2006 vs 2007 Defender
Discussion
I know im a little early asking this question as the 2007 defender has not been launched yet but I am going to be buying a new or demo Defender soon and was wondering if it was worth holding out for the new model?The only thing I have against the new model are the loss of the front air vents and 2 of the rear seats.I am buying the car as a general commuter and the closest it will ever go to being off road is having 2 wheels parked up on the kerb outside my local shops!!Is it worth waiting or should I buy one of the present model?
Is the transmission different in the O7? I had to get rid of my 05 Defender after 10 months as it was almost undriveable in traffic due to the heavy clutch! Despite years of wanting a Defender and the vehicle doing pretty much wgat it said on the tin I would never entertain one for daily use unless you needed the off-road or towing ability and could not justify the expense of a more user friendly vehicle.
I now have a Disco 3 and they are worlds appart.
Cheers
Nick
I now have a Disco 3 and they are worlds appart.
Cheers
Nick
Psimpson7 said:
topsparks said:
It will also have a better engine,as they are relacing he crap TD5 lump with a Ford Transit engine.
What absoloute crap. the TD5 is a very very good engine. Far far superior in every way to the tdi.
Wait till your injecter wiring harnes fills up with oil and your engine starts miss firing,or your injectors packup @£350 each .The TD5 has more topend than a 300,but drinks the fuel.
I have many friends who work @ my local Land Rover dealer and they all drive 300 Tdi diesels and would not touch a TD5,too many electronics=too many things to go wrong.When I sank my 200 TDi in 5ft of water,after taking out the glowplugs and cranking out the water she started no problem,the only thing that needed drying out was the indicator relay!.(don't try this with a TD5 you will write it off!)
This is why you can still buy 300Tdi Defenders,they are called ROW(rest of world spec)so that in the middle of a desert the ECU won't packup!,can't get through the tough new emission requirements due to having a mechanical diesel pump so not avalible for UK market-shame.
Psimpson7 said:
topsparks said:
It will also have a better engine,as they are relacing he crap TD5 lump with a Ford Transit engine.
What absoloute crap. the TD5 is a very very good engine. Far far superior in every way to the tdi.
Apart from having to wait until 1500 rpm until any useful torque arrives.
If you are only going to use it on road, wait and see what you get offered on a run-out model.
I have a 2000 TD5 with 90K miles on it. It returns 29mpg on mixed running and has not had any serious problems. The early ones did have injector loom issues, and the gearboxes can be tempremental. The box on my one is fine, but the box in our 2002 Discovery was replaced under warranty at 30k miles.
Look seriously at what you want. If it is purely a style issue, you are determined to have a Defender and you can afford it, personally I'd go for an '07 model as it should give less problems with the newer engine and 'box. However, remember the dynamics and the handling are vastly different to a modern car, after all the basic design is over 50 years old. Also remember you will get mid 20's to 30mpg, if you are using it on short runs, you have limited safety equipment (side impact bars, airbags etc) and if you "bling it", you will be ridiculed by owenrs of "proper" land rovers.
I keep my Defender fairly clean and tidy, no serious modifications apart from some protection and recovery kit, use it mostly for communting, but used to use it off-road taking it places where I'd never consider taking the Discovery. However I've now effectively replaced it with a small diesel hatch with 130bhp that returns almost 50mpg for my commute. Covering over 15,000 miles a year and trying to be a bit envirnmentally friendly, my concience led me to change, otherwise I'd have kept the Defender and continued to run it, doing my own repairs, using LR recycled parts and remoulded tyres.
Basically, it's up to you.
I have a 2000 TD5 with 90K miles on it. It returns 29mpg on mixed running and has not had any serious problems. The early ones did have injector loom issues, and the gearboxes can be tempremental. The box on my one is fine, but the box in our 2002 Discovery was replaced under warranty at 30k miles.
