Thread: TD5 or new 2.4 ??

first up,,, you dont own a rangie unless u got pics

but the fender engine war will forever go on,, me personally i have a td5 defender,, and its been around aus a few times,, and most of that towing a offroad van, done all the trips like the cape/simpson all them and never missed a beat,

i think the td5 has just the right amount of elecs on it, it has just enough, as there are only a very few electrical things that will stop a td5, so my personal preference is the td5, i allso work on landrovers for a job and find the puma (07-current) defender has alot more problems with the drive line,(engine, gearboxs, transfers,), but allso in general,

even stuped things like the a/c on the puma frezzes up so it stops working after 20mins, and clutches not making it to 20k allso the quality control has massively gone down in the last few yrs of the defenders, like i no they have panel gaps, but a battery box that has half a inch gap on one side looking right at the ground??

but i love all defenders, but would i buy a puma, no

but no doubt this will be a long thread

Hmmm,

Difficult choice you have here. Now even more difficult is to try and remain unbias....

If you were buying the car and heading out in a few weeks I'd go the LCruiser. No time to sort it and plenty of places to get it sorted on the way.

If you were heading out in six months time I'd buy a TD5 or a second hand sorted 2.4L (Puma). These cars would both have had most of the bugs sorted and be good to go after a few months of prep.

If you had more time up your sleave and enjoy making / creating you own peice of machinary art. Go the new Puma.

Any one of the 3 vehicles are capable of long distance touring and don't be fooled into thinking that the new Toyotas are as reliable as the old ones.

The new Puma's are great. Mine has nearly 70,000km on the clock, a lot of them very hard miles. Cape York, Faser Island, Central NSW. Lots of towing both camper trailer and race car trailer all over the country.

I've added loads of extras to mine and had very few failures. And not one failure has caused the vehicle to stop. All have been things that when I get time or next service to get them fixed.

Hard choice but as Stig0000 said, this could be a very long thread. Good luck trying to keep a clear mind

p.s. A Puma is the code name they used when developing the MY07 Defenders engine and for some reason it has stuck as a name. Funny enough in England they tend to call them TDCI engined Defenders?? I like Puma, their Black and Cuddley !

Cheers,

I'd get a puma. Pat

In all honesty I would try and get a 2005/6 td5

Rgds
Pete

If you want the new dash then you have to get the puma engine - there are no TD5s with that dash - that, the engine and gearbox are the main differences.

Puma advantages.
lower 1st gear if you do a lot of towing
air-con that works!
nicer dash arrangement
nicer gearbox

TD5 advantages
Stronger rear diff (the puma & TD5 rear diff's are different)
less electronics
engine is capable of delivering more power without affecting reliability


Having dealt a lot with LRs in the UK, my personal choice would be to go for a 2005 / 2006 TD5.

Jon

Go for the PUMA,

I have had a 09my for a just over a year and has 12,000k's (All touring/trips) and only problem has been the latch on the sun roof.

Reliability in the 09my models onwards, is sorted. Like any new model in 2007 there were some problems, but nothing that hasn't been sorted out by the owners by now.

The finish is as good if not better than any previous models and I don't know about the 1/2 inch of gap in the battery box ? or other panels ? Mine certainly hasn't got any problems in that area or I should say more than any other D’Fers models.

The engine pulls like a train. The 6 speed gear box is sweat, something you won't get any in previous D'Fers.

PUMA’s are no more reliant on the Electrical systems, than TD5 models other than ABS and Traction control.

The benefits and advances in the PUMA model substantially outweigh any negatives that you might hear in this thread.

My 2cents worth...

Puma guys will say buy a Puma!
TD5 guys will say buy a TD5 (cause they secretly want a Puma and want to sell you theirs!)
County guys (I like them, but there are some of them that will tell you not to buy either and to buy a County! Yawn!)
In fact, there is is member on here that is quite anti Puma & TD5 (he is best ignored in large doses!)


Either way, it is the history of the car which is more important than anything else.

A Puma or a TD5 will both do the job, but all bias aside, the Puma will do it with more quietness and comfort, with superior air-conditioning, and a far better more modern dash. The engine and 6 speed gearbox is very well mated.

If you a scared of your 4WD breaking down (any brand) on any trip, my adivce is stay at home.

Ultimately, test drive both and you decide as it is your money and your decision that you will have to live with - not ours!

Good luck!

Originally Posted by SVX37

If you a scared of your 4WD breaking down (any brand) on any trip, my adivce is stay at home.

so true