Thread: I NOW LIKE THE 130 DEFENDER.

I love my 130. It must be the best allround tourer there is. It does everything except go very very fast.
Don

Voltron, no sham in saying you got it wrong. If your thinking is for a long term keeper, and most of us Defender drivers are, better the change now rather than latter. The cost will only increase.

I was having a rush of blood and was considering trading in my 130 for a new one since mine had come to it end of warranty. I looked at all the stuff that had to come off, or be replaced, and concluded the ol 130 is fine for my needs even without warranty. Bit different to you, but accessorising new rides is something you only want to pay for once if you can.

Originally Posted by debruiser

can I do that to my 90? nice.....

You can do anything with $$$$$$$$...............

Feel your pain mate. When I bought the 110 it was literally a toss of the coin between the 110 and the 130. After 18 months I knew the coin had landed the wrong way and I have now changed to a 130.

As much as I loved the 110, it was just a bit short for what I really wanted to do and the 130 solves that.

I was originally looking at a 06 and beyond Hilux. My specs that i required was a ute that could hold 5 people and been good offroad.

I went though all the normal utes before i remembered about the Defender. Coil sprung all around, comefy to drive (I know im crazy) and great fuel effiency. And first off i saw the 110 ute. And dismissed it as being too small. When i found the 130 i knew it would be perfect. I am setting it up so i can keep everything inside the car for my long adventurers. No need for a roofrack and the extra drag that it creates.

As the canopy i have in the car was custom made. Years down the track i have the option to get a whole new set up for the car if i need it. Might even look into a slid off camper.

So many options with the 130. I just have to treat it right and running well and should last a long time.

Originally Posted by voltron

Wally.

Could you state what were the pro's and cons of each. If it's not too much to ask.

Cheers

For me it was like this: My first Defender was a trayback 110. It suited me perfectly at the time. We didn't have any kids and only needed two seats. Also, living in central Australia at the time and going bush a lot, the trayback (with steel / canvas canopy fitted) was perfect. It didn't take long, however, before the missus started to complain about the lack of legroom on the passenger side (Tdi with aircon in footwell). To get around that problem, eventually I found an ex-govt crew cab 130 at auction. The passenger seat is able to go back further so legroom is not a problem. I wanted to keep on going bush and touring etc and I like a dropside tray / canopy setup so I replaced the hicap tub with a steel tray, built a canopy, and put a bit of effort into setting it up. It was great and I should have hung onto it for a lot longer. Eventually the other half started to complain that she wouldn't drive it anymore because it was too hard to park (so her complaint, not mine, although admittedly not much rear vision with canopy fitted). That lead eventually to a 110 wagon because we had started a family and needed the seats but the 110's easier to handle around town. Then we bought a farm and needed a ute again, so a single cab 130 was found at a farm clearing sale auction. All the while I had decided that a crew cab 130 is the best, most versatile passenger and load carrying and touring vehicle there is, and I missed having one, and I want to do some bush trips with the family so I bought one again. That's six Defenders in total - most of the time I've had two at once, it did get up to three for a while, now back down to two. The body style just depends on where you live, what you expect it to be able to do, how many seats you need, etc. Everyone's situation is different. The crew cab does almost everything I need it to do but not quite, and that's why I still have my single cab 130 as well for the time being.

I feel the pain

Originally Posted by rijidij

This wont help with your decision, but it will show you how good a 130 can look, especially in the green. This one was at the Expo in Sydney in September. I really like the Keswick Green, I would even consider painting my future 120 project the same colour. Cheers, Murray

Wow that looks great. Lots of $ spent there.