Thread: Help - Wife wants a Patrol, I am heart struck on Defender

I would steer away from the 3.0l patrols, a good 4.2l would be the go but are rare as hens teeth to find a good one, I did see an 06 Patrol wagon with all the fruit and a sweet 6.5l TD for sale @ 48k i think

Kizzie,

I was the one that said happy wife = happy life, I would let you get it out of your system and have your pick. I have been married long enough to know that if anything goes wrong I will be reminded that it was not my wife's choice.

A couple of things that you should be aware of;

leather seats not as comfy as you would believe, I don't have anything against them, my wife's car has them and all the other bits you mentioned except it is a sedan one of the Honda Euros (no 4x4 specific items bullbar etc). Leather is a little less compliant and therefore a little stiffer, you sit on the seat not in it. There could be other designs that are made with softer padding and softer leather that provide a different feel but I am not the first person to make this observation about leather in other car makes. Most comfy seat covering for me has been the sheep skin seat covers on my D2a.

Unless defenders have improved a lot in the sealing department I doubt that you will keep the water and dust out. Defender are meant to be hosed out so they can handle the water. Mine (a 300Tdi therefore getting on in years) does not leak from rain but if you wade above the door sill expect to get water in if in it long enough to have the bow wave collapse.


Some of the things you are looking for a probably outside of the utilitarian vehicle the defender is and more into the Disco or RR category. However there will be a price difference.

Good luck with your choice.

I bought a Nissan Navara last year as we needed a dual cab and the mrs can't drive Manual.

Had my heart set on a Defender 130 (see, i'm still here on this forum!) but decided on the Navara on advice of the Mrs, what a mistake, every time I see a Defender on the road i'm envious, I wish i'd just told her to shut up and bought what I wanted.

On the topic of Nissan & Warrrenty claims, yeah i've been back a few times, terrible trying to get anything fixed up, and that goes for a few people i've spoken to.

And i'd guess the back of a defender would be bigger no?

I just went through the same choice , but the other way around. I wanted a Patrol as I've had a GQ from new and love it, but ended up buying a Defender.

It's better fuel, felt more solid and the gearbox in the Patrol felt like it was made of tin. I did want a 4wd to go 4wding in though and wasn't really concerned with the comfort aspect of it. I also liked the size of the Defender, didn't feel as big as the patrol, but boy is it tall.

I've driven from Canberra to Melbourne a couple times and the Defender is good on the highway, lots of power on the hills which surprised me for the size of the engine and as others have stated it's really quite comfortable once you get used to the seating position.

Now the bad,
Mine leaks like a sieve in the rain, I just transported a bunch of boxes on the weekend for a buddy that's moving and all the boxes on the bottom were wet. It comes in under the rear wheels and also in the windows.
Rear guards, why didn't it come with them? It would've cut down on noise and random rocks scared the crap out of me at first.
I'll get warranty for the leaking and make something up for the guards.

Am I happy with my purchase? Yep, wouldn't change it for anything. It really grows on you on how it drives and I like rubber vs carpet for the interior.

Hi Drzzt

Welcome aboard to the forum.
I like your assessment of your Defender.
.

Originally Posted by drzzt

........ felt more solid and the gearbox in the Patrol felt like it was made of tin.........

Sorry, but I got a good chuckle out of this

Serg,Nissan doesn't have a good reputation with gearbox's,the 5 speed in the Navara is about as good as the ZD30. Pat

But the MQ, GQ and GU 'boxes are excellent and the GQ and Gu 'boxes are twice as strong as any Land Rover 'box prior to the MT82 Getrag (notwithstanding the bad batch of GU 'boxes that had mis-machined 5th gear splines in 2000)