Our new Land Rover Defender!

For some time we've been aware of the shortcomings of our VW Polo getting in and out of the woods, and we've finally found the answer: a Land Rover Defender!
It's an ex-military Defender 90, built in 1992 and in private use since 2007. I think it's probably been to Iraq, given the colour, but it looks like any bullet holes have been patched up! We're picking it up in a week, by which time it will have had windows fitted in the sides at the back, a tow pack added and side steps bolted on.

Being an ex-military vehicle, it's very basic, I guess to keep cost down and improve reliability. It doesn't have a turbo on the engine, just a 4-cylinder 2.5l diesel, there's no power steering, the windows slide along and the interior has no trim or carpet - just bare painted metal.

On the plus side, the previous owner has put in some nice seats in the front along with a locking box between them, and side-facing bench seats in the back These aren't particularly comfortable, but will do for carrying an additional four adults on short trips, such as from home to the wood. It also comes with the larger size wheels on it already, and tyres with a mud-capable tread on them, which will come in useful I expect...

The downside of course is that it will only do 28mpg at best, compared to our Polo doing 55mpg. But on the other hand, it's so noisy and hard to drive in comparison, I think we'll be using the train and our electric bikes a lot more, so maybe our fuel consumption will actually go down... That's our intention at least, just using the Defender for trips where we really need it.

Mike

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