Thought it might be better as a car, which is what the missus uses her TD5 for.
The tdci does drive well if you get a good one (gearboxes seem variable) and is more refined than the TD5
But reading this section of the forum takes me back to when l had a Transit van.....the forum like this one was full of random unfathomable engine faults, turbo failure, oil burning, running issues and early engine failure.
Sadly this has put me off buying a tdci (it would pribably be a 2.4 90)
Are they that bad? Can somebody who owns a Defender tdci make me feel any better about buying one?

Look on any forum for almost any vehicle ever built and you'll see a list of issues and problems. That's largely what these forums are about.

As for refinement.... there really isn't a while hill of beans in it. It's a Defender at the end of the day.

Yes the engine is the same as a ford transit. Mine does not nor has ever had the same problems associated with a transit van, reckon this is because it has a completely different engine management system. The engine is brilliant when it has a proper management system unlike the transit. Comfort levels are light years ahead of earlier models, with a heater that works like a volcano. Also NO water leaks (after I sealed the windscreen). Early problems I had were a split turbo to intercooler hose, and a oil cooler which transferred oil into the cooling system (dip header tank with your finger to check) - both fixed with modified parts under warranty / recall. And there was a recall for modification of the front suspension on a limited range of serial numbers (not mine) which you would need to look out for (welding on stiffeners to stop it collapsing) . They are better than good, they are brilliant, I will not go back to an ordinary car

Just found this old thread that l started.

Thanks for the advice, in the end we got a TD5 XS because my missus tried a TDCi and didn’t like it.

Next time it will most likely be a TDCi though, as it’s getting harder to find good TD5’s