What he (and others) said... full stop. Drive one before you talk about it any more. There do exist people who just cannot feel at home in a Defender. The ergonomics of having a shoulder always against the B pillar, cramping right arm movement when steering, such a very upright seating position etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Homestar
Some love it. Some hate it.
Storytime: Prior to buying this Defender:
Attachment 144022,
I had pretty much only owned toyota 4x4s like this:
Attachment 144027
and for one sweet job I had a while back down the Antarctic I got to drive gov't owned ones like this:
Attachment 144023.
(I hope the observation, they are all dual cabs, hasn't escaped anyone....) [biggrin]
Day comes (back in 2013) and I am looking for another 4x4, want to buy brand new again. I want a platform that will allow me to expose my then 5yo son to family camping experiences and adventures in the remaining jungles of Malaysia.
However - I struggle to get my head around what the good old dual cab has morphed into over the years since I last bought one new.
For the life of me I cannot bring myself to buy into what amounts to automotive "white goods" and then have to embark on a pretty major upgrade project to get it to ready to go further offroad than the mall carpark. (Hiluxes came with 29" 2ply HT tyres in 2013 - for goodness sake!). Even wife shook her head when we test drove the (then) new Hilux - "Its a handbag, you'd be putting your balls in a handbag driving this."
Wife suggests "What about a Defender?". (The neighbour across the road had a 90 and wife thought they look real nice!)
LAUGH! Ohhhh didn't I - LAUGH! C'mon now.... be real! As our conversation continued I offered her a challenge - I challenged her with my assertion that if we booked a test drive of a (then) new Defender, she would not get past clipping up her seatbelt before throwing in the towel. (Must confess I had never driven one myself - but years of campfire wisdom shared by other toyota owners has to count for something!).
Well she drove it and liked it. I felt I had to have a go too. Drove it and liked it. A lot. Could basically drive it from showroom to jungle. Have changed some bits since then. Going from stock 32" to 33" tyres was just a matter of changing the rubber bit from 235/85R16 to 255/85R16. Put torque biassing diffs front and rear, and added a tune. No body or suspension lifts/changes needed for what I want to do with it.
To the OP: I offer you the same challenge I offered my wife 5yrs ago - go drive a Defender, you won't make it past clipping up the seatbelt before bailing out! [bigrolf]
