Crazy Defender 90 Decision

Hello All,

I am thinking of taking the utterly crazy decision to buy a Defender 90. Why is that crazy you ask? Well because it's a replacement for my wife to drive, instead of her 1.2L Honda Jazz.
It's difficult to think of a more extreme change, maybe if I bought a military surplus HMMV perhaps, but otherwise I am looking at swapping a small quiet, economical petrol car with every electrical gizmo on it for a diesel powered tractor built in Birmingham with a pull-out radio and lever-operated heaters.
So why am I doing this? Several reasons. 1) the Jazz is an old ladies car, and my wife ain't no old lady, she is still a hot chick; 2) it is the single most boring motor vehicle in the world, it is as dull as watching grey paint spilled across a grey floor dry on a really grey day outside the public toilets on clacton pier; 3) we have a big dog (43kg and growing) which won't fit in the car anymore so we need something to ferry the 2 kids plus dog plus me and wife at the weekends, and 4) of least importance, I've always fancied trying a Defender.
I've had 3 range rover classics, 2 Discoveries, one P38 and an L322 so I've had some LR experience. So I would really appreciate if any of you Defender owners could give me a few words of advice on the following:
1. I am looking at an R-plate ('97) 300TDI with 120K on it, in very good nick. I'm told there are purely mechanically fired, with no electronics on the engine. Does this make them more reliable? Are they reliable starters? Does this also mean they really do sound like tractors?
2. My wife will be driving this car daily, one journey being a 5 minute spin to the school with kit plus dog. How is the battery for short journeys? Am I looking at a standby charger to avoid a dead battery on day 5?
3. Is the security as bad as they say? Do I really need to use a handbrake lock in town? Can they be electrically immobilised in any way?
4. Any other advice very much appreciated!
Mad Jock.

Hi Mad Jck,

Welcome to the looneyzone.

Have you ever spent any time in an older 90?

If you have 2 kids and big dog to go in the back, then depending on what seat configuration it has I would say it could be a very tight squeeze. The 90 doee not have a lot of space in the back.

Ref the other questions,
With a good battery I do not see it being a problem.
Yes security is an issue.
Yes electrical immobilisation amongst other things can be done to help you keep it, but if they want it .... then it will go. Then a tracker is a good idea.

Cheers

I used to drive my mate's TD5 a bit, but that was pretty new and one of the first TD5s. I thought it was a great fun buggy, but I did cane it a bit. Other than that, not really. The setup in the back is two facing two, I reckoned with the two rear seats folded up (or maybe even removed) there would be space for the dog.
Would definately do a tracker, and I have a mate at the local independent Landy garage who says they will fit noise insulation, a parking kit and a few other odds and sods for not too much money. He says he gets asked alot to make Defenders "wife friendly"....!
Re the battery: I would definately fit a ridiculous massive battery, and may even look at a second or liesure battery as we could use this to tow a small trailer with tent and all the gubbins for camping trips. I would also make sure I gave her a good stretch at the weekends.
Thanks for the comments!

Your wife is not going to thank you.

BigJock2007 said:

I reckoned with the two rear seats folded up (or maybe even removed) there would be space for the dog.

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Without appearing like a nagging aunt, you do not say how old the Kids are, there has been a lot of concern about side facing seats and safety.

Personally , I used to bounce around in the back of a 88 with no seats when I was a kid. But times change.

Cheers

Hi MJ,

+1 @neilly. I've got an S plate 300tdi 90 CSW and the back IS small, you can't fit an adult bicycle back there without laying it flat and having a wheel in your ear. No room to stretch out for a kip (this is my only real bug-bear, likes me kips).

You'd get your brood and the dog in the rear but not much else (maybe you like camping or similar..) The side facing seats aren't very comfortable / safe and my 18 year old daughter, an infrequent companion, gets pinged against the roof by bumps in the road. For security, apart from the usual hardware the Defender defender looks interesting for security at about 200 quid..

In your position (given that it must be a Defender) I'd probably go for a 110 in some form.

Good hunting.

Cheers

You may find this is a similar situation.

