Thread: D2 driver falls in love with black SWB Defender Extreme - relationship ends badly

Much better one here...

http://www.aulro.com/apc/showproduct.php/product/2163/cat/4

Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot

YA BIG GIRL

My fender ROCKS

It's only the passengers that are breathless when pinned to the back of their seats in our car!

Are they pinned to stop their faces hitting the windscreen or the back of the front seats when under full acceleration?????

Its the one thing that turned me off a fender. I took a really top notch example for a drive, the one 5teve got diddled on, with full accessories all setup to hit the road and go travelling, even included a kitchen sink that hooked to the side with running water, but even with all of this removed, it was an absolute slug to drive and just not enough gears to get it going to what I am used to, so Feral, I know exactly what you mean.
I love the look, the space, the capability but it just doesnt deliver the driveability that I am used to/want/need.

So I got a D2a instead! Just couldnt for love nor money find a manual. But then SWMBO needs to drive it sometimes too and she hasnt driven a manual since she got her licence 20 something years ago.
And an auto is much better in sand as this is probably 80% of my offroading due to the fact I live in the biggest sandpit in the country!

Cheers

Andrew

Originally Posted by LOVEMYRANGIE

Are they pinned to stop their faces hitting the windscreen or the back of the front seats when under full acceleration?????

Its the one thing that turned me off a fender. I took a really top notch example for a drive, the one 5teve got diddled on, with full accessories all setup to hit the road and go travelling, even included a kitchen sink that hooked to the side with running water, but even with all of this removed, it was an absolute slug to drive and just not enough gears to get it going to what I am used to, so Feral, I know exactly what you mean.
I love the look, the space, the capability but it just doesnt deliver the driveability that I am used to/want/need.

So I got a D2a instead! Just couldnt for love nor money find a manual. But then SWMBO needs to drive it sometimes too and she hasnt driven a manual since she got her licence 20 something years ago.
And an auto is much better in sand as this is probably 80% of my offroading due to the fact I live in the biggest sandpit in the country!

Cheers

Andrew

Hey... you probably got the right car for you. When we got our defender it was a slug too (as they were from standard). It was a battle to drive in traffic... yes it could be done but it was hard work. However after a few relatively inexpensive mods it is now a pleasure to drive. It really is easy, and the wife doesn't mind it now. Before she felt as though it was just a constant battle to keep up in traffic ... and tiring when you have to manage the constant stream of people overtaking.

Anyway, IMHO autos suit diesels such as the TD5 really well so I'm sure it's a joy to drive. You don't seem to hear about problems with them very much or at all either.

I'm sure the Disco will be a joy around town and off road it will be ace too.

For what I could of picked it up for compared to what I paid for the D2, I probably could have done a full D2 auto conversion to the Fender and it DID play on my mind so much I actually started looking for trannies, but at the end of the day it just didn't fulfill all the criteria set out. I did consider just the D2 transfer to bring the ratio up but then Simone has to drive it too.
Shame cause it would be a good combination.
Still want one though.......

Cheers

Andrew

Originally Posted by dullbird

He has only posted once In this thread. And I can only see new, no suggestion of td5.

Originally Posted by feraldisco

Hi - spotted a tasty looking black SWB Defender Extreme, placed seductively at the front of a caryard today. Was curious for a drive, mainly to see how the manual Td5 went - realising that it is a detuned version relative to my manual D2. To say the relationship soured quickly is an understatement. I couldn't believe how rough this thing was given that: it looked so good; it shares quite a few mechanicals with the Disco; and it was made in 2005 rather than 1955; had only 100K k on the clock. It reminded me very much of driving a Series III when I was in the Army...exhaust fumes in the cab, vague steering, lots of body roll, uncomfortable, dicky controls, rough ride (admittedly this was a SW, coarse gutless motor. Now I realise some people actually like the fact that it's not too different to a SIII, and I admire their individuality...and durability. I really couldn't imagine touring in one of these things - getting back into my D2 felt like I'd instantly been upgraded to a D4. The interesting thing about this particular example is that some joker had fitted a 200-litre tank to the SWB, reducing it's cargo area even further! Presumably for Simpson crossing with a backpack in the back... Anyway, $38K seemed like a lot of money for a bit of skin deep 'character'. Bring on the hate mail (I do love the Defender-driving component of the LR brotherhood...really!) And to make you SWB Extreme drivers feel better, I actually got some chicks at the lights asking me about the car...haven't had that happen in the Disco before...or even in my old XB351 Coupe...

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