Thread: Can someone explain the model designations?

I agree JD, the seats are excellent despite being spartan. The upright position and good lumbar as well as all round 4 corner visibility are better than all others I've driven. In fact I hate driving at other vehicles with slouch seats. 1000km a day in the Defender and I still feel good. ...especially in the Puma which is also remarkably quiet for an agricultural brick.

The puma clutch is light light enough too. I wouldn't want it any lighter. Auto would be nice at times in traffic, but otherwise a manual is better IMO.

If i wanted more luxury I'd grab a D4. But I don't. Nothing is more pragmatic and multipurpose than a Defender IMO.

Originally Posted by rammypluge

LR like their high seats dont they the malnourished bastards! At almost 6'5" i sit too high for series models, for classics, and even the FL1, i am looking at the top edge of the windscreen. Yet i fit nicely in a mazda MX5.

If they had put an auto in the defer maybe it would have sold better in the USA?

Was there room for a foot operated park brake in the peasant model?

My mother haaated driving it, she said the controls were sooo heeaavy.

The upright driving position is preferred by most Defender owners, was the same in the original Rangerover, and has been maintained for all models. Only a very small proportion of potential buyers are too high for it.

An auto in the Defender probably would have sold better in the USA - if sales there were possible - it cannot meet the rules there for a whole range of requirements, including airbags (probably the killer issue - no room for them). But maybe not - buyers there would be enthusiasts anyway.

Without a clutch pedal a foot operated parking brake would be feasible, but with a clutch, no room.It is possible to move the handbrake inboard somewhat.

As for heavy controls - it is a work vehicle. What do you expect? Power steering and brakes give light controls for steering and stopping, power assist on the clutch would be possible, but is the complication worth it? What else is an issue?

I find our Puma's seats firm but supportive, but The Navigator insisted on adding padded seat covers.
I doubt if a Defender could ever meet US crash safety standards - where are the crumple zones?

The difference in seating is that in the defender the seat base is higher off the floor than in most vehicles, and is probably flatter rather than somewhat angled. Every single vehicle that i have ever sat in has had a backrest that will go plenty upright, and that is where i have always put it.

Sitting people higher off the floor may reduce deep vein thrombosis and lesser forms of it, but it means that people get tossed around more off road. The higher you are the more you get tossed around. I would personally rather be sitting lower for more comfort, but still have the floor a decent distance below. Thats one advantage of a monocoque, but they often have NVH issues offroad. Do people complain about driving a commodore or falcon long distances, that they arent comfortable? Not in my experience.

If LR want to make the seat base high, then for gods sake make the height adjustable. When my dad test drove the county the salesman was less than 6'1" and yet due to having a long body was looking at the top of the windscreen. My dad at a more leggy 6'2" seemed okay, but me at a slightly leggy 6'5" is a no go.

I recall older cars, holdens(?), having a handbrake that you pull out of the dash. To release, it had a button on it that you pressed as you pulled, and then it would go back in. Might have been an option for the peasants.

I have driven all sizes of trucks and can say that any size truck can have either lighter controls or heavier controls. There is no point in heavy controls, they just create problems for people.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I find our Puma's seats firm but supportive, but The Navigator insisted on adding padded seat covers.
I doubt if a Defender could ever meet US crash safety standards - where are the crumple zones?

The other vehicle?

I find the puma quite comfy to drive, but then my daily drive in png is a 70 series cruiser,

Handbrake?, vw have it sorted, press abutton

The seat base being higher off the floor is more like a truck. You are sitting not lounging. Hence better for your spine.

I agree, no good for most over 6 feet tall. But then I'm 6 foot and I don't fit in many regular sized cars. My head touches the roof.

My Amarok is way, waay more comfortable than a truck. I can drive long distances much more easily, comfortably and enjoyably in the rok, or in a falcon, than in a truck. Even if the truck has a high quality seat, seat suspension and cab suspension. The high height above the road surface height, the relative crudity of the trucks suspension, and the height of the truck and load creating pitching and rolling, make it a far inferior experience.