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

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Would have been nice to see a D4 do this track.

I have no doubt that it could have. I just question would you want to.

Mick was that the Across the Border trip, on the "interesting" day trip.

The original OP $90,000 was a end of production limited edition, someone having a try, so lets talk $60,000 in comparison.

I suspect in both the Defender or a D4, the Driver, me, will be the limiting factor.
Bring on the Defender replacement !

I have always thought this video was an excellent demonstration of how capable a Disco really is, but also why a Defender is probably a better choice for this type of stuff.

[ame]http://youtu.be/JIlQtB4tbNQ[/ame]

Interesting discussion so far. The gist of the argument against the Disco seems to be you wouldn't want to damage it rather than any real lack of capability. However the Disco is built like a tank. Everything is tucked up well underneath and there's probably more dangly bits to get caught up on the Defender. Even the fancy interior is a lot tougher than it looks and some new Defender interiors are pretty fancy these days too - especially on the limited editions. I think its more the fact that a bit of cosmetic damage looks a lot worse on a Disco than a Defender.

Remember though, if you are comparing brand new vehicles, the Disco's 19" rims need to be included. Those of you on 18"s and 17"s may forget this, but it is the Disco's single most limiting factor. Only the brilliance of the Disco in other areas hides this.

Cheers,
Jon

Originally Posted by TerryO

Again Mick sorry but I see nothing that is to challenging in that track for either a D3 or D4 with decent tyres.

At no time have I ever said a D4 would not get down that track.
What I would say, in a Defender you wouldn't get this problem:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-...g-carpets.html
Unlike Chops, I wouldn't want to pinstripe a nice looking car. Others will attest to the care I take of the finish of the Commodore.
What I like about my Landrovers is, to clean the inside, you hose it out.
Do you do that with your D4?

Originally Posted by AndyG

Mick was that the Across the Border trip, on the "interesting" day trip.

Yep

Here is a couple of very interesting reads comparing all five Land Rover models off road when standard and what the ultimate LR off roader would be if the writer had his way. This is well worth reading for both Fender, Disco, RRS and Vogue owners.

It is written by Robert Pepper who used to be a Mod (rmp) on this forum and occasionally drops back in.

[ame]http://www.l2sfbc.com/sites/pacfar.drupalgardens.com/files/201308/LRW-BestOffroad2.pdf[/ame]

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

At no time have I ever said a D4 would not get down that track.
What I would say, in a Defender you wouldn't get this problem:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-...g-carpets.html
Unlike Chops, I wouldn't want to pinstripe a nice looking car. Others will attest to the care I take of the finish of the Commodore.
What I like about my Landrovers is, tho clean the inside, you hose it out.
Do you do that with your D4?


Yep

While you might think being able to hose out your vehicles is most important, someone else might consider crumple zones, air bags and state of the art stability control as far more important for their and their family's safety. To be frank I would rather have a head on traffic accident in a dirty carpeted D3/4 than a freshly hosed out Defender. But this isn't about dirty carpets or airbags.

But Mick if it comes down to the test of whether a D3/4 can be hosed out or not to be considered areal off roader then a Defender wins.
But again this thread isn't about things like that, please reread my original post about what we are actually trying to compare here, being each vehicles off road prowess in comparison.

All the talk about pin stripes has got nothing to do with capability. My D4 was pin striped within the first week of buying it for $65,000. It is fully pin striped and track worn inside, outside and underneath. I bought it for touring and track driving and whatever the cost, that is what it is used for.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

What I like about my Landrovers is, to clean the inside, you hose it out.
Do you do that with your D4?

Hosing out a Puma is not quite the same as hosing out an earlier model, there's still a fair bit of electrickery to be careful of in there.

I've hosed my Discos out a couple of times (unintentionally) with no ill effects, except for a rear parking sensor which took a little while to dry out.

Cheers,
Jon