Thread: Opinion on the Defender 130 TD5 - buy or avoid?

Originally Posted by VladTepes

I am quite happy with my Disco Tdi engine wise so the outtright power etc of a Td5 (or lack of it for a Tdi) is not a deal breaker for me.

Why do I get the feeling you are trying to troll your way to 15,000 posts?

Offtrack if Inc was able to add back in the number of posts some of us had before the big forum meltdown of some years back I'd be WELL beyond that !


I've been here for... ages.

As you've mentioned finding a good tdi 130 might be a bit of a challenge.
There seems to have been a fair few Td5 130s around teh interwebz in my recent browsings (pondering the what ifs of land rover ownership).
Might be easier to get a good one.
Go on, take the plunge

Kays are high but head and cooling system has been done

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread...28#post1995528

Hi I had a disco2 td5 I thought it was a good truck towed my van ok ,plus good fuel economy , sadly got wrote off , It was very reliable , I also have a td5 Defender 266 ks plus ,still runs lovely I do look after it , cost very little in repairs . I hope that I haven't just put a big jinx on myself , jimr1

I have a 110 Tdi and a 130 Td5.As far as a daily driver is concerned,the Td5 wins hands down.As for short day trips and just putting a smile on you face,the 200Tdi wins It just plods along,not going fast,and I get to see the scenery

I like my tdi defender because it just keeps going, bad fuel, no exhaust, old oil, clogged air filter. It's always the same speed, always uses the same amount of fuel.

I like my td5 discovery because it's more powerful. A bit smoother to drive, quieter. But it's in a disco 2 so it should be.
It uses more fuel as well.

Overall I'd buy the one that was priced well for what it was. But keep a spare 3 grand for the td5 for when the head goes.

I'm looking at selling my disco to get another defender. Probably end up with a tdi. I think the electronic land rovers are great and I like driving them. But they're not what I like about land rovers.

I heard all the crud about 130's but nothing (touch wood) has gone wrong with mine that could not have happened on a 110/disco.
Great room for a lot of gear and I seem to be able to negotiate tight spots as well as most other LR products just metro car parks suck.
I'd like the manners if a TD5 but I have great satisfaction in knowing I can rebuild the TDI myself ( which I had to do thanks to the beep seller who totally lied about the condition of the car).
Once I sorted all the poor maintenance and abuse faults she's been ace!
Only the crappy alarm gives me grief now and that's getting deep sixed soon!