[ivanvernon]

I always loved the look and the idea of an old Land Rover with jerry cans and shovels tied on the roof rack, trekking across Africa. The Defender was the prototypical vehicle for that. Just cool, and I'm about as anti-SUV as someone can be.

But the new 2020- Defender? Looks perfectly at home in the Costco parking lot.

From personal experience I can tell you that travelling across Africa in an old Land Rover is not nearly as romantic and exciting as it might seem just from viewing the vehicles! Key words are hot, dusty, washboard roads, no ice for water, sleeping under mosquito nets, etc., etc. I am really glad to have had a lot of the experience, but just as glad not to have to repeat it! It would still be nice to have an old Land Rover, but that experience on modern highways with s vehicle that strains to hit 50 mph could probably grow old after a few hundred miles or so.

[Peter Rockstroh]

I guess the airbag behind the steering wheel doesn’t count then, eh?

:cheesy:

Perhaps the recent models. They were removed from the US market in1997 for safety reasons.
They didn´t have airbags then and the one in the photo didn´t have them either

[ThorSanchez]

From personal experience I can tell you that travelling across Africa in an old Land Rover is not nearly as romantic and exciting as it might seem just from viewing the vehicles! Key words are hot, dusty, washboard roads, no ice for water, sleeping under mosquito nets, etc., etc. I am really glad to have had a lot of the experience, but just as glad not to have to repeat it! It would still be nice to have an old Land Rover, but that experience on modern highways with s vehicle that strains to hit 50 mph could probably grow old after a few hundred miles or so.

I'm sure that's all true. It kind of says that Land Rover's reason to exist doesn't really anymore, so to stay in business they leverage that nostalgia for trekking across the Empire to sell $75,000 commuter vehicles to rich people who'll never see Africa.

[Racer X 69]

Perhaps the recent models. They were removed from the US market in1997 for safety reasons.
They didn´t have airbags then and the one in the photo didn´t have them either

You didn’t get the joke, did you?

[ChrisPlatt]

I have admired classic Land Rovers since I was six years old and Daktari was on television.
I even owned the Matchbox model. FWIW Jeeps were not ubiquitous then as they are today.

Where I used to live not far from here I sometimes saw a neighbor driving his old Land Rover.
It had a snorkel. I wonder if he ever found a nearby river to ford?

Chris

[Peter Rockstroh]

You didn’t get the joke, did you?

Hmmm... Not until now.
Contingit stercore

[Just1MoreDave]

Last month I decided to change the oil on my 2002 Nissan Frontier. Then flush with success, I wanted to fix a broken stud which a held a radiator bracket. I couldn't get it out so I drilled it out. I was feeling pretty good about that until I noticed many weird electrical problems. The stud was mounted to the crossbar in front of the radiator, typical u-shaped metal thing with the hood latch, etc. Underneath was a nice protected area for an important wiring harness - maybe 30 wires. I hit about six of them. I patched it up temporarily until a day I could do it without freezing fingers. Today I got it all back together properly and found all the blown fuses. Pretty soon I'll be ready for summer travel.

[lesmore49]

I always loved the look and the idea of an old Land Rover with jerry cans and shovels tied on the roof rack, trekking across Africa. The Defender was the prototypical vehicle for that. Just cool, and I'm about as anti-SUV as someone can be.

But the new 2020- Defender? Looks perfectly at home in the Costco parking lot.

Surprising, although the new Land Rover looks very much like a luxury SUV, which it is and more at home on a Costco lot, than out in difficult terrain....it is a very competent off road vehicle.

The Fast Lane Truck video magazine, bought one and have tested it out at MOAB and this thing is more than competitive with other serious 4WD vehicles. I was impressed and yes, surprised.

[ThorSanchez]

Surprising, although the new Land Rover looks very much like a luxury SUV, which it is and more at home on a Costco lot, than out in difficult terrain....it is a very competent off road vehicle.

The Fast Lane Truck video magazine, bought one and have tested it out at MOAB and this thing is more than competitive with other serious 4WD vehicles. I was impressed and yes, surprised.

I'm sure it is, but how many people are going to take their very expensive Land Rover to Moab, winching it up slot canyons? They might scratch the paint, or get dirt on it! Can you imagine the disgusting things that would get tracked onto the sheeps wool floor mats?

[lesmore49]

I'm sure it is, but how many people are going to take their very expensive Land Rover to Moab, winching it up slot canyons? They might scratch the paint, or get dirt on it! Can you imagine the disgusting things that would get tracked onto the sheeps wool floor mats?

I would say that very expensive 4WD vehicles are never pressed to their off road design limits, until they are a number of years old, have depreciated enormously and are selling in the high school student or young 20's market.

