Which Landrover is better and why?

[white90]

300TDI Discos we had were decent vehicles

90 is what it is, really ideal for what I use it for easy to repair/upgrade

Vals 110 is proving to be a nice drive and very practical.

[jeremy996]

My 110 CSW was originally bought as an estate car substitute, but now emotion has well and truely got in the way. When my last Vectra had full on brake failure, I started to look for a "durable" car, capable of indefinate maintenance. As I need 5 seats, the choice was really only Land Rover or VW microbus. Having looked at VWs and dismissed then on the grounds of cost, I had a serious look at Land Rover.

My previous experience of LR was SIII 109s as a TA fitter, so I was predisposed to a coiler for comfort. One came up on eBay for sensible money, so that was it. 18 months later, 3 services, 2 MOTs and an engine change, I can see me keeping this 110 for ever. I love it as a Swiss Army Knife of motoring, the lack of pretension, the ease of basic maintenance, cheap bits, cheap insurance, runs on bio-diesel, (when I can get it), takes my little boy and 5 of his mates to York, etc.

My wife is not a fan, she finds it too uncomfortable to drive, so I am getting ear ache at the moment as her new Beetle Cabriolet is suffering at the hands of the main stealer, so she is driving the CSW and I have the (dis)courtesy car. The other household car is a 1972 Morgan 4/4, so I am used to old, querky cars with proper chassis.

[reads90]

As they are all differant and have differant uses

My ideal cars which is what i am building up to.

I have the 90 for sunny days and playing

Has the bumper and winch, along with snorkle and UHF radio and split charge system , Ready for playing as well.

Getting a V8 series 2 disco for the misses as a everyday family car. (why V8 well they can be picked up for about 2000 pounds here) Then get it Aus spec for touring (like the one below)

Would like a 130 Dual cab as they make the ideal touring truck. But they are a bloody fortune here. So that will have to wait

That is my choice.

Plus i want a Disco ute as a toy which is coming

Looking for a house at the moment and told the misses to make she finds one with a large shed and plenty of parking for 4 car/trucks

[Divster]

I love driving all defenders from 90's to 130's. There's something about the driving position that and style that I connect with. Unfortunately my other half didn't feel the same way. I was gutted when I recently had to sell my 90, but the long and short of it was that it just wasn't practical for the ever increasing mileage I was doing. When combined with the fact that my dogs go everywhere with me and we will soon be starting a family the car I immediately chose was a TD5 disco. I really enjoy driving the disco (just not as much as the 90) but the saving grace is that SWMBO enjoy's driving it too (bank those brownie points) and it does really well on the practicallity stakes.

I will be making a return to a defender soon as soon as I've cleared the purchase of a comp motor.

[reads90]

I love driving all defenders from 90's to 130's. There's something about the driving position that and style that I connect with. Unfortunately my other half didn't feel the same way. I was gutted when I recently had to sell my 90, but the long and short of it was that it just wasn't practical for the ever increasing mileage I was doing. When combined with the fact that my dogs go everywhere with me and we will soon be starting a family the car I immediately chose was a TD5 disco. I really enjoy driving the disco (just not as much as the 90) but the saving grace is that SWMBO enjoy's driving it too (bank those brownie points) and it does really well on the practicallity stakes.

I will be making a return to a defender soon as soon as I've cleared the purchase of a comp motor.

my misses loves her 90. She does not want to sell it ever. She even sold the new freelander because she prefered to drive the 1995 90 than the new freelander

[Jen]

..but how can you choose?

I loved my 300TDi Disco because it did everything I wanted - a decent comfy laning vehicle, a useful 'mobile home' and I even beat a few 90's and Rangie at V8 Camel's punch challenge events! Warm and waterproof.

The Camel Defender is just superb - this weekend we off-roaded all weekend at 7S with some big side slopes and rock crawls, camped in the roof tent at night and the awning protected the dinner on Friday night. Not only that but it towed the Shire Shed home with a dodgy radiator. A true Landy, it seems to be able to do pretty much anything B)

My favourite though? Got to be my series I've driven it twice, it only had 2 gears and you only had 45 seconds before the cab filled up with smoke, at the moment it's only a bulkhead and a chassis... but it's a 'proper' Landy innit?

