Land Rover Defender 110 > Reviews (7)

Overview: The diesel engines are very powerful, the off- and on-road performance great, but don't buy one of these if you think - as we did - that they are super-easy to maintain or repair.

We bought a second hand 110 two years ago because we wanted the usefulness and security of a big car / truck (very few people cut you up in one of these things). Ours is a Turbo Diesel has a recently reconditioned engine and genererally runs well. On long journeys it does around 40mpg and since it runs in 4 wheel drive all the time it has excellent road-holding on the worst rain-soaked, pot-holed roads. Off-road too it's excellent, though being a diesel it doesn't have the greatest acceleration.

The problem with these things is that, although the look hasn't changed much since the series 2a, many of the parts have. We have recently had some trouble with the starter system and founds parts were surprisingly hard to come by. Adimttedly it would have been easier if we didn't live in Spain and drive a British car, but Land Rover parts are supposedly available from Siberia to Khatmandu. Even when calling the British dealers direct we often have to wait for ages to get parts and you can just forget about buying generic parts from motor-factor places for all but things like glow-plugs. Moreover, although they're decidedly easier to work on than, say, a Fiesta, many parts are positioned in such a way as to make them almost impossible to reach. For example either the engine or the gearbox must be removed in order to change the clutch.

Even if you're not the type to maintain your own car, you should bear these maintenance difficulties in mind as they will inflate your garage costs considerably. Also as many land rover owners do maintain their own vehicles, make sure you get the thing checked out thoroughly before you buy. In particular if the electrics have been bodged they are a complete nightmare - two garages have refused to work on ours. Also remember that although most of the bodywork is aluminium, they still rust. Points to check are under the doors (really awkward to fix), the footwells and of course the chasis itself.

Finally make sure you get some sort of security device. The locks on ours can be opened with a two pence piece (and as far as I know the locking system is fairly unchanged on newer models). Other than that - enjoy your car! I don't like driving anything else any more.