Thread: Which is better Off Road a D3/4 or a late model Defender? ... Puma 110

Originally Posted by incisor

wow

here we go loop de loop....

let me know when you start turning to butter!

TerryO the forum moderator started this fracas. Would have hit the post button with a knowing grin. Fire him!

I guess what it comes down to is this: both are excellent vehicles with their own strengths and weaknesses. Make a choice based on personal preference, know and understand the strengths and weaknesses and then modify and drive accordingly. For some it will be comfort, safety and economy and others the ability to personalise/modify, and connection with the 'drive' off-road. I have owned and loved both types and heavily modified the Deefers and enjoyed the comfort and ease of the RRS. I must say that modifying Deefers is as much about enjoying doing it as the need to do it though! Once you sort the diffs that is..... Just make sure that whatever vehicle you opt for you learn to drive it and make use of it's potential and also learn and pro-actively manage the weaknesses.

Originally Posted by manic

TerryO the forum moderator started this fracas. Would have hit the post button with a knowing grin. Fire him!

Manic, how totally unfair of you to think I would start a thread just to stir up Puma, sorry Defender owners. ...

I actually like you guys in the flat earth society.

...

Maybe i missed this somewhere back so if its been mentioned just ignore me.
One of the best things to happen to 4WD vehicles of any description is a modern auto.
This in istelf would contribute largely to the video Landy Andy posted and in an overall capability for the average punter.
Something the Defender/Puma lacks and something many have lamented and retrofitted.

Originally Posted by TerryO

Neither do I, a diesel D3 can run 17's easy and that gives you a great selection of off road tyres. My memory might be failing me on this but from what I remember the main reason late model D4's have to run 19's is because the callipers have a different shape which stops standard OEM 18's from fitting.

My guess is this is a decision by LR to stop punters retro fitting 18's with decent sized off road tyres on them. If correct then it's to try and stop punters doing serious off roading with them because they are stuck on 19's which has very limited selections in off road tyres.

Gordon may know better than I on this but from conversations I have had with a number of people in the industry they reckon that LR (UK) is pretty shocked at some of the things we put Disco's through in Australia.
A good example for comparison in usage is each year the D3UK forum put out a calendar with happy snaps taken by members enjoying their Disco's. You get a few of them being green laned in a bit of mud and a couple of them parked in a desert shot in Morroco or some where like that, most are parked in the countryside looking pretty, then each year you get the Aussie photo's of the things being bashed to within a inch of their life in the bush or some rock garden.

While LR have built extremely useful off road tools in the D3/4 it would seem to me that they would be far happier if we didn't actually use them for the purpose they are designed for.

It truely is an enigma Terry. The company that's spent more on off-road R&D and continues to do so, than any other Company .... Yet they inhibit the cars potential.

I understand the vast majority of sales are for folks that will never use the cars potential, so why continue to improve their theoretical performance?

Mystery.

Would be interesting to know what drives the decision makers.

Originally Posted by TerryO

Manic, how totally unfair of you to think I would start a thread just to stir up Puma, sorry Defender owners. ...

I actually like **** stirring you guys in the flat earth society.

...

There. Fixed it for you.

Originally Posted by Celtoid

Would be interesting to know what drives the decision makers.

Having had an inside line to Australian engineering 15-20 years ago, I can tell you they get bloody frustrated too.

Originally Posted by rick130

There. Fixed it for you.

A moderator wouldnt even dream of behaving like that
Andrew