Looking at a Defender 90

[Daz7]

Hello,

New to the forum so be a little gentle,

We currently own a 2005 Jeep Wrangler and its been a great vehicle. Drama is legally, it can't tow more than 900kg (it does, and has in the past but thats not the point). Reason this has come to the fore, is that we're looking at a camper purchase and the low tow capacity is really constricting with what we can choose from. The Jeeps also 11 years old now, so maybe its time for an upgrade.

So in the past few weeks I've been doing the test drive thing and to be honest, nothing is doing it for me. If we'd like to stay with a SWB vehicle our only options are a new Jeep (with only a 1000kg tow capacity) or a used Defender 90.

Found a near new Defender to test drive yesterday, and was pretty chuffed with how it was finished with the heated leather seats and the like. My last Landrover was a 110 County that to be honest that wasn't the most reliable car I've ever owned but I have fond memories of it. Anyway, after a taunting from the sales guy at the Landrover dealership (do you really want to drive this, it's not good to drive in the city) we set off.

After the initial shock of it being far more raw than the even 10 year old Jeep is, after a distance I was starting to enjoy the drive and feel its still on the shopping list.

I'm questioning how the 2.2 is at towing though, driving it I was feeling it had a distinct lack of power, although we seemed to be making good forward progress at the various speed limits. I've only ever owned one diesel previously and that was a long time ago, so maybe its more my mindset than what the vehicle is capable of. Say with a 13-1400kg loaded camper on the back would it cruise at 100 and not become a mobile chicane on hills?

It's a damn shame that Landrover is not releasing details of a replacement Defender, as a subtle upgrade could make this our perfect 4x4.

[jon3950]

Can't comment on the 90, but in the 110 the 2.2 tows well.

The small diesel is a very different beast to a 6 cyl petrol motor. It's not overly powerful but torquey and well geared. It will pull all day but doesn't do anything very quickly.

Cheers,
Jon

[Daz7]

Can't comment on the 90, but in the 110 the 2.2 tows well.

The small diesel is a very different beast to a 6 cyl petrol motor. It's not overly powerful but torquey and well geared. It will pull all day but doesn't do anything very quickly.

This is what I was thinking might be the case this morning.

With the torque of the diesel I presume once your up to speed it shouldn't slow down too much on hills?

[connormotorsport]

Agreed with above. I currently have an 2015 130 so the biggest of the bunch with the 2.2l . I have had most brands of 4x4's through work over the past decade or so and have found that the defender was still my personal choice for my own vehicle. I regularly tow my rally car , bobcats , building materials etc etc. my 130 works hard to earn its keep. With the rally car and gear for example when racing the whole towing setup inc what I put in the tray weighs in around the 2.2t mark. At this I will see 5th gear up bigger hills on the highway but doesn't drop me below 100kph. It tows great and the low first gear is an absolute dream when towing. Also to note that when reversing you can pop it straight into low range and let the engine idle along easily so no extended riding of the clutch which will help prolong its life and also make your parking easier.
Hope this helps somewhat.

108866

[jon3950]

I'm sure that's a very nice Bobcat, but a photo of the 130 towing the rallycar would be much nicer :)

Cheers,
Jon

[Daz7]

Agreed with above. I currently have an 2015 130 so the biggest of the bunch with the 2.2l . I have had most brands of 4x4's through work over the past decade or so and have found that the defender was still my personal choice for my own vehicle. I regularly tow my rally car , bobcats , building materials etc etc. my 130 works hard to earn its keep. With the rally car and gear for example when racing the whole towing setup inc what I put in the tray weighs in around the 2.2t mark. At this I will see 5th gear up bigger hills on the highway but doesn't drop me below 100kph. It tows great and the low first gear is an absolute dream when towing. Also to note that when reversing you can pop it straight into low range and let the engine idle along easily so no extended riding of the clutch which will help prolong its life and also make your parking easier.
Hope this helps somewhat.

108866

Thats really good info, thank you.

First opinions it seems are definitely deceiving.

[noyakfat]

Hello,
after a taunting from the sales guy at the Landrover dealership (do you really want to drive this, it's not good to drive in the city) we set off.

What the hell do these guys think they are doing? It is such a common issue that has been reported by several forum members.

When I test drove my first 110, the LR sales guy was so bloody negative I was actually getting angry with him. He completely bagged the crap out of the vehicle and said how terrible they were and said I wouldn't be able to drive it without grinding gears, etc etc.

