Firstly I do already own a Land Rover. It's a 1972 bronze green 2.25 petrol 88" hardtop with a pickup cab on it. However like many Land Rover owners, I have owned this vehicle for 11 years but only driven it for 2 and even though it had a big set of mud tyres on it, all of that use was on the road commuting to work and back. That was seven years ago now, since last drove it due to extra holes in the already heavily patched up chassis causing it to fail it's mot. Although this year I've finally got around to cutting it out of the hedge that grew around it and is now locked up in the dry with a new Richards chassis, so much stuff has perished away or seized over the years outside that the rest of the rebuilt is going to take a long time.
The problem with this is that finally starting this rebuild has me all interested in Land Rovers once again and wanting one sooner than I am ever going to get mine finished. But no matter how much I think about it I still don't know what Land Rover it is I want.
I do know a couple of things I do want though. Firstly after being interested in Land Rovers for so long but never taking mine off the tarmac I want to use my next one. Although unlikely to ever go to much in the way of pay and play days, me and the wife would be interested in getting into some responsible green laning. So once we have a vehicle I plan on joining GLASS and then either joining or organising some weekend laning and camping trips around England and Wales. But on top of this would like to use it at least a few times a week to work and back (60 miles a day) so people don't see it always left on the drive.
I also know that I want a LWB this time. As much as I love the looks of my 88" and I'm sure some people have done, I never could get that much in the back of it or use it for picking up anything large. Want to be able to chuck big parts for my other projects in the back, whether it be large tooling, new axles or engines when they need to go to the machine shop. It needs to earn it's keep. For this reason I also THINK it wants to be a pick up and maybe even a hi-cap.
What I really don't know though is if it should be a 109" or 110 Defender. I love the look and and idea of a Series, I think it might be what I want but my brain says I should get a Defender instead.
So my question is probably for the 109" Series owners out there and it is "How often do you wish you were driving a 110 instead?" (or rather you think I will wish)
I'm looking for things like:
Do they hit their limits or cause extra hassle on legal green lanes? Things like always having to make multi-point turns where the 110s go round in one or struggling with climbs due to wheel hop that the defender in front didn't have.
Do you think that they cause more damage to the roads? When watching videos I always see a lot more wheel spin from Series vehicles bouncing about looking for traction.
Fatigue. Do you feel you struggle to keep up as the day gets on? (I do sometimes get lower back issues)
I really want a 109 now, but I don't want to regret buying one.
Thanks.
