Guest diesel_jim Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I just drove past my dealers and they had a new '07 90 hard top on the forcourt, so i popped in and said "Gis' the keys then", and they did. so i took it for a 10 mile or so rant the t!ts off of it gentle appraisal drive.... Well, i think i'll stick to my Td5! engine, very nice, similar torque to the Td5 (although i'm comparing it to my 110 SW which is considerable heavier than a 90 HT), but performance seems very similar to 90 Td5's i've driven. interior noise is very slightly less than the Td5, but not much. 6 speed box is loverly. hopefully one day Sir Ashcroft will come up with a suitable bellhousing to mate that box up to a Td5 or the 2.8 international (now that would be a nice combination!) i crawled underneath it and took some pics, the transfer box looks to still be tha LT230 but that dashboard! In the magazines it looks good, yes, but when you sit in it, it "overpowers" you. If it was about 6 or 8" further "forward" away from you, it would be OK, but the middle bit looks like a pregnant womans belly poking you in the face. when i was sat in it, (and i'm 6'5") my left knee was constantly touching the corner of it, and i couldn't slope forward to get my mobile out of my LH pocket, there wasn't enough room to move forward. heater is good, speedo and rev counter layout is good. hi-lo lever is too far down and poking back (same layout as the current defender, hi-neutral-lo difflock etc) but you can't see the top of the gearstick. OK if you're used to defenders and know where the positions are, but pants for anyone else. and that bulge on the bonnet! LR really should have put their foot down with Ford and made them re-engineer the top of the engine to make it lower, it's a real eyesore (plus you lose the space for a spare wheel) the front doors have been changed too, instead of welded "C" section where the glass winds up into, it's a rolled piece of steel now, looks rather like the Santana doors. Front wings no longer have the galvanised inner bits... it's plastic now. And the engine ECU is now under the bonnet, bolted to the bulkhead.... what a clever idea that was........ Sooo, like i said, i think i'll stick to a Td5 with the earlier dash, and would love the 6 speed box mated to it!! Pics: Lack of knee room: Dash waaay too far forward... Dash panel under "old type" steering shroud... room to lose stuff! new type doors BIG dash Various engine pics new heater cup holder? air filter and MAF closed up of rocker cover mounted cup holder. nice place to mount the ECU! underside of bonnet bulge sump of engine Hope they carry plenty of spare silencers in stock... and the thing is HUGE, you could live in it! brand new! LR build quality.... bolts in view and trim not fitting properly behind gearstick (carp photo) but daylight showing through passenger footwell at corner of door! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 new type doors Good write up Jim,, But the door tops have been like that since 05 model year ! ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Good write up Jim,,But the door tops have been like that since 05 model year ! ?? Have they? D'OH! I think the last one i drove was an '06 double cab as a loan car, and that had the older doors fitted (obviously a pile LR had kicking about?)....i didn't realise the earlier cars had these type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 My 54 plate (05 year) 110 has the pressed inner doors, but the last silver one which was Aug 05 , had the welded corner type, as you say, landrover stock pile !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Interesting First impressions: far too much plumbing in the engine bay and whoever put that ECU there should be shot (its the first underbonnet pic I have seen and you know what I do for a living!) New doors came in with 05 I think, my 04 90 doesn't have them but the new ones here have had for a while - they don't stop any more water though Time is running out to get myself a nice 300Tdi 110 before the last ones disappear here still no takers for the 90 though Can't believe that on a dealer demo car they forget to fill up the holes in the corner of the doors (or indeed that the problem STILL hasn't been fixed) What is the throttle response like - does it do what the pedal says (like most cars) or does it do what the dark forces of Evil lurking under the seat feel like doing which may or may not conform with the driver's requirements at that point in time (like a Td5)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Interesting What is the throttle response like - does it do what the pedal says (like most cars) or does it do what the dark forces of Evil lurking under the seat feel like doing which may or may not conform with the driver's requirements at that point in time (like a Td5)? Seemed almost identical to a Td5 Stephen. same "nearly a second pause for thought" before the engine actually revs up (like the anti-shunt on the Td5's), same amount of physical pedal travel, and in low box, same amount of "low rev" travel up until the last 1/64th of an inch where it revs the t!ts off of it. The intercooler looked identical to a Td5, as did the radiator. like you say, very "busy" under the bonnet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Good pics jim. Very interesting. SteveG's doors are the same as that, his is an 05 I think. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 That ECU mount is classic and the dash does make the front interior appear even smaller. Reading the test in this month's LRM you are left with the impression that the reduction in interior noise is vast but obviously not so. When I was looking to chop my last Defender in I considered waiting for the new model but decided against until it's been tested by some real world users - handy pics Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hiatt Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Helpful observations, thanks. BTW, at 6'5" how do you drive any Defender? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 BTW, at 6'5" how do you drive any Defender? my favourite phrase..... "the bells.... the bells......" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 The bumph says "30% quieter than a Td5" I think... I'm sure it would be quieter than my 300 anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 "30% quieter than a Td5" The Decibel scale is exponential, so 30% is easily reached... I believe that it should be about 3 or 4 dB quieter to attain that 30% Either that or the teste was deaf from driving Defenders in a previousl lifetime... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hiatt Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Either that or the teste was deaf from driving Defenders in a previousl lifetime... Or it wasn't very windy at the time of the test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 our td5s 05 and 06 have those door tops, T box is the same one LT230 but with the Q gears i believe. Did you get it over 82mph (its limited! although can be testbook over ridden) i am looking fwd to comparing one to my chipped (360Nm) overdrived td5, should be the same to drive but with better heater then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Is the gearbox tunnel still offset to the left side? Some of the promotional photos made it look like it was centered. For LHD models, the offset has always been a huge PITA as there is not enough room on the left side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Is the gearbox tunnel still offset to the left side? Some of the promotional photos made it look like it was centered. For LHD models, the offset has always been a huge PITA as there is not enough room on the left side. I didn't notice it to be offset at all, felt the same as the R380 does in my 110 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Did you look underneath? Are the axles the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 and what is the g/box ?? Is it an R380 moded with an extra cog, or is it out of a transit (or something else) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 No it is a Getrag 6 speed. 63:1 crawl ratio, 5.4:1 first gear. http://rovering.squarespace.com/journal/20...r-revealed.html GFT = Getrag Ford Transmissions. Same gearbox as used in the Transit vans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 thanks John. I'd heard that first was pretty useful, getting closer to the granny first I had in the T98 in a Jeep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 I called in to my local main dealer on the off chance the other day and they only had TD5's in the showroom, the new one was remarkable by it's absence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 As per the other thread New Defender there seams to be a problem, ?? Transit engines !! can not get a delivery date, for a new one at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 I called in to my local main dealer on the off chance the other day and they only had TD5's in the showroom, the new one was remarkable by it's absence. Same as that, my dealer hasn't got one in either, no big banners stating "new defender etc", nothing, nada.... you'd have thought that they would try and push it a bit! on the same lines... anyone seen that advert for the Nissan range of vehicles? cool or what! where they change into animals and crawl/climb/swim over the terrain. good thinking there, thats the sort of thing LR should be doing, instead of some pompus (although admitadly rather attractive) member of the royals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 The Decibel scale is exponential, so 30% is easily reached... I believe that it should be about 3 or 4 dB quieter to attain that 30%Either that or the teste was deaf from driving Defenders in a previousl lifetime... 3dB in (electrical) power terms is 50%..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 i believe there will be a Def event to push for sales...... in Nov................................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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