Looking to swap my Disco 300 TDi for a 110 CSW, never had a 110 before so unsure what they are like as a daily drive, I do around 18k miles a year. Comfort was a bit of an issue in my old 90 but that was mainly due to the bulkhead digging in my back, not a problem in the 110 and the heat from the transmission tunnel (it was a V8). I am looking at a TD5 with aircon (must have) and the only real concerns are safety for the kids in the middle row as they are low back seats with lap belts, comfort up front and whether it will leak like a sieve like my '89 did.
It's horses for courses - I've not driven anything else for the last
10 years, except for a brief spell when the ex had a Disco that I hated. 270,000 miles mostly gained on running round the country freelancing in my previous life. I had a 90 too for a while, but the bulkhead was indeed a bit restricting. The 110 (particulalry CSW) is an entirely different animal to a 90, taller grearing, much smother ride due to the longer wheelbase, way better cornering and you can get the seat back, plus being a CSW the alpine lights and sunroof make the interior much brighter. You either love it or hate it - and the only way to find out is to try. I am lucky in having the only Defender ever made that doesn't leak at all, but most arn't that bad. A Td5 110 will have "normal" seat belts for the outer middle row seats. Kids either think it's dead cool, or that dad's soem sort of off-road weirdo who sholdn't he exhibited to their mates - which gets you out of being a free taxi service rahter nicely :-)
I love my Td5 110 CSW XS (2005) I drive it in preference to all my other Landrovers which include Disco II, P38, 200tdi 90 and 101(not difficult to be better then that I admit)
It is smooth on the motorways but I never cruise at much more than 70 I am used to the driving position by now. The aircon is OK for front seat passengers ( I never sit in the back).
You can get the high backed seats if you are worried about kids. The outer 2 seats have 3 point belts .When my kids get bigger I will probably fit a pair of fronts in the back with a cubby box in the middle.
They are so much more versatile than a disco and hold their money better, as you will discover when you look for a secondhand one.
The interior is rather fragile though and I am really careful about loading it with stuff. Which is a bit of a shame on something that is a work vehicle. I could just chuck stuff in the back of my old disco Van and know nothing would get damaged much. But the seats and trim panels on the Defender are not quite as strong.
Mine is now 18 months old and does not leak rain water in at all. I am sure it will with time, but for now it is fine.
Having just got back from the Lakes with the Caravan and having done the same trip previously in the Disco 3.9 Auto I'm very impressed with Niges old
110 CSW, though it leaks less since it had a replacement gearbox.
I've fitted an internal cage in the back for the dogs so it's now ideal for our needs. We tow a big caravan and sat at 55 nicely on the motorway with full lenth (of the roof) roof rack fitted & Loaded caravan in tow. Ours is a TD so you should find the TD5 more refined and more powerful.
We are now considering using the 110 for the Summer trip across to Spain with the Caravan in preference to the Air con Disco.
As for daily driving the only down side I find is trying to squeeze in and out of tight car parks at work. Public ones are fine if there is enough roof clearance.
On or around Fri, 6 Apr 2007 22:13:10 +0100, "Lee_D" enlightened us thusly:
When I was running a CSW I put wider 8-spokes on with 31x10.5R15 tyres. These look quite good, the tyres are if anything cheaper (235/85R16 is not used on many vehicles, 7.50R16 on fewer) but the big plus is that they sit further out from the hub by a small but relevant amount, which means that not only could I screw the locks stops in but in fact I machined a bit off them to let them go in a bit further, all without the tyres hitting the radius arms - in the end the turning circle between banks was about the same as a disco, although the longer wheelbase makes the back end cut in a tad more.
the only downside is that the tyres are a tad shorter so you lose a bit of ground clearance, but it's only about an inch and it's not a problem unless you're wanting to do serious off-roading.
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