Re: What are Defenders like for travelling big distances. Posted by Michael from Oz on July 16, 1999 at 04:56:02: In Reply to: What are Defenders like for travelling big distances. posted by Goanna on July 15, 1999 at 22:37:23: G'day As you can probably guess, I'm from the same part of the world. The 1994 Defender I had was great though they do have some "ideosyncracies" (sp?). It will all depend on what you have been used to. The ergonomics of the Defender are its worst feature. I'm about 5'8" tall (ie not very) but I find the Defender a little cramped - especially from side to side. You sit very close to the door and your arm will hit the door when you are turning. Also, the seats, while quite comfortable eventually, take some getting used to and are fairly small. The noise level is a little higher than the Discovery (lower gearing) as there is less soundproofing and the radio (or more particularly the speakers) are a bit of a joke. The air conditioning - especially in the wagon - is also pretty marginal. You cannot use it on full or its will ice up and then you get nothing. Despite all this, I loved my Defender but my wife was less than impressed and we ended up back trading on a 1993 Discovery. The Defender was quite capable of long distances - I drove easily to Melbourne from near Bathurst and lots of other smaller "long" trips. It also carried loads well and was economical. The Discovery is a much better sorted package and everything works better though the smaller use of plastic in the Defender was welcome. I have driven Troopcarriers (Toyota) and they too have some of the ergonomic problems but they seem bigger inside though I don't really think they are and the ac works better. If I had to do lots of long trips, it would be a Discovery for me but then I am getting old and with 21 land rovers behind me, I like the little bit of comfort these days. If I want to suffer, I've always got my 1975 Range Rover or my 1951 Land Rover (in which a drive to the shops is a looooong drive). If you can accept the Defender for what it is then you will love it but if you are used to more "modern" vehicles then the Discovery is probably a better bet. Michael
|