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/most-sensible-model-for-first-timer.324923/#post-4161249

Cheers

Make your wife test drive it first .. and not just a quick spin up the street. My wife won't drive mine at all, she wouldn't drive the Disco either, unless it's a real emergency. She loves being a gate bitch when laning, but just hates driving it.

Paul D said:

Make your wife test drive it first .. .

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Least yours drives, mine's having none of it full stop. Used to drive 110s without a license in South America nooo problem though

neilly said:

Without appearing like a nagging aunt, you do not say how old the Kids are, there has been a lot of concern about side facing seats and safety.
Cheers

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I did wonder about that. They are both young teenagers. They think the prospect of sitting sideways hilareous, but I get your point in so far as ramming on the anchors with them sitting sideways might give them a sore neck. Make a change from getting a sore neck off the XBox.

You need a 110, without a doubt, a Ninety would be a very stupid buy under your circumstances.

nobber said:

You need a 110, without a doubt, a Ninety would be a very stupid buy under your circumstances.

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+1. If you have two “adult” children and a large dog a 90 is going to be no good for you.

get a 90 with a trailer, buy the kids some waterproofs job done.

Or buy them a bus pass...

My wife had a jazz

dag019 said:

+1. If you have two “adult” children and a large dog a 90 is going to be no good for you.

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+2
Unless the dog walk is just a few miles away, and that's all your taking the family out for, then ok with reservation. Any more and the novelty will wear off with the kids pretty quickly. Think of the kid's safety and if the Mrs doesn't get to test drive and then agree fully, it's cramped sleeping in the back. Have you got a shed you could move in to?

Just think shopping, there wont be any room for any, don't know if that's a good thing or not. Your missus will soon lose the will to drive the thing though if she cant get the weeks shopping and kids in the back. In fact, with two people in the back of a Ninety there wont even be enough room to fart let alone a bag of shopping. Also, its cramped and uncomfortable, your kids will rattle around like marbles in a biscuit tin, fine for some fun once in your life time, as an everyday family taxi a Ninety is useless, uncomfortable, cramped and I would even hazard a guess at it being dangerous in a crash, no way would I use mine as a family car. I take the kids out in it once in a blue moon and love it as they do they would hate it if it was our daily drive.

nobber said:

Just think shopping, there wont be any room for any, don't know if that's a good thing or not. Your missus will soon lose the will to drive the thing though if she cant get the weeks shopping and kids in the back. In fact, with two people in the back of a Ninety there wont even be enough room to fart let alone a bag of shopping. Also, its cramped and uncomfortable, your kids will rattle around like marbles in a biscuit tin, fine for some fun once in your life time, as an everyday family taxi a Ninety is useless, uncomfortable, cramped and I would even hazard a guess at it being dangerous in a crash, no way would I use mine as a family car. I take the kids out in it once in a blue moon and love it as they do they would hate it if it was our daily drive.

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I'd say it took about ten years for my three lads to accept it as one of the family vehicles. Mind you, they all had their own cars by then, so couldn't give a stuff I tried to bring them up to appreciate the finer things in life, but I've failed.

payydg said:

Your wife is not going to thank you.

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While my wife was on holiday with her sisters l swapped her Mini Cooper for a Defender 90 TD5 SW.
She had never owned one before but absolutely loved the Land Rover, kept it eight years and now has a similar Defender 90 TD5 after we swapped her original 90 for a 110 for my business.
She had a VW Polo for 6 months after we swapped her 90 for a 110 but said she missed her Land Rover.

nobber said:

You need a 110, without a doubt, a Ninety would be a very stupid buy under your circumstances.

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I agree. We have both (90 and 110) I think that with two kids l would definitely consider the 110. Unless you rarely take the kids anywhere other than local journeys.
Although l don’t think a 90 would be a “stupid” choice, with four of you on board it will be cramped if you have luggage as well.
Having said that we’ve had seven of us in our 90. The two of us plus five teenagers with musical instruments on the way to a rehearsal. It can be done!

I'm no expert on these things but some women like Land Rovers a lot. So it could work out well. If I had my time over again I'd have looked for a long wheelbase one (as they were called when I was young) as it will be a bit of a squash with two kids and a large dog in a 90. Unless of course the plan is to stuff them in so tightly they can't move around and hurt themselves.