Thread: A decision to be made

Originally Posted by Beckford

It sounds like you have already made up your mind..... You buy a Defender because it is very capable off road straight out the box and has a 1,000kg payload for touring.

You don't buy a defender if you want it to handle like a sedan on the freeway or because of the price tag. (It is hand made in England for off road green lane'n and farm work.)

I've done 20,326km mainly on trips in my 110 (2010 Puma) and it has not broken down, nor is it "crap". The only issue I have had is the air conditioning which has been fixed twice under warranty.

If it does not feel right, do not buy a Defender.....

It's very hard not to compare models when you have owned at least one series of the same car, they look similar, but are totally different vehicles, and when you and others truly believe that the outdated model is far superior than the new one it sways your thinking.

If I had never owned a 110 before I would most likely be happy with a Puma, the fact is I am looking at a tired old 110 as we speak.

And for the record, my Isuzu powered County wasn't completely built in England, it was finally assembled in Australia.

Tombie, ya made me laugh, havent heard the dak-dak thing for long time. I'm sure it will endear you to the Amorok owners, but as they say , never forget your heritage.

Originally Posted by dobbo

I asked a guy at work about these as I was impressed on a test drive and he had been driving a work one for a few months allready. He just smiled, apparently this particular one had done not handled life to good, not as bad as a Puma in reliability but not far off.

We have a 3.0 litre 5 speed auto dualcab 4WD ranger at work,it goes really well,not had ANY issues with it,its just gone 100000ks.
Andrew

Originally Posted by Tombie

Having crawled under, over, through all those mentioned above...

I'd say the Amarok will take the same beating as a Defender, and then some...

Unless the accessory belts goes which then throws bits into the timing belt which then proceeds to bend valves, then I guess you can mean the same. Africa to tough for Amarok?

You know you want the 130 i bet emma would be happy with one also just go get one its only money stop procrastanating FFS

Originally Posted by dobbo

It's very hard not to compare models when you have owned at least one series of the same car, they look similar, but are totally different vehicles, and when you and others truly believe that the outdated model is far superior than the new one it sways your thinking.

If I had never owned a 110 before I would most likely be happy with a Puma, the fact is I am looking at a tired old 110 as we speak.

And for the record, my Isuzu powered County wasn't completely built in England, it was finally assembled in Australia.

I drove a Stage 1 V8 for 2 years (on loan) before we bought the Puma. I had given it back before my own 4wd finally went boom for the last time.

To be honest, it went like the clappers and handled really well. (The only let down was the old wiring. It needed to be completely re-done to be reliable for our needs.)

Good luck with your decision.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Having crawled under, over, through all those mentioned above...

I'd say the Amarok will take the same beating as a Defender, and then some...

Did you notice this?, Overlander mag report[ for what it's worth] Sept. 2011.

" The Amorok's fuel tank is low slung, with a plastic guard.The air intake faces forward, and appears to be on a level with, or slightly below, the headlight.It would be very easy for a river crossing to cause ingestion of water into the motor. The spare wheel appeared to be the lowest departure point, and therefore vulnerable to damage. The long rear mud flaps could be easily torn off when reversing in deep mud or sand."

" The ABS Traction control cables were not tidy around the rear wheels, driving where there is a lot tree debris, they could be hooked up and damaged. The tail gate , when closed, had a large physical gap between it and the floor pan, dust and water would easily enter the cargo area, making food or camping gear vulnerable . Under the bonnet, there is no space for a second battery. On fast broken ground, the soft suspension meant the Amorok bounced too much. The stability control was too aggressive, making progress in sloppy mud difficult. Without out it, however, the vehicle was dangerous if pushed too fast into a muddy section of track" . There is more, but that is enough, give me the Defender any day, [please] Bob
,

Originally Posted by bob10

Did you notice this?, Overlander mag report[ for what it's worth] Sept. 2011.

" The Amorok's fuel tank is low slung, with a plastic guard.The air intake faces forward, and appears to be on a level with, or slightly below, the headlight.It would be very easy for a river crossing to cause ingestion of water into the motor. The spare wheel appeared to be the lowest departure point, and therefore vulnerable to damage. The long rear mud flaps could be easily torn off when reversing in deep mud or sand."

" The ABS Traction control cables were not tidy around the rear wheels, driving where there is a lot tree debris, they could be hooked up and damaged. The tail gate , when closed, had a large physical gap between it and the floor pan, dust and water would easily enter the cargo area, making food or camping gear vulnerable . Under the bonnet, there is no space for a second battery. On fast broken ground, the soft suspension meant the Amorok bounced too much. The stability control was too aggressive, making progress in sloppy mud difficult. Without out it, however, the vehicle was dangerous if pushed too fast into a muddy section of track" . There is more, but that is enough, give me the Defender any day, [please] Bob
,

Funny isn't it... Same magazine sang its praises recently too.

Reviews are jaded by the preconceptions of the journo I doing it.

Perhaps Baz will post some pics....

Btw Bob... The extremely exposed plastic defender tank has no guard and if I hadn't replaced mine with steel it would have been torn apart many times!