My New Defender 90

[Garry]

Well I finally done it, I bought a Defender

After watching these things off road and never meeting an unhappy Defender owner I had to

We picked it up in Townsville from Tony Ireland Landrover and David the salesman was fantastic, he stayed until 6pm Friday night giving us a test drive around town and on the test track with the good wife holding on for dear life in the back seat. He explained all the little details, I would recommend them to anyone

We stayed at a mates on Friday and then headed off to Magnetic Island for a couple of days which was really good, no beach driving as not allowed but it did get dirty on some of the unsealed roads

After a 1500k trip home and a very angry thunderstorm yesterday on the Bruce we are very happy so far with it, I will just need to learn how to drive it off road now as coming from an automatic D3 it’s a completely different animal

And here is a picture from Magnetic Island

Garry

[Allan]

Very nice, love the colour.

Allan

[Loubrey]

Welcome to the clan Garry!

Very special vehicles our 90's...

[Defender Mike]

We have had ours since 6th january and love it. You wont believe what it can do.:)

[Naks]

Enjoy! :D

[JohnR]

Yay!! Go the Defenders!! Good choice in colour too Gary :cool:

Cheers,

[VladTepes]

Nice. They way those storms were you were lucky you still have it !!

[carlschmid2002]

I pick mine up in two weeks, I can't wait. I am just waiting for the tow bar from England

[Psimpson7]

Nice one Gary! Although I don't think it will sound quite as cool as your D3!

[KarlB]

Welcome aboard Garry. We D90 folk are a very happy little bunch.

Cheers
KarlB
:)

[Garry]

Nice one Garry! Although I don't think it will sound quite as cool as your D3!

True, thats one thing I will miss, the other thing is value for money on my trips, I get more attempts than most but getting up the hill first time.....


Nice. They way those storms were you were lucky you still have it !!

I was pleasently surprised it kept the rain out. It did get a bit hairy for a while, my good wife had her eyes closed and held the grab handle on the dash a few times :o


Yay!! Go the Defenders!! Good choice in colour too Garry :cool:

Any colour as long as its black.


We have had ours since 6th january and love it. You wont believe what it can do.:)

Trouble is I will need retrained as used to a very easy driven D3 but after the salesman done a reverse hillstart on the 39 degree hill on the test track I look forward to putting it through its paces

And here are a few more pics now I found the camera

Garry

[Garry]

I pick mine up in two weeks, I can't wait. I am just waiting for the tow bar from England

Which tow bar have you ordered?

I too am now looking for one and was wondering why you went overseas for it

Garry

[Loubrey]

The LR Australia spec one is one of the items you can actually get for a good price from the dealers, often better than aftermarket.

Just make sure the UK one meets Aussie spec, they do not all comply automatically.

[Sue]

I LOVE your number plate!!!!

...and the car! :)

[NOZ]

I was only thinking of you today wondering if you got your 90, good on ya mate, I can't wait to see it in the flesh

[Garry]

I LOVE your number plate!!!!

...and the car! :)

The number plates came with my D3 when I bought it, that is until I replaced them -see profile pic. I personalised them waiting for a car more suited and they do look good on the shorty

Well its over 1600ks now in its first week and like the salesman said it would it has "loosened off" nicely, its way more fun to drive than the D3. I should have bought one years ago

I do have a storage question though as I am used to a couple of storage bins in the boot and 4 door pockets to keep things in on the D3 and I know the cubby box is a bigger than it looks - But has anyone solved this? I was thinking of getting a small ish canvas bag to keep the tie down straps and other the bits and bobs in

Today I will be teaching my son to drive a manual - This could be painful for me and the Landie

G

[Loubrey]

Garry,

I have M&M seat covers that give you a few pocket options for maps and odds and sods. They have seatback map slots and satnav/mobile pouches down the seatback side.

To carry recovery and other heavy gear I use the stackable "ammo boxes" sold by Opposite Lock. They are made to South African mililitary dimensions and 4 of them will fit in the back (8 if you stack them 2 deep) of 90 and 110 Defenders (if your rear seats are out). The dimensions of these boxes are specifically designed to be loaded like this to maximise the amount of 7.62mm FMJ a "Raven" can carry. (Ravens were South African SF's version of a Wolf in the early 80's)

If your rear seats are still in, there is a smaller box (think it's called "Gomo" or something) also sold by OL that will actually fit 2 long (behind each other) down the centre with the rear seats folded down.

I have 8 boxes and all my recovery, camping and touring gear is distributed among these and I purely load whatever combination I need for that particular trip.

[carlschmid2002]

Which tow bar have you ordered?

I too am now looking for one and was wondering why you went overseas for it

Garry
It is a LR OEM. I was going to fit a Hayman Reese from ARB but LR wouldn't allow any non OEM accessories to be fitted from new. I am going to be leasing it so the leasing company would only allow one invoice so OEM tow bar it is. Apparently the dealer had none in stock though. I am also getting Sawtooth alloys, Raised Air Intake, Side Runners and spotlights fitted from dealer. I am now looking at Non OEM Bullbars and Roof Racks. I want a proper bulbar that will protect the lights from Roo damage. I am thinking ARB at this stage.