I suspect Landy19840 will be one of the most qualified for this question. My younger cousin (21) is in the building trade and at the moment drives an 03 plate fiesta zetec and drives a vauxhall combo van for work.

His plan is to get rid of both of those and have a finance plan on a newish Defender 90. He would like XS spec but would settle for County. The reason for this is the ruggedness and versatility for building work (lots of bits to carry - perhaps a 110 would be better) but he thinks it will be fine as a day to day car as well.

The critics claim the Defender is a pile of sh when driven on normal roads and is totally useless for daily commuting and is very uncomfortable. How do you guys rate the Defender on this front and what do you think to his plan?

Cheers  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Until recently I owned a TD5 Defender 90 which I had for ten years, did over 100k in it, drove it all round europe and off roaded it in places like Italy France and Slovakia.

I loved it to death and would have another one like a shot. However, it is not everyone's cup of tea. If he had a 90 he would need to think about if he needs to carry passengers at any time and also think about the loads he needs to carry. The 90 is not that roomy in the back and the combo van is probably longer in the back. He would really need the 110 in my opinion but the 110 has the turning circle of the QE2. There is also the issue of speed and fuel consumption. Good as the Puma may be he may still find performance unacceptable. The 90 can be uncomfortable for some without mud rails but the 110 has more leg room.

My advice to him would be to see if he can get a decent length test drive before making a decision. preferable, hire one for a week to see if he can live with it. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

Well..... A defender was my every day car everyday since I was 17 till a 2 years ago! Yes they can be a little agricultural, and not a great deal of room in the drivers seat. I am 6'3 and managed fine, with a little mod on the seat rails!

But it is still one of my favourite cars and it just makes you smile while driving it as it has so much character!

The best car for him would be a 07 onwards 110 utility, I made the mistake of not waiting for them as I wanted one of the first new style defenders. Also had a TD5 90xs before which was not big enough for me being a self employed sparks.
The utility is still 5 seater and but has the van style back so you can kit out like a van with grills etc etc. defo worth having an Xs as you get all the toys air con, heated seats and front screen. Just makes it a little more luxurious as can be! I did over 90,000 ,miles in mine driving all over the country and various trips to Europe! 2007 models are restricted to 82mph too, but this can be removed! They are not that quick but will pull a house down! People use to ask me about mpg, but I did not give a hoot as I was paid per the mile.

I personally would not get land rover finance again either, personal loans have better interest and no limited miles etc.

All in all he will love it! Cheaper to insure than the freelander too!

Thanks, I will pass this on. A test drive is a must for both 90 and 110 variants.

How did you guys find driving without any elbow room on your right? I hear there the door is right up close. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

You get use to it! It's not as bad as people make out!

if a lady you give a lift to sits in the mid seat, legs round the gearstick your on a winner, if she stays firmly on her side of the stick. just take her home.

old advice handed down the generations

not so good now as I think there is now a cubby thing instead of the middle seat. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Unless you are a perv the middle seat is fairly useless The first thing I did was to ditch it in favour of an Exmoor Trim locking steel cubby box....not much hidden storage space otherwise in a Defender.

Yeah...you get used to the door thing and unless they have moved it on the new model, the handbrake can be a bit of a reach if you are tall. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

....and another thing....yes insurance can be cheap for Defenders but there is a mouth watering load of after market goodies out there for them which is very tempting. I had a winch, tree sliders, armour, sumo bars, lockers, twin Optimas and an overdrive on mine which jacked the insurance up to £285 a year whereas my bog standard FL2 HSE is £160 a year (both fully comp).

If you do your own spannering they are a joy to work on. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

And they LOOK wonderful - just what a car should be  Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
Tricia's - 2006 Royal Blue Beetle Cabriolet Auto
Mine - 2014 Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport Matt Black
Ours - 2007 White Bailey Pageant Champagne

yeah I have to agree with everyone in here.. I just got rid of my 90 TD5 two weeks ago, and there isnt a morning I regret selling her, She had over 200000km on the clock put there from various roadtrips all over the place, but its a car you really need to love a lot to own. Parts are so cheap its almost funny, so breaking it never really hurts.

There are so many things wrong with owning one but none of them matter when its yours, including the security issue.. if your mate likes to keep his tools in the motor, he could be loosing them and the car.

If he really wants one, he will forgive all the shortcomings and love it to bits though.