So far so good, the engine and gearbox are sublime, silky smooth and effortless power. My one is the 3 litre straight six with 250 hp, the entry level diesel, had a full 3.5 ton trailer on the other day, yanked it along like it wasn’t there!

I wondered about the jump seat but you lose the superb centre console, that and the incredibly practical dashboard are the best features of the interior, the car like interior of the discovery model looks good but nothing like as useful, they go however have a better load area.

The load area of the defender is probably its weakest point, even in 110 it’s not very big considering how large the vehicle is, the back door in particular is quite awkward and narrow . The underfloor storage is a good feature though, the full width locker behind the bulkhead could accommodate a huge amount of claptrap, its lockable too so guns etc would be no problem. It’s all very good quality and I suppose, good value for money, it cost around £50k plus vat, much the same as the top end pick up truck it replaced, crazy amount really though for what I need it for. I had to buy and aftermarket towbar, I need the pin type now and then and oddly enough, landrover only offer swan neck ball hitches, seems daft for this model, I can’t be the only one who wants the thing to earn its keep. I waited about 9 months for mine, there were a few nearly new ones available straight away but they were usually higher spec and more expensive.

Happy new year one and all!


, [Linked Image]

[Linked Image]