So is the Oz spec version actually better ?? :eek:
geez, the UK version must be bad....
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My wife thinks the Defender is the epitome of luxury.
That is possibly because it has air conditioning and in a traytop cab it is quite capable of lowering the temperature way below what is comfortable.
It might be because being a traytop, it carries our Trayon camper so she no longer has to sleep on the ground with all the snakes, crocodiles and other nasties.
Perhaps it is because the handle Land Rover thoughtfully put on the dash just inside the passenger door enables her to get in and out quite easily in spite of being 62 years old and 5' 1/2" or 153cm tall.
Or it might be because of the 23 years and couple of hundred thousand kilometres she spent as a passenger in our Series III.
In all that time our Series III always took us wherever we wanted to go and always got there. So she just assumes the Defender will do the same.
The question of her driving it doesn't arise. She simply refuses even to attempt to drive any car except our sedan. She drives our manual 1988 Camry without any worries, but says she couldn't possibly drive our son's manual 1990 Corolla "because it is different".
I'm sure she knows there are quieter, more comfortable vehicles out there, but she isn't interested in them. She accepts that when it comes to getting to some of the beautiful parts of Australia we have seen over the years, the Land Rover makes more sense because it was made to do just that sort of thing.
How did you get by without the demand for side steps:confused: My wife is 3/4" taller than yours and that was the one demand when we bought the Puma: It must have side steps or we are not getting it!
I have so far managed to resist on the Tdi :)
I'm not sure.
It might have been the 23 years of practising getting in and out of the Series III.
I think I might have hinted on the one occasion when they were tentatively suggested, that they are prone to damage in rocky terrain.
I am also fairly sure she is proud of the fact that she is still able to get in and out without the steps that some old :p people need.
Yes, problems. But more benefits where it counts.
Easy to reverse park, good tower, plenty of storage, capable, easy access, (but has steps), good seating as standard, economic, good front seat visibility, good mirrors.
Noisy, dusty, too high up for the dog to jump in (not a jumper), little foot room, upright in back seat, limited rear seat visibility. No good for multistorey parking -antennas/rack.
Rovers 4 AND Co.
Very cranky. Today is the lat day of school holidays . Happy Australia Day to everyone by the way. My wife has been using my ute for work over the last several weeks and I have had exclusive use of the Defender, but tomorrow I am back to work and will be in the ute. She is delighted to be getting the truck (as she calls it) back for her daily drive.
Kenley