[AgentL]

I would say that very expensive 4WD vehicles are never pressed to their off road design limits, until they are a number of years old, have depreciated enormously and are selling in the high school student or young 20's market.

That's probably quite accurate! I'm really looking forward to seeing used new generation Broncos on the used market in a few years.

[hadi]

I have a toyota prius right now. I dont like it.
its 'gas saving' bits doesn't really apply to me as the gas saving bit only kicks in if i'm driving less than 60km an hour. I'm mostly on the highways, and hardly EVER am in the city, so that car is kind of wasted on me.
moreover, i'm coming from two mini coopers prior to the prius.

Nothing directly wrong with the prius. Its just, when i had the cooper, it wasn't just a 'car'. it had its own quirky personality, where nothing was done in a standard way. everything was 'odd' and quirky. Where as the prius, just like any other ford, mazda, honda, hyundai, lexus, BMW, etc, they all are traditional and think inside the box and play it safe. (again, nothing wrong with that). Just when you looked at the cooper, by comparison, it was as if looking at a person dressed in rainbow colored clothing in a world of black suits. dared to stick out and be 'different'.

if you cant tell, i LOVED my coopers. I only switched as maintenance on the coopers was getting a little out of hand.

[ivanvernon]

I have a toyota prius right now. I dont like it.
its 'gas saving' bits doesn't really apply to me as the gas saving bit only kicks in if i'm driving less than 60km an hour. I'm mostly on the highways, and hardly EVER am in the city, so that car is kind of wasted on me.
moreover, i'm coming from two mini coopers prior to the prius.

Nothing directly wrong with the prius. Its just, when i had the cooper, it wasn't just a 'car'. it had its own quirky personality, where nothing was done in a standard way. everything was 'odd' and quirky. Where as the prius, just like any other ford, mazda, honda, hyundai, lexus, BMW, etc, they all are traditional and think inside the box and play it safe. (again, nothing wrong with that). Just when you looked at the cooper, by comparison, it was as if looking at a person dressed in rainbow colored clothing in a world of black suits. dared to stick out and be 'different'.

if you cant tell, i LOVED my coopers. I only switched as maintenance on the coopers was getting a little out of hand.

I appreciate your viewpoint on the Prius vs the Cooper Mini. I have the smallest Prius, C model. I love its exact equal weight distribution front and back, and use it mostly around town, so get 42-65 mpg. I love the little bugger, but always go rent a bigger car when going on long trips. The state of Ohio is discouraging hybrids by imposing a punitive surcharge on license tags, so probably would not buy another one in the future. I did a spreadsheet analysis including all cost factors and find that a larger car, the Corolla, is more cost effective than the Prius plus it is big enough to drive out of town on longer trips.

[Canada_Rockies]

I appreciate your viewpoint on the Prius vs the Cooper Mini. I have the smallest Prius, C model. I love its exact equal weight distribution front and back, and use it mostly around town, so get 42-65 mpg. I love the little bugger, but always go rent a bigger car when going on long trips. The state of Ohio is discouraging hybrids by imposing a punitive surcharge on license tags, so probably would not buy another one in the future. I did a spreadsheet analysis including all cost factors and find that a larger car, the Corolla, is more cost effective than the Prius plus it is big enough to drive out of town on longer trips.

What on earth or your politicians thinking? A surcharge for a hybrid? Why not a surcharge for me, driving a 19 year old 4WD pickup truck instead? My highway mileage is 24.5 mpg (imperial, 20 US). Up here, where batteries are not the most useful drive modes, (-30 ~ -40 in winter) where most of the battery life goes to try and keep the windshield de-iced, I wonder if I really am less environmentally friendly. There must be an environmental impact from changing out your vehicle when the ashtrays are full (PS: I haven't smoked for 25 years).

[ivanvernon]

What on earth or your politicians thinking? A surcharge for a hybrid? Why not a surcharge for me, driving a 19 year old 4WD pickup truck instead? My highway mileage is 24.5 mpg (imperial, 20 US). Up here, where batteries are not the most useful drive modes, (-30 ~ -40 in winter) where most of the battery life goes to try and keep the windshield de-iced, I wonder if I really am less environmentally friendly. There must be an environmental impact from changing out your vehicle when the ashtrays are full (PS: I haven't smoked for 25 years).

Politicians are adept at finding justifications for increasing taxes. If your car requires an excessive amount of fuel, the tax can be imposed as a punitive measure in order to encourage you to acquire a more fuel efficient car. If you than acquire a more fuel efficient car such as my tiny little PriusC, politicians can then impose a tax to replace the road taxes you would have paid had you not purchased a fuel efficient vehicle. Heads I win; tails you lose!