The New Defender Noob Question

[phippsey]

Hi team

I have a question about the 2010/11 Defender.

Basically - am thinking at the moment of buying a 2010 Defender, Cruiser, or 3.0/4.8 Patrol

Each has it's obvious benefits and downfalls - what I want is a 2010 4.2 Patrol

The old man has had a couple of Defenders, and at the moment I have the old 95 Disco V8i, and have had several Discos, Series II and an old Rangie - so am used to the "Rover" style

But... I just couldn't live with a Td5 Defender - drove the old man's about a year ago to NSW, and was so uncomfortable for the long trips, and really sucked back the fuel at 115kph.... but see the new ones are 6 speed ? economy??

So... these 'new' Defenders ....

- Comfort factor? I look around one at the Dealer and the interior looks a lot better
- Power? I see still only 90kw in the 2.4 - can this be improved without losing factory warranty? How reliable are these 2.4 units?
- Axles/drivetrain - are they still prone to breaking?
- Overall thoughts??

Despite their name - the old man's has clocked up around 400 000k's over the last two, and never had a breakdown (drivetrain replaced once under warranty)

Cheers for the advice in advance!

Phippsey

p.s. anyone interested in buying my 95 ES Disco??

[defmec]

piece of sheeit with many engine problems
why a new car is it for a business /tax

[uninformed]

go to aulro.com.au you will be able to hear from many current owners and read through 1000's of threads about them...all the current service bullitins are there etc

[phippsey]

piece of sheeit with many engine problems
why a new car is it for a business /tax

Dissapointing to hear. Yeah, business purposes I need to buy something pretty much new.

Will try aurlo, have been a member there for a while, but not active.

[GURU]

This is just my opinion and I have had Land rovers for the past 11 years including series 2's, County's, Range Rovers and currently a Disco 1. I am also looking at options to upgrade too and buying new is nearly impossible for a "REAL" 4WD.

I would never buy a new defender, they are way too far over priced for what you get, which isn't much. I would only buy a D90 if I did, and the list of many mods it would get include things like replace diffs, power upgrades, move the seats inward for more room. You shouldn't have to do any of that to a NEW car.

The only vehicle I can see that would be worth the cash, and it does hurt abit to admit, is a LWB Jeep Wrangler with the diesel motor, they are very well priced and are heaps better than a defender. The land Cruiser dosen't even come into it anymore, the current selection of patrols are poor with the motors available.

[phippsey]

Yeah Guru that is precisely my issue. What is there?

Fork out $60k+ for a 'Cruiser and get something that has the same inside as a 1990 model ... buy a Defender for $48k and get the same as a 1960 ... or buy a Patrol for $52k but have to live with the ZD30

What's the major issues you've heard/considered with the Puma?

Jeep is not going to happen. I don't like my cars to catch fire and have never liked the drivetrain made of rice-crispies for strength

[GURU]

To be honest they have sorted out the bugs of the puma, they were prone to getting water in the fuel tank due to a badly designed breather, which brought the engine light on and normally stuffed the fuel system. early ones had oil jet issues on the pistons and rattled at cold start, but all engines were all replaced under warrenty. clutchs were also noisy on the earlier ones

The biggest thing I don't like is how not designed the whole car is. It was Ford saying here is what you can use, make it fit without modifying it. Thats why the engine is mounted so high, so the sump would clear the front diff as they weren't allowed to modify the sumps (which they ended up having to bring out a modified sump anyway, as the front diff did still hit on full up travel). The other reason it is so high is how rotated round the transfercase needed to be to clear the 6 speed gearbox for the front output.

The good points of the car are the A/C system and the 6 speed gearbox.

As for power mods I would seriously consider taking one to Davis peformance for a tune and also fit LPG, makes a big difference.