noyakfat
26th March 2013, 11:33 AM
Hi all,
In my ongoing quest for knowledge about Defenders (and to add further fuel to the fire that is my desire to own one of these beasts by next year) I was able to test drive one this morning :) I just thought I'd share my initial impressions of a couple of commonly mentioned things.
I took a 110 station wagon 5-seater (Orkney Grey) for a test drive today and let's just say I think I'm in love :)
My expectations were quite low, given the negative things I have read about certain aspects such as cabin noise, seat comfort, leg-room, clunky gear box, high-revving thingy during gear changes... etc etc.
I had a good long drive and I must say I didn't experience anything that I would consider problematic. However, I've decided it is all relative. That is, it depends on the vehicle being compared to the Defender. My last fourby (which I had for 7 years) was a 97 Nissan Patrol GQ Wagon, which was quite "agricultural" as well.
I am a sniffter under 6ft 2in, and I actually was surprised with the legroom and overall seating position comfort I experienced in the LR. I found the seat very supportive (far better than what I had in the Nissan) and despite having to put the seat back to its rearmost position I felt I could comfortably drive that vehicle for a long stint. I have always been in favour of the elbow on the sill anyway, so that was a natural extension for me.
There was no problem with gear shifting, even though the Salesman told me that many people have problems operating the clutch??? I found that an upshift anywhere between 2,000 to 2,500 rpm was fine, and I suspect some people having issues may perhaps be trying to throw the stick into the next gear position without that slight little almost two-stage stick shift movement that just seems to work. We have to remember we are not driving sports cars, but work trucks :)
I did pick up (audibly) the high revving sensation a couple of times, but again this didn't cause any noticeable effect on driving the vehicle in a variety of traffic and road conditions.
With the windows up, fanging along the highway at 100km/hr, I found the cabin noise to be a non-issue. It was most certainly on par with my Nissan and may have even been quieter. Conversation was maintained at an easy level.
Overall, I absolutely loved it! I was very pleasantly surprised and I still have a big stupid grin on my face. I even found myself waving to another grey defender while driving home in our subaru forester :)
I am now hoping the rest of the year passes by with relative speed so it won't be too much longer until I can get my hands on a Puma of my own.
Cheers,
Nige
In my ongoing quest for knowledge about Defenders (and to add further fuel to the fire that is my desire to own one of these beasts by next year) I was able to test drive one this morning :) I just thought I'd share my initial impressions of a couple of commonly mentioned things.
I took a 110 station wagon 5-seater (Orkney Grey) for a test drive today and let's just say I think I'm in love :)
My expectations were quite low, given the negative things I have read about certain aspects such as cabin noise, seat comfort, leg-room, clunky gear box, high-revving thingy during gear changes... etc etc.
I had a good long drive and I must say I didn't experience anything that I would consider problematic. However, I've decided it is all relative. That is, it depends on the vehicle being compared to the Defender. My last fourby (which I had for 7 years) was a 97 Nissan Patrol GQ Wagon, which was quite "agricultural" as well.
I am a sniffter under 6ft 2in, and I actually was surprised with the legroom and overall seating position comfort I experienced in the LR. I found the seat very supportive (far better than what I had in the Nissan) and despite having to put the seat back to its rearmost position I felt I could comfortably drive that vehicle for a long stint. I have always been in favour of the elbow on the sill anyway, so that was a natural extension for me.
There was no problem with gear shifting, even though the Salesman told me that many people have problems operating the clutch??? I found that an upshift anywhere between 2,000 to 2,500 rpm was fine, and I suspect some people having issues may perhaps be trying to throw the stick into the next gear position without that slight little almost two-stage stick shift movement that just seems to work. We have to remember we are not driving sports cars, but work trucks :)
I did pick up (audibly) the high revving sensation a couple of times, but again this didn't cause any noticeable effect on driving the vehicle in a variety of traffic and road conditions.
With the windows up, fanging along the highway at 100km/hr, I found the cabin noise to be a non-issue. It was most certainly on par with my Nissan and may have even been quieter. Conversation was maintained at an easy level.
Overall, I absolutely loved it! I was very pleasantly surprised and I still have a big stupid grin on my face. I even found myself waving to another grey defender while driving home in our subaru forester :)
I am now hoping the rest of the year passes by with relative speed so it won't be too much longer until I can get my hands on a Puma of my own.
Cheers,
Nige