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LAND ROVER DEFENDER Used Car Review

Defender is a relatively modern name (introduced in 1990), though it's applied to a vehicle that has barely changed since two brothers at Rover decided to build a superior British version of the World War II Jeep in 1947. Beloved by off-road enthusiasts, farmers and countryside dwellers alike, the aluminium-bodied Defender finally went out of production in 2016 - after 67 consecutive years of production.

Pros

Cons

  • Go-anywhere off-road ability
  • Impressive diesel engines
  • Assorted body styles to choose from
  • Classic design with a die-hard following
  • Poor ergonomics, limited refinement, and sketchy interior quality
  • Better to drive off road than on
  • Slow steering make the Defender hard to drive in cities/suburbs
  • Production stopped in 2016
This is general information and should not be relied on as purchasing advice.
Land RoverDefenderWhiteAir conditioning?: No4 cylClear all

Overview of the Landrover Defender

Overview of the Landrover Defender

Defender is a relatively modern name (introduced in 1990), though it's applied to a vehicle that has barely changed since two brothers at Rover decided to build a superior British version of the World War II Jeep in 1947.

Beloved by off-road enthusiasts, farmers and countryside dwellers alike, the aluminium-bodied Defender finally went out of production in 2016 - after 67 consecutive years of production.

LAND ROVER DEFENDER GENERATIONS

1947-2016

RUNNING COSTS

Fuel Consumption

2.4L 4-cylinder turbo diesel: 10.0 to 11.1 litres per 100km

2.2L 4-cylinder turbo diesel: 10.0 to 11.1 litres per 100km

= Highly economical.

= Good economy.

= Average fuel use.

= Heavy consumption.

Servicing

SIMILAR MODELS TO LAND ROVER DEFENDER

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR: LAND ROVER DEFENDER

The olde worlde Defender has a legion of fans who all usually have one thing in common; they like to drive off-road.

Fortunately, the Defender was very good at this, but it's always worth a close check underneath to see if anything has been damaged on those weekends jumping logs and crawling over rocks.

It's also worth checking the condition of the oil in the differentials, too (although it's not especially easy) for contamination of the oil by water (from river crossings).

The five-cylinder turbo-diesel model could have problems with oil pumps failing which sometimes led to a complete engine melt-down.

Some early manual gearboxes were also a bit flimsy. And as anybody who has ever owned a Land Rover will tell you, the axles can be a weak link in the chain.

The diesel versions all need a timing-belt change at 80,000km intervals so look for evidence that this has been done.