Look seriously at what you want. If it is purely a style issue, you are determined to have a Defender and you can afford it, personally I'd go for an '07 model as it should give less problems with the newer engine and 'box. However, remember the dynamics and the handling are vastly different to a modern car, after all the basic design is over 50 years old. Also remember you will get mid 20's to 30mpg, if you are using it on short runs, you have limited safety equipment (side impact bars, airbags etc) and if you "bling it", you will be ridiculed by owenrs of "proper" land rovers.
I keep my Defender fairly clean and tidy, no serious modifications apart from some protection and recovery kit, use it mostly for communting, but used to use it off-road taking it places where I'd never consider taking the Discovery. However I've now effectively replaced it with a small diesel hatch with 130bhp that returns almost 50mpg for my commute. Covering over 15,000 miles a year and trying to be a bit envirnmentally friendly, my concience led me to change, otherwise I'd have kept the Defender and continued to run it, doing my own repairs, using LR recycled parts and remoulded tyres.
Basically, it's up to you.
If you are only going to use it on road, wait and see what you get offered on a run-out model.
I have a 2000 TD5 with 90K miles on it. It returns 29mpg on mixed running and has not had any serious problems. The early ones did have injector loom issues, and the gearboxes can be tempremental. The box on my one is fine, but the box in our 2002 Discovery was replaced under warranty at 30k miles.
Look seriously at what you want. If it is purely a style issue, you are determined to have a Defender and you can afford it, personally I'd go for an '07 model as it should give less problems with the newer engine and 'box. However, remember the dynamics and the handling are vastly different to a modern car, after all the basic design is over 50 years old. Also remember you will get mid 20's to 30mpg, if you are using it on short runs, you have limited safety equipment (side impact bars, airbags etc) and if you "bling it", you will be ridiculed by owenrs of "proper" land rovers.
I keep my Defender fairly clean and tidy, no serious modifications apart from some protection and recovery kit, use it mostly for communting, but used to use it off-road taking it places where I'd never consider taking the Discovery. However I've now effectively replaced it with a small diesel hatch with 130bhp that returns almost 50mpg for my commute. Covering over 15,000 miles a year and trying to be a bit envirnmentally friendly, my concience led me to change, otherwise I'd have kept the Defender and continued to run it, doing my own repairs, using LR recycled parts and remoulded tyres.
Basically, it's up to you.
I have a 2000 TD5 with 90K miles on it. It returns 29mpg on mixed running and has not had any serious problems. The early ones did have injector loom issues, and the gearboxes can be tempremental. The box on my one is fine, but the box in our 2002 Discovery was replaced under warranty at 30k miles.
Look seriously at what you want. If it is purely a style issue, you are determined to have a Defender and you can afford it, personally I'd go for an '07 model as it should give less problems with the newer engine and 'box. However, remember the dynamics and the handling are vastly different to a modern car, after all the basic design is over 50 years old. Also remember you will get mid 20's to 30mpg, if you are using it on short runs, you have limited safety equipment (side impact bars, airbags etc) and if you "bling it", you will be ridiculed by owenrs of "proper" land rovers.
I keep my Defender fairly clean and tidy, no serious modifications apart from some protection and recovery kit, use it mostly for communting, but used to use it off-road taking it places where I'd never consider taking the Discovery. However I've now effectively replaced it with a small diesel hatch with 130bhp that returns almost 50mpg for my commute. Covering over 15,000 miles a year and trying to be a bit envirnmentally friendly, my concience led me to change, otherwise I'd have kept the Defender and continued to run it, doing my own repairs, using LR recycled parts and remoulded tyres.
Basically, it's up to you.
niva441 said:
Psimpson7 said:
topsparks said:
It will also have a better engine,as they are relacing he crap TD5 lump with a Ford Transit engine.
What absoloute crap. the TD5 is a very very good engine. Far far superior in every way to the tdi.
Apart from having to wait until 1500 rpm until any useful torque arrives.
as opposed to having no power at any point in the rev range on the tdi.... and clouds of smoke....
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