[dollythelw]

I liked this old girl

2 door, panelled out and insulated, blown air central heating, rear seats removed and the load area given removable under storage lockers that supported a 6' 6" long 5' wide double bed, 1000watt amps on the stereogrammaphone, intercooled turbo diesel, MTR Tyres, 2" lift, put stupid miles on it after it was built going backwards and forward to Eastern Europe, absoloute comfort sleeping in it when the outside temp got below minus 15c B)

[Shackleton]

Wow, I love the sound of that

The only ones I've driven are my early RR, a '03 110 hard back crew cab and the petrol Freelander.

Why I like my land rover better then the other models?

In a nutshell its the mix of offroad cred, lux before there was such a thing in a 4x4 - and then only barely and just sheer space.

I borrowed a pals 110 for a ten day surf trip last year and I really didn't want ot give it back. I'd roll a 110 Td5 in a split second if there was more space inside. I have minis too and I think Defenders are just like being in a mini - the windscreen is the same kind of shape and the door glass is right up against your shoulder, plus there may be a tad more leg room in the back of a 110 but a mini back seat is much more comfortable.

So a perfect vehicle for me would be an early 2 door Range with a Td5 lump that had a V8 burble, prepped Defender 90 offroad skills and it should look like a total sleeper - bog standard early Range looks.

[jjojjas]

Got to be the defender 110. Wanted one as as soon as I saw one but I was too young & skint. as time went by I got better jobs and flash cars. Now (without being an arse) I can afford a new Disco. But it just isn't what the 110 is too me. I use it as a skip, take the dogs everywhere with us, lugs mountain bikes everywhere, doesn't matter if I'm scruffy when I get in it....and yet when I pull up at friends houses with BMW/Merc/Lotus parked outside, they all want to talk about the 110. Kids all love them as well for some reason. Its so practical that I can't think of a time when I wouldn't want it. I'm no wizzard with electrics, so the 200tdi is the motor for me as it has none! Parts are cheap, there a pleaseure (usually!) to work on and I can sit a 65 all day pulling a sankey getting 30+mph. I can't complain with that. All my kids fit in (no small feat!) and to top the lot. It looks great. Its also my hobby I suppose. The wife loves it to bits and drives it whenever I'm not in it. The scenes pretty good also, I have had a few "unusual" cars that have their own "scene" with forums groups etc. The landrover scene is without doubt the easiest one to mix in where some can be a bit pretentious (porsche 912), argumentative (VW bus/beetle) or elitist (BMW).....

that's all just personal views though, not wrote to offend any one!

[Top90]

Got to be Defenders. a 90 for serious off road antics and a 110 station wagon for everything else.

Not that I am biased of course.

I have had my 110 for nearly a year and have done 33,000 miles in that time. There is just a special feeling and 'unique'ness to the Land Rover utility vehicles.

It takes more people than a people carrier, tows 3.5 tonnes and in everyday driving I get 32mpg.

Richard

[Happyoldgit]

I've owned quite a few over the past 30 years and prefer whichever one(s) I happen to own at the time until I get twitchy and fancy a change.

[GBMUD]

My own feelings are something similar to those already expressed.

It all started when I was about 20 and with a yearning for a Landrover. As luck would have it I was offered a 1964 109 diesel hardtop which was an insurance write-off after a Bedford Rascal rear ended it at some speed. The friend I bought it off had bought the "wreckage" back from the insurance company, straightened the rear end and sold it to me for £150 - that was in about 1994/5 at a guess. I soon had it MOTd and went out green laneing as well as joining a fledgling club and attending site days at Golding Barn quarry - anyone else remember that? After hydraulic locking the engine I managed to buy another for, IIRC, £150 with no injection kit. We picked it up from Buckingham in the boot of my brother's Mk1 Astra. There were 4 of us in there too and I think the towbar must have dragged on every bump all the way back to Sussex! A few months later the MOT was up and I wanted to move on with a 1964 SWB that was bought, IIRC, sans engine. The diesel from the 109 made it's way into that Landrover and I was well and truely bitten by the bug! The 88" was much better off-road and I had a whale of a time in it.

