101 Introductory Questions

[Lionelgee]

Hello All 101 Type of People,

I know absolutely nothing about 101s so please excuse my asking some inane questions.

What grade of Driver's Licence is needed to drive a 101 - are they still a normal car licence or a Light Rigid, Medium Rigid licence?

Are they rough and bouncy to drive as they are a cab over vehicle? Well say in comparison to a Series 3 - 109.


Do they have power steering or Armstrong steering?

Did they come out standard with V8 petrol engines only? Have people converted them to something like a 300tdi diesel? I hope that suggestion was not too sacrilegious

I would appreciate your answers and I hope I have not offended too many people

Kind Regards
Lionel

[101RRS]

Hello All 101 Type of People,

I know absolutely nothing about 101s so please excuse my asking some inane questions.

What grade of Driver's Licence is needed to drive a 101 - are they still a normal car licence or a Light Rigid, Medium Rigid licence?
Normal licence only - they are smaller in length than a Disco and weigh the same - tare 2000kg for a GS.

Are they rough and bouncy to drive as they are a cab over vehicle? Well say in comparison to a Series 3 - 109.
They are not rough or bouncy on the highway - offroad the bumps are felt through the bum - however whenever I have been away with series vehicles and swapped passengers they have all said the 101 is quieter, smoother, less shock from bumps and not at hot as a series vehicle .


Do they have power steering or Armstrong steering?
Armstrong steering and not an issue when driving - quite light with feeling. Stopped and manoeuvring at slow speed Armstrong comes to the fore - tighter turning circle than a series 3 or Defender.

Did they come out standard with V8 petrol engines only? Have people converted them to something like a 300tdi diesel? I hope that suggestion was not too sacrilegious
They were all V8 - some have changed to a diesel of various extremes. In my view, given the cost, it is not worth changing to something like a 300tdi and performance is basically the same as the V8. If you are going to change over make it worthwhile - Sitec has gone to an extreme - I was tempted with a $5000 RRS TDV8 engine but decided to stay with what I have.

I would appreciate your answers and I hope I have not offended too many people

Kind Regards
Lionel

Answers above

Garry

[Lionelgee]

G'day Garry,

Thank you for your insight into the world of 101s.

As far as I am aware I have only seen photographs of them.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[JayBoRover]

Hey Lionel. As a recent purchaser of my first 101, and on that steep learning curve, I can mention a few initial observations.
1) The 101 community is a great bunch!
2) The 101 rides on highway faaar nicer than my 109" S2a and faar nicer in the mild off-road I've tried to date (my sandy fire break on my 5 acre block).

Those are the most surprising things I have noticed to date. The next most surprising is how easy it is to manouvre. A combination of sitting directly over he turning wheels and the relatively light steering effort (compared to my S2a again).
Cheers

[The ho har's]

Lionel,

As already quoted..

"herc" is a much smoother ride than my "zara". We took him to Corowa and the drive was pleasant, even enjoyable with the noise factor Remember that V8 is sitting between you and the passenger.

Next time we are in Bundy you should come on out and see him and have a ride. Walkers property for the Swim-In in June 2015

Mrs hh

[Sitec]

Hi Lionel.
Yup, Garry, JayboRover and the HoHars are all on the money. They ride much better than a series, turn tighter and are more user friendly. If you plan to do big distances, then diesel is a must in my opinion. I think its also asking a lot of a Tdi to drag a 101 around. There's a Td5 powered one in Melbourne which is fantastic, but its a lot of work to fit, as was my Cummins.. The guys that drove mine at Wombat say its also brilliant tho!! I've covered over 8000kms since fitting the diesel late last yr and wouldn't go back to a V8 but its all a personal preference. Catch up with the nearest owner to u and have a look/drive of one and go from there...