I had to do a double take to check if maybe he was wearing a Nissan shirt or something else.

He insisted on riding shotgun for the test drive, and after about two minutes his mouth was hanging open in amazement like I was some freak for actually being able to drive the thing!

If I wasn't so committed to my purchase he may well have turned me off the entire brand. In the end I bought a new 110, but NOT from that dealership.

And guess what? I LOVE IT. :D

[connormotorsport]

I'm sure that's a very nice Bobcat, but a photo of the 130 towing the rallycar would be much nicer :)

Cheers,
Jon



New phone so very few photos on here haha. Will see if I can rustle some up. I always take photos of the stuff I tow for some reason.
Although I have found an even cooler 130 towing an even cooler rally car.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/05/782.jpg

[Daz7]

[FONT="Verdana"]

What the hell do these guys think they are doing? It is such a common issue that has been reported by several forum members.

When I test drove my first 110, the LR sales guy was so bloody negative I was actually getting angry with him.

It got worse, when he was getting the test drive disclaimer to sign I wandered into the showroom and what ended up being the sales manager was joking with the sales guy about "what does he have a mountain to drive up or something".

Typical carsales tossers.

[jon3950]

New phone so very few photos on here haha. Will see if I can rustle some up. I always take photos of the stuff I tow for some reason.
Although I have found an even cooler 130 towing an even cooler rally car.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/05/782.jpg

Drool...

Watching (and hearing) Jeff David peddling his 911 around the forests has given me an unnatural desire to build one of them.

Cheers,
Jon

[jon3950]

Typical carsales tossers.

That's why I went all the way to Tamworth to buy mine. They understood Defenders up there.

Cheers,
Jon

[Loubrey]

Once you've gotten used to the unique driving position you'll never go back to any other car. Happened to me 25 years ago and I've never looked back...

I had the same experience back in 2010 when buying my current 90. Fair to say it was the first batch of 90's to be imported in 10 odd years, but the sales people at the first dealer thought I was off my head to even contemplate one.

The second dealer had a sales lady that admitted she knew nothing about them, but her courtesy and professionalism made the sale regardless.

Sales people work on commission, so a Defender sale doesn't really rank up there with a D4 or RR...

Cheers,

Lou

[noyakfat]

Sales people work on commission, so a Defender sale doesn't really rank up there with a D4 or RR...

Hi Lou,

I completely understand the commission situation, but to just blindly bag out the vehicle demonstrates more to me about the salesperson than the vehicle. Hence, no sale.

I would look very positively on a sales person like the lady you described, who was up front about a lower level of knowledge specific to the vehicle.

I would rather get a reputation as a salesperson who listens to a customers needs and bends over backwards to accommodate them in a product sold by my employers, than an arrogant, ignorant tosser who basically demonstrates he thinks the customer is a fool and proceeds to ignore everything they have been talking about.

I'm sure commission on a $50,000 sale would beat the commission on a zero sale and bad word of mouth.

However, rant over, I (like you) absolutely love the Defender driving position and look for any excuse to leap in behind the wheel :D

[filcar]

... Say with a 13-1400kg loaded camper on the back would it cruise at 100 and not become a mobile chicane on hills?

I tow my AussieSwag Ultra D camper with my MY12 90 with absolutely no problems. Holds road speed easily on gentle hills and drop back to 5th for steeper stuff. I have surprised a number of landcruisers by overtaking them when we were both towing uphill.

[YOLO110]

Both the Puma 2.2 Tdci 90 and 110 have the same engine/gearbox. The 90 is a bit lighter so I have found it to be a bit 'nippier' than my 110. But virtually nothing in it.

I tow my loaded 1000 kg camper trailer easily with my 90. First gear is great for starting when towing... no antics with slipping clutches needed! The engine 'anti-stall' feature is brilliant! 6th gear is super on the highway... into 5th up steeper inclines but keeps speed no worries. Bags of torque.

Land cruisers indeed look!!! :>)

[loneranger]

I've towed our camper with both our 110 and 90 without any dramas. The 110 is lightly more comfortable with the extra wheel base but they both do it with ease and generally maintain speed up most hills if I change down at the right time.

Either way the Defender is a much better tow vehicle than our old Dmax. I got the gear changes wrong heading from Geraldton to Northampton wrong when we first got that and got overtaken by a Cockburn Cement triple road train going up one of those hills in the area. :eek2: