Landrover Defender

[Wolford6]

After nearly 70 years, the last ever traditional landrover will roll off the production line this week.

 

I know loads of people love them but I think they are a pig to drive and Landrover never updated it as they should. The company really lost out on the 5-seater pickup truck market.

 

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-26/land-rover-defender-production-to-end-on-friday/

[clwydianrange]

I've driven them for over forty years on sites whilst building motorways and they really are untouchable off-road. However get them on the Tarmac and anything more than five miles really becomes a chore. They are being replaced on sites by Toyota pick ups but there is no comparison in the rough stuff. It'll be interesting to see what the replacement will be like, I hope it's not something along the lines of a RAV4.

[Trojan]

Driving any distance in them on ordinary roads is back breaking.  I once drove one from Leeds to Hull, Hull to Evesham and Evesham to Wigan in the same day.  I could hardly walk afterwards.   I was bombing along Methley Road at Oulton one day when the front drive shaft broke. What a racket! Scary too.

[ckn]

I remember driving my Defender series 3 from Colchester to Otterburn ranges (up Northumberland way) in convoy once and it was a nightmare.  Next exercise I had a brand new 110 which was almost like driving a performance sports car in comparison for the same journey.  I later was given the prized possession of the sole arctic'ed 90 in our sub-unit when I became senior, the great fun of driving up to cold people out on the field in a winter exercise., opening my window to talk to them and they get the very brief benefit of the heat curtain blasting over the window before I closed it again.

 

All of those wagons were outstanding cross-country, there was very little I couldn't tackle in it and it was genuinely fun trying the most difficult route you could find and the Defender just took it in its stride.

 

My final exercise in the army was a two week exercise finishing the day before I was discharged and I was given the rare privilege of being able to pick whatever job I wanted, I chose ambulance driver.  I hadn't realised that the ambulances that follow the guns in an artillery unit were ancient old converted Defender Series 2a things.  Again, a huge long trek that saw me tell the medic, when we stopped to refuel at Grantham, that he was now driver because I was fed up already with the horrible ungainly beast of a wagon, I told him that I'd take over as driver if we had a genuine medical emergency and he had to deal with it but otherwise he was the driver...  I got through more reading on that exercise than I've done in a very long time plus I caught up with years worth of under-sleep!

[9' oller]

May drive like a dog but keep their value and look truly british

[shrek]

I've put 40,000 miles on mine in two and half years, cost me a fortune in fillings!

 

I really should hate the life size, ramshackle, leaking, overpriced meccano set with no where for your right arm to go expect out of the window whatever the weather - but I love mine!

 

We should have parted company about 6 months ago, but can't bring myself to put it up for sale, but I fear the wife may soon win that battle and she'll be gone.  A real classic, but with no refinement and a total pig to drive!

[Shadow]

 I fear the wife may soon win that battle and she'll be gone.  A real classic, but with no refinement and a total pig to drive!

 

Yes but what's the Land Rover like 

 

 

IThengyew

 

Here all week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll get my coat

[JohnM]

http://www.kahndesign.mobi/creations/avDetail.php?i=849&n1=Land%20Rover&n2=Defender

£150K !!!

[Bedford Roughyed]

Last time I was in a defender was in Iraq... long base hard top with no lock on the back door... there was a window until a brick came through it.  Good times.

[shrek]

Last time I was in a defender was in Iraq... long base hard top with no lock on the back door... there was a window until a brick came through it.  Good times.

Locks count for little, you'd be suprised how many with locks can be opened with a 5p coin!

[longboard]

I once drove from Thurso to Baltimore in a Defender. It took  large volume doses of Beamish and Jameson's  to kill the pain in my back. The guy who should have been driving had a d&v bug. It wasn't a fragrant journey.