Defender - is black (hot?) in summer?

The original post was
"Hi all
Quick question to all new Puma owners.
If I buy a black Defender will I regret it in summer?
Obviously it will absorb the heat but does the new air con cool you down enough?"

So wasn't the question about the air con not the colour?

"The problem is that all the test we have been able to find have been conducted using cars, so the results are not applicable to Defenders."

It's still a metal box with glass sides so I reckon the results would be pretty much the same. Some RMIT engineering students did a study on this for the RACV back in the mid 80's (again not with defenders) with various sorts of cars.
The results were that black cars heated up quicker but eventually both reached close to the same temperature. The hotter the day the quicker they reached the same temperature.

Air con? Windows down for me. Air con is good for pressurization to keep (some of) the dust out :p

PS. Ive had my black 2007 defender for 5 years and don't regret a second of it.

I am hoping the silver roof and premium tint will alleviate this in my black Defender.
Another strategy would be flexible solar panels, stuck to the roof, just thinking out of the box here.

Thanks Gerokent. If you can live with a black Defender in the mid west I think I should be fine here in Perth.

I have a black BMW X5, black John Cooper Works MINI, and a Cairns Blue Defender with a white roof.

I do not use the air con in the Defender. It is a TD5, and the aircon is hopeless anyways. The only time I do use it is to de humidify the inside during rain. I do however have rain guards on the front windows. They came with the 110 from the dealer, and were the large ones that covered approx 30% of the the window. Too much dust, and grime built up inside of them, and made it impossible to see out the sides. I took the band saw to them and cut them down to about 100mm in size. I can now leave the windows cracked at about 50mm even in the tropics without any water entering.

As for heat in the Defender. I insulated around the transmission tunnel, and under the roof lining. (look for "insulating Defender" in projects tutorials section) Both made a huge difference in the inside temp.

The MINI, and BMW we drive with the aircon. Use windscreen shade visors when parked and they make a big difference. If it is too hot when we first get in, down with the windows for a minute or two, and then aircon as normal.

Dust and scratches will be your main issue, but like I said, I own 2 black cars. To be honest I would have not purchased the black MINI due to the issues of keeping cars clean, but it was a deal I could not pass up, so an other black car joined the garage.

The short story is if you want it buy it!!

Cheers,

Ken

[QUOTE=Gerokent;2159563]Air con? Windows down for me. Air con is good for pressurization to keep (some of) the dust out :p

:angel: .............only if you are not on recirc :D


Thinks I already said that with Black SVX - didn't make any difference. However, window tinting definitely did :)

Cheers

RF

Thanks all for all the advice. Really appreciate it from all sides.

Interestingly enough a couple of years ago we bought a black volvo Xc60 T6 which was a 2.5 yr sale from someone selling their car early. Like Mudnet it was too good a deal to pass up and my wife has always been a volvo convert (and to tell the truth I liked her 1997 s40 t4 - the key is always go the most suped up version ).

Anyway it looks great and it does get hot but it is so different a car I did not want to compare it to the defender. Also it has airconditioner in the back so the kids get cold.

As it is, I may regret it but the order is in now so black is coming forntye defender and when it arrives will ask a friend up the road (our kids are in the same class) who has a white defender to do a side by side temp test in the Perth summer.

Congrats on your new order!!

Either way you will love it

Cheers

Ken

Congrats Eastfreo, you will love it.
Black is definatly the "coolest" colour for a car :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EastFreo

when it arrives will ask a friend up the road (our kids are in the same class) who has a white defender to do a side by side temp test in the Perth summer.

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Why bother? No point setting up for disappointment. Just get in your new beast and enjoy it. Once you turn the key and idle out of the dealer's lot, you'll have such a giant grin on your face you won't care if it's a million degrees :D