Evening all,
I want to trade my Freelander TD4 for either a Defender 90 or Disco TD5, I do around 20k miles per year and a reasonable amount of motorways and want the right mix of everyday usability (air con a must) and better off-road ability than the Freelander which is excellent albeit for the limited ground clearance. Any advice appreciated. (Budget around £18k)
Andy
Got to be a Disco. 20k motorway miles in a Defender is going to have you tired and grumpy. (AND DEAF!)
I'm in the same boat. I am a defender guy through and though. I've got the chance of any company car I want. Defender crewcab was my first thought but realistically, with 30-40k a year, It would be stupid.
And to be honest, and I cant believe I'm going to say it, but, as a direct comparison, I've even considered a Mitsi or a Nissan over even Disco.
Tim Wants to say Defender, but it would have to be a Disco.......
In news:dfcosc$1le$ snipped-for-privacy@nwrdmz01.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com, Andrew Cooke blithered:
Think you'll be hard pushed to find a Defender with air but fairly common on Disco.
It's a no-brainer, got to be the disco. I've a dII and a 110, and I know what one I'd rather do a distance in, and a 90 is only going to pitch around on the road even worse than a 110! Badger.
I can not agree; we have a Defender 90 2.5TD, and we do trips of some hundred km with it and still like it. I am just thinking of fitting more comfortable seats...
Maybe for holidays, etc. But you wouldn't do it day in day out.
What do I want in a car for work? A truck that is pushed at 80mph, noisy and uncomfortable or a truck that can cruise at 80mph, with bit left for hills, etc. with no wind noise and car like comfort
Don't get me wrong. I take my 90 up the the UK Lake District once a year. Its great BUT at the end of the day, its a rigid commercial vehicle, nut a mile muncher
As most people have said already, the Disco should be a better choice. The Defender is a great vehicle (my family owns a 90 and I love it to bits), but it becomes somewhat uncomfortable if you exceed 50mph and downright annoying if you try anything more than 70 for longer periods. You'll think you're about to break the sound barrier, as its three-piece-closet aerodynamics are fighting with the air and you can hear every bit of it (and the transmission and the engine and....). I've only been in on a Disco as a passenger a couple of times, but the difference in refinement was pretty obvious.
If you're generally happy with a Freelander you wouldn't be disappointed by the Discovery.
Geo
My wife goes to work with her 90 all day, about 30 miles. No problem at all :)
Saying all the above...and more to come no less.....
I drive a Defender 90 Extreme here in Australia and reg do the Sydney to North Queensland run,which is in excess of 3,000 km,all be it in 2.5 days and quite safely say its all ok and no problem.
The 90's over here though come equipped with aircon that freezes your knees to bits so you usually rely on the good old window open stuff :o)
gimmie a 90 any day of the week esp over the trails of North Queensland.
Cheers
Rossi
I had a Defender which we sold when we moved from the UK to Portugal. At the time there weren't any good used Defenders in our price range for sale in Portugal, so we bought a Disco.
I have to say we don't regret it. More comfort and much quieter on motorways. We took it to Morocco and drove a Sahara track with a group of Defenders and coped as well as they did. MPG is better as well.
Pieter
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