I had a 1973 (Same year as me!) Rangie next. The difference was just breathtaking. Comfortable, refined by comparison, reliable - for the most part... At about the same time sandbag bought an SJ410 and after a year or so the MOT on the Rangie was out and I attempted the construction of a 100" RR/S2a hybrid. I had always wanted a 90 see? Hybrid construction turned out to be a little beyond me and my facilities and I lost interest when I was able to swap the SJ for a 1971 S2a V8. That was the most awesome thing! The power was phenominal and remarkably I only managed to break one halfshaft while I owned it. Sadly the engine main bearings were making a grumbling sound so I broke it up and sold off the bits. Shame.

I bought a 1981 Range Rover after that and really got hooked by the green lane bug. My laneing had only been local before that but the Rangie allowed me to discover Wales and Salisbury plain. It was also the only V8 I have ever seen that would allow me to re-start it after stalling it while completely submerged in water on a play site. I restarted and, to everyone's astonishment, drove out of the lake! There are some very funny pictures somewhere of some guys in a brand new Shogun attempting to follow me.

After a couple of years, in 2001, a windfall from an insurance company allowed the purchase of the, by now long sought after, 90. I had £3500 burning a hole and looking at prices at the time that would allow the purchase of a 2.25 or 2.5 90 and, if I was lucky, a written-off Range Rover to rob the engine and auto from as well as some tyres. Sale of the remaining RR parts and LR engine was to fund an LPG conversion.

At about the same time SimonR was looking fof a 90 too and, with a bigger budget, we went to see a couple. One was in Leeds, a 1991 Tdi 90, the first of the Tdis and Defenders. We went up there in his SV, kicked the tyres, test drove, picked hols in it and rekoned (genuinly) that the steering box needed replaced as it was weeping, the gearbox was US as there was about a metre of play in the stick and gear selection was difficult and that the diffs were well worn as they both had a lot of play in. The guy wanted £4600 for it and it needed new wheels and tyres for off-road use so add £500 for wheels and tyres. £4600 was a reasonable enough price for a decent 90 Tdi - I suspect that it still is? Si decided that it needed more work than he had time for or inclination to do. We drove home.

The following week I got a call from Si saying that the vendor had been on the telephone and was willing to discuss the price. Si was still not interested as the work still needed doing so suggested I call the guy and try a deal. I still had my £3500 and the Landy still needed tyres so I was not hopeful. I called and spoke to him with my heart in my mouth and, after discussing the work needed and the cost of the bits I started out with a cheeky offer of £2000. He did not put the phone down but said he could not take less than £2600. I did the sums and knew that the bits would be more than the remaining £400 - remember that £500 was earmarked for my BFGs. I countered with £2300 knowing that I could buy a gearbox and secondhand steering box with the change. He accepted and after a bit of trouble actually getting the money from the bank, I was on a train to Leeds the very next Saturday. He met me at the station and I couold not give him the cash fast enough! I guess he must have had the Revenue after him, it was late April/early May.

Finally, after all this time I had the Landrover I wanted. And a Tdi to boot! I never thought I could have afforded a Tdi one. It has lived uo to my expectations too. I have done 50000 miles in it and it goes everywhere I want. It is a great green laner, tows my caravan and trailers when needed, has three seats so when we have to it can be the family car and I find it comfortable and a pleasure to drive - most of the time!

So this morning, even 5 1/2 years after buying it, I looked idly out of the window at breakfast time and saw the 90 sitting on the drive blocking the light and I smiled and thought "God I love my 90". It is the only car that I have owned for more than about a year and MOT'd more than once. We have been lots of places together and had lots of pleasureable and frightening experiences together - although I would be hesitant to suggest that there is any real emotional bond. I think I could sell it tomorrow and, as long as I bought something which met my needs as well as the 90 does, I would not miss it. The 90 has no name... other than when it misbehaves! The nice thing is that the 90 is almost infinitly sustainable. I can buy new or second-hand bits and bolt them on to replace damaged bits which is great as I do not weld and have no workshop facilities. The other thing I like about Series/Defenders specifiacly is that they wear their dents well. IMHO any other LR product with dents in looks damaged and needs to be mended. With a Series or Defender it merely adds to the character/patina.

