OV9

ZedLeg wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 7:59 pm I had a look at the Defender configurator and my chosen spec was £65k so I guess they have the pricing about right on that front.

Hard to pick either of them as a working off roader when a hilux is £30k cheaper though.

Yeah, its that second bit I would struggle to ignore.

Like you say, pricing seems about right, but then I get back to wondering who would buy that over a Defender?

Interestingly, Chris Harris has posted up a video about his land cruiser in the last few days.

They won't have any problems selling them initially but I'm interested to see how they'll keep momentum going. They need to be reliable from the off though, lest they be known as Anus Grenaders.

Pop quiz; what does the Grenadier have that was discussed on here (somewhere) about a week ago?

nuttinnew wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:10 pm Pop quiz; what does the Grenadier have that was discussed on here (somewhere) about a week ago?

That’s cryptic. Does it have an unexploded WW2 bomb?

Jobbo wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 8:30 am

nuttinnew wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:10 pm Pop quiz; what does the Grenadier have that was discussed on here (somewhere) about a week ago?

That’s cryptic. Does it have an unexploded WW2 bomb?

Does it have a “parp” button for cyclists?
Does it have a preference for unpitted olives?
Does it have a penchant for a stoopid rear wing on a Countach?

A tape measure for parking spaces?

Well...I read a review and it said the wipers haven't been RHDd.
However...looking for pics to post, I notice that they are converted
Sooo...look for dirty pics to see what's up...why aren't they showing the front when it's mucky?
Yay...found - albeit a couple lhd, but they clarify - and, well, wtf?

They are complaining that a large section next to the a pillar isn’t swept….



Dave!

Looks like they've put the G wagon setup straight on the G-renadier
For some reason I thought Gs had three wipers
Maybe I'd seen a pic and thought "that needs three wipers"

FJ cruiser has three and the coverage doesn't look that great:

V8Granite wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:41 pm

ZedLeg wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:25 pm

Ascender wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:13 pm Are the new Defenders as unreliable as previous cars from the group or is it now just the default response when anybody asks what they're like?

There are a lot of stories about bad seals (faulty rubber rather than aquatic mammals with switchblades) letting water in and messing with the electrics.

The door rattling about in the aperture like an old Citroen AX would instantly put me off.

I know 2 owners, one has an early diesel and his has had problems with the engine. The other one handed his back and got a replacement, no idea about the replacement.

I do think the Defender is a great car it’s just far too big.

Dave!

I had a 1989 AX GT in the early 90s and the door did not rattle in it's aperture! It did have iffy build quality though in every place you could look!

The massive unswept bit in the bottom corner on the drivers side could make low speed manouvering pretty tricky, and is a pretty poor design.

Not just for extreme off-road either, the unswept bits of my screen are pretty much opaque after a few days commuting at this time of year.

The first thing I’d be doing is ripping out the passenger pillar grab handle and changing it with a LHD one ffs

They could have mad a custom gear selector instead of the obvious bmw one

Gavin wrote: Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:41 am

V8Granite wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:41 pm

ZedLeg wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:25 pm

There are a lot of stories about bad seals (faulty rubber rather than aquatic mammals with switchblades) letting water in and messing with the electrics.

The door rattling about in the aperture like an old Citroen AX would instantly put me off.

I know 2 owners, one has an early diesel and his has had problems with the engine. The other one handed his back and got a replacement, no idea about the replacement.

I do think the Defender is a great car it’s just far too big.

Dave!

I had a 1989 AX GT in the early 90s and the door did not rattle in it's aperture! It did have iffy build quality though in every place you could look!

That’s because when you sit in the car it twists the chassis and jams it against the seal

Dave!

My missus bought an AX GT in 1988, and if I remember correctly, at 745 kg it weighed less than most Lotus Elises! Might be able to forgive a little flimsiness?

Could be interesting..

https://www.goodwood.com/grr/event-cove ... -of-speed/

Stuff is coming out from owners about lots of warning lights and tyre pressure alarms. Apparently a software update wasn’t done in time or is planned to be done.
Also a very slight vibration when coming off the throttle in 7th, not sure what that is about.

Apart from that though people are gloriously happy and apparently it’s far far better at towing than either old or new Defender and they seem to be really popular with those who miss their old D4s for towing.

Some positive news is good.

Dave!

Solid axles feel more planted when towing, combined with permanent 4x4 and more weight than all its competitors I would expect it to feel great at it.

I think the only reason I might buy one of these is that it has switches on the roof.

On the roof!

Who doesn't feel cooler than nonchalantly glancing upwards and toggling a switch in order to deal with some particular driving shenanigan?


Here's IanF doing it in his day to day and looking hella cool.