LAND ROVER DEFENDER 4X4 READER REVIEWS

My car

Well had her nearly a week now and have to say that we test drove the 2.4 but the 2.2 is much quieter and more refined. Around town the only issue is the appalling turning circle. We'll be towing the caravan at half term so hopefully all will go well. The Children can't get enough going out in it as every journey even just to brownies is an adventure. They also love climbing up the ladder onto the roof rack. No idea how bad the mpg is because won't think about working it out until we've done a few thousand miles. will update when we've done more than a couple of hundred miles but so far it's terrific fun!!!

My car

I brought my Td5 in January 2011 purely for off road and overland trips. The one previous owner spent £000's on off road extra's e.g. winch, better suspension, re-mapped ECU and tuned exhaust, BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tyres etc. the list is endless so thank you Lee in Essex. It's ok on the tarmac, even with the Mud Terrain tyres the ride is ok, bouncy but I didn't expect anything different. Doesn't corner badly though. Quite a surprise. There is no way I would want one as my everyday transport. The build quality is appalling worse than I expected and Land Rover should be ashamed to put their name to such a noisy, rattly,overpriced rot box as the Defender. A previous reviewer noted "it does what it says on the tin." I assume his tin hasn't turned to rust like the bottom of my doors. Who in their right mind puts untreated aluminium and steel together? Oh Land Rover do. Nothing comes near it off road though, it is truly stunning in the rough stuff. How do people get 30 mpg out of theirs? I know my tyres aren't exactly helping but 24-25 mpg is tops for mine. Oh and I no longer have a social life at weekends as I spend them trying to keep this 7 year old, hugely expensive rust bucket together

My car

Here is a machine which gets you from A to B, in any weather over any road conditions. That's it. Easy to clean(if you feel the need), easy to maintain and the most versatile vehicle there is, you can basically adapt it to whatever purpose you desire. Sure the build quality isn't the best, it dosen't need to be, every part can be replaced or renewed and parts or accessories are cheap and abundant on the net. My brother is a farrier and drives all over the country (85000 miles so far) with a forge, anvil and tools in the back, uses it at work all day then throws on a dinner jacket and turns out for night. It looks at home on the farm or outside some posh resturant parked next to a Jag. I have a Silver special edition 90 to ferry the three dogs in the back. As for green these things go forever, surely that's better than changing your car every few years, what about all the carbon produced and materials wasted doing that?

My car

My 1st new one was delivered in late Jan 08 but was returned. The whole body was misaligned from the front doors backwards, so bad that the rear door could not be opened. The side window on one side was only fixed on three out of four corners, because the fourth was completely proud of the bodywork. My main dealer said it could not be repaired.

This car was assembled on the chassis out of alignment and the rest of the production line just bodged everything else on regardless.

Some of you will say it must have been in an accident. Unfortunately not, it was brand new, unrepaired. The dealer obtained another one in the same colour but would not let me see it; it transpired that was mislaigned too.

Eventually, two months later, I bought the one out of their showroom display because it was straight.

Two weeks later I found a lump in the rear carpet. Underneath were around 30 assorted fasteners, some were M12 1.5" bolts, some were plastic rivets. They had just been left in the tub and the next person on the line simply laid the carpet on top. I thought I'd have a look around and found 4 more large bolts in the front coil spring suspension mounts, just stuffed loose into vacant holes.