of the install?

thanks in advance Thumbs Up

Essel
Post #900415 28th Apr 2021 6:25pm
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J77



Member Since: 04 Nov 2019
Location: Fife
Posts: 3391

Scotland 
Short distances will always be better with petrol but I prefer the diesel even though I’m a low mileage user. Never had an issue with any previous LR.

I have coils on my 90 with 18” steels, no complaints from me regarding comfort or handling, perhaps a bit harsh over some rougher ground but I don’t regret not spending £1600 on air. 24MY 90 D250 HSE, Tasman Blue
Post #900418 28th Apr 2021 7:00pm
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Tim in Scotland



Member Since: 23 May 2007
Location: The Land that time forgot
Posts: 3753

 
On the 110 the coils are a zero cost option - there are benefits to the air suspension if you will be towing as it self levels the car., can be used to ‘kneel” the rear to make hitching up the trailer easier too. I suspect that when you come to sell it on not having the air springs on the 110 might make it less attractive to buyers who want to tow. I’ve had many airsprung Range Rovers, Sports and this Defender i’ne never had any sort of problem with it. Things have moved on since all the problems with P38A. I’ve heard of a few suspension airbag failures but they have been on really old L322 Range Rovers with 200,000 miles on them.
Have never had a problem with the deployable tow hook sticking but there’s bound to be somebody who has. In the stowed piston it’s visible and accessible for washing but well protected.

Stowed

Click image to enlarge


Out - the black plastic thing is the 13 pin electric connection

Click image to enlarge


Remote control plus suspension dropping/raiseIng plus trailer light test button

Click image to enlarge
 Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed!
Post #900421 28th Apr 2021 7:19pm
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Essel



Member Since: 28 Apr 2021
Location: Tyne & wear
Posts: 16

United Kingdom 
Thanks, that’s really helpful
Post #900425 28th Apr 2021 7:42pm
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lumbstar



Member Since: 08 Mar 2021
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 10

United Kingdom 
Get the tow bar factory fitted, people are having issues getting parts for them through dealers if they get them fitted retrospectively and I haven’t seen anyone with an aftermarket option yet. D240 SE 110-Tasman
Audi S4 B9, Audi S3 8V, Defender 110 TD5 HT
Post #900427 28th Apr 2021 7:51pm
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Essel



Member Since: 28 Apr 2021
Location: Tyne & wear
Posts: 16

United Kingdom 
I’ll speak with the dealers re the multi height tow bar fitting, it just looks really expensive
Post #900429 28th Apr 2021 7:59pm
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Essel



Member Since: 28 Apr 2021
Location: Tyne & wear
Posts: 16

United Kingdom 
Spent an hour at the dealership this morning, had a good wander round the car park and compound. We wanted to see how the various colours compare.
We’ve decided on the Green with White roof / white wheels. As it’s basic spec we really like the idea of a classic look.
After comparing body styles we’re going 3 door, 99% of the time it will be perfect size wise.
Just need to contact a few dealers and get some figures, drive the deal seems to be circa 5% off so a good starting point.
Post #900901 1st May 2021 4:40pm
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J77



Member Since: 04 Nov 2019
Location: Fife
Posts: 3391

Scotland 
Thumbs Up For the classic look

I opted for the Blue



Click image to enlarge
 24MY 90 D250 HSE, Tasman Blue
Post #900908 1st May 2021 5:13pm
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Essel



Member Since: 28 Apr 2021
Location: Tyne & wear
Posts: 16

United Kingdom 
Thumbs Up

Last edited by Essel on 1st May 2021 5:40pm. Edited 1 time in total
Post #900912 1st May 2021 5:37pm
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Essel



Member Since: 28 Apr 2021
Location: Tyne & wear
Posts: 16

United Kingdom 
J77 wrote:
Thumbs Up For the classic look

I opted for the Blue



Click image to enlarge


Nice, Thumbs Up Is that the classic mud flaps? We’ve added those too, the configurator is a bit frustrating as it doesn’t always want to save our build, how do you like the load space? Any issues with how it is with the seats folded?
Post #900913 1st May 2021 5:38pm
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J77



Member Since: 04 Nov 2019
Location: Fife
Posts: 3391

Scotland 
Yes those are the classic flaps.

Load space is fine for my needs, I haven’t had a need to fold the rear seats as yet, though a garden centre trip is looming, so that will test it. 24MY 90 D250 HSE, Tasman Blue
Post #900919 1st May 2021 6:00pm
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Essel



Member Since: 28 Apr 2021
Location: Tyne & wear
Posts: 16

United Kingdom 
Just a quick update, vehicle ordered, deposit paid, delivery estimate is end September, early October.
Post #902038 8th May 2021 3:56pm
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Supacat



Member Since: 16 Oct 2012
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 11018

United Kingdom 2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS DCPU Keswick Green
Tim in Scotland wrote:

Have never had a problem with the deployable tow hook sticking but there’s bound to be somebody who has.

PowerfulUK have done their normal job on taking one apart and showing some of the issues with it ~ non-repairable and £2.5k to replace:




Click image to enlarge



Click image to enlarge
Post #926233 18th Oct 2021 5:29pm
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lohr500



Member Since: 14 Sep 2014
Location: Skipton
Posts: 1316

United Kingdom 2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Santorini Black
There's a lot to be said in having a simple fixed flange or US type 2" receiver!!!

I would never fit an electrically deployable towball on any of my vehicles out of choice.
Aside from the expense, there's just too much complexity in the interests of hiding the towball away.

I can understand JLR not wanting to sell replacement parts as the potential for incorrect assembly could lead to all sorts of problems and litigation with the towall not locking in place correctly.

I presume that when the motors are initially fitted and connected up, there must be a specific position for the towball to be in, or some calibration option with the ecu to tell the system what state of deployment it is in and which way to rotate the motors. Perhaps that red wire is linked to a sensor which indicates the position of the moving arm.
Post #926330 19th Oct 2021 9:02am
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Tim in Scotland



Member Since: 23 May 2007
Location: The Land that time forgot
Posts: 3753

 
My car came with the deployable tow bar fitted as I bought a car already in dealer’s stock in June 2020, I didn’t spec it. Its only been used 3 or 4 times to haul a small Ifor Williams trailer to the tip. Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed!
Post #926347 19th Oct 2021 11:21am
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