Oh, the gearbox and other faults? Turned out to be a loose screw at the bottom of the stick giving all the play and difficult gear selection in the 'box. It was fine until Christmas of 2004 when the splines went on the output shaft. I spent £100 on a replacement. The steering box is the original, still weeping but not dripping and I spent the gearbox reserve money on a Detroit locker a few months after buying the car so that sorted the rear diff. The front is still original.

Since buying the 90 we have had a 1990 RR Vogue with all the toys. That was a fab car but it needed so much doing and spending, not to mention the fuel cost, that we sold it after about 6 months - astonishingly for a modest profit! It was very practical though - apart from when you had something in the boot and touched the brakes. Then it would slide forward to the back of the rear seat and be unreachable without climbing on the tailgate.

I bought a Tdi Disco with no MOT just because it was a bargain. That was a very nice drive and practical too. Towed the caravan in comfort with all three of us and you could reach stuff in the boot. I sold it on at a large profit after 6 months of use.

We had a Freelander too. I made a bit of a cock-up with buying it and had to spend lots on it. It still had issues so had to go, sadly at something of a loss. Still, you live and learn. In many ways that was my favourite. It was nice to drive, rather carlike, frugal on fuel (diesel), easy to get people, stuff in and out of and small enough to park while still dominating other traffic.

90 is still the best though.

Sorry, that turned into my life story didn't it? Anyone want to see the wedding photos too?

Chris

[Happyoldgit]

Blimey there's a thought, I think I have some wedding pics showing the RRC I had at the time.

[Mark90]

My 110 at our wedding...

Can't believe that was over two years ago

And now the 110 is up for sale

[Les Brock]

Blimey Mark.....Got a house like that and you need to sell the 110

[GBMUD]

Blimey Mark.....Got a house like that and you need to sell the 110

To pay the gas bill I imagine!

Chris

[Daan]

I very much like the S3 for its shape; the classic landy shape that anyone will recognize. I like a compact car, so its a swb, shorter than a Fiat panda.

I bought mine when I was 17, earned from doing the local paper delivery and working in a t-piece factory. It was my first car and I learned all the mechanical tricks with it -the hard way.

I still got it, I am 33 now, so that makes it 16 years. It is now obviously not the same underneath, with a 300 TDI, five speed box and coilsprung. But to me, it is just the same car as when I bought it. I deliberately tried to make it look like the good old S3, never understand why people call a flat front on a landy an upgrade- its perfect to fit a winch and just looks right.

I have rebuilt it twice now, emigrated to three different countrys with it, shipped it around the world, took it through the jungle, I crashed it heavily, and returned it back to the old shape:

The second rebuilt was mainly meant to make it more reliable and useable, with all the modern technology. A shame I still spend loads of time like this:

Daan

[bishbosh]

get a freelander. it might be the car that saved Landrover

Errr, I think that quote needs modifying - I think you'll find that the vehicle that saved Land Rover was the Range Rover, in about 1970!!

To answer Chris' question, it has to be a Range Rover. All the functionality of the Disco but with that extra touch of class. B)

But then, I might be a tad biased.......

[Mark]

Havn't they all saved Land Rover at some point? The Rangie did it, then the disco did it, the the freelander did it, what is going to save Land Rover next?

[GBMUD]

Havn't they all saved Land Rover at some point? The Rangie did it, then the disco did it, the the freelander did it, what is going to save Land Rover next?

Hyundai?

Chris

[keithjh]

I fully understand about the practicalities of the different models, what I am curious about is the emotion and specific reasons (if any) why people have the Landrover model they have. What does your Landy mean/do for YOU?

Chris

4.6 Classic RR is superb for the long boring runs we do up and down the motorways.

110 CSW 200tdi used as our fun truck on expeditions across Europe, and for our charity work to Bosnia, in fact on its way to Bosnia again on October 6th,personally think the 110 is the best all round LR ever made.

1963 Series 2 1/4 petrol SWB, this truck will never be sold took us to South Africa and Back 20 years ago with a stop in Zimbabwe for 6 months, survived floods, river crossings, charged by Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo.

So simple to keep it going, at that time parts were available all over Africa for Series. Horrible to drive through Europe but once into Africa it came into its own.

Truck now does a few hundred miles a year at the most, but it earned its right to have a easy life.

Going back again in a couple of years, same trip but this time in the 110 oh the joy of coil springs.

regards Keith