Man o•erators •e ieve t at the Land Rover has
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chan.ed little since its intro•uction in 1948. But the must not be deceived the De ender 90 o lers some •owe I sur•rises.
• Although it's been around almost as long as John Major, the Land Rover is probably better known. You can get it in grey too, but somehow Arden Green seems to suit Solihull's local hero better.
The Land Rover is apparently timeless, probably because examples seem to last for ever and externally little has changed since its introduction in 1948. Don't be deceived though. Over the years it has grown and put on weight and much has changed beneath those aluminium panels.
Power outputs have increased steadily over the years, but in the past diesel versions have struggled to boldly go where no 4x4 has gone before. Criticism has not fallen on deaf ears at Land Rover, which introduced a turbo version of its 2.5-litre diesel in 1986. Power rose to 64kW (85hp) and torque to 204Nrn (1501bft), but the oil burner was still a bit breathless on steeper slopes.
The answer lay in the all-new 200 Tdi 2.5-litre direct-injection, charge-cooled diesel which appeared in the new Discovery in autumn 1989. Land Rover waited until last year's Motor Show to launch the new engine in its oldest product, and at the same time, the Land Rover was given a new name. All new Land Rovers are now Defenders (unless they are Discoveries or Range Rovers of course): while there has been some slight rationalisation, the Defender range comprises the same 90/110 models as before.
This week we have tested the Defender 90 hardtop. Land Rover's press blurb lists a number of improvements for the Defender. These include an end to Land Rover's longest running joke; that a driver and two passengers can occupy the front seats. The middle seat has finally been ditched in favour of a lockable cubby box, which has allowed the two seats to be moved inwards by 25mm to provide more elbow room. Other changes include an uprated wash/wipe system and, fresh from the 1950s, a front courtesy light!
Externally there are two new body colours and a plain rear door option for those who want an internally mounted spare wheel.
• BODYWORK The Defender retains the original Land Rover Lego-like qualities. Aluminium panels are mounted on a stout steel
ladder-frame chassis; the hardtop can be unbolted from the rest of the body and the windscreen will fold flat if required. Rattles and squeaks might be an expected result of this, but our example appeared to be well screwed together.
Lighting technology has come a long way since 1948 and the Defender headlights are certainly up to the job. Mind you, the indicators, side and rear lights all look as though they were bought on a trip to Halfords 20 years ago — modern flushfitting lamps would be a welcome improvement to the vehicle.
All four-wheel-drive vehicles suffer a payload penalty because of the extra drivetrain weight. Our Defender 90 tipped the scales at 1,775kg with a 75kg driver, allowing for 625kg of cargo. Floor space is limited by the wheel boxes which run the full length of the 1.6m3 load area, so fitting in our 15kg test weights was a bit of a squeeze. High ground clearance exacerbates the loading problems.
The single rear door opens through 90° to offer reasonable access to the load area. Driver and passenger are protected from shifting loads by a half-height bulkhead, but the lack of load restraining points is a serious omission in an off-road vehicle.
• DRIVELINE
The 200 Tdi engine certainly looks impressive on paper with two-stage directinjection and charge-cooling, using a Garrett 125 turbocharger in place of the T2 fitted on the old 2.5-litre turbo-diesel. Power output is 80kW (107hp) at 3,800rpm with 255Nm (1881bft) of torque at 1,800rpm. Both figures are 25% higher than those of the old turbo-diesel. Torque from the 200 Td i is also greater than that from the Land Rover vee-eight petrol engine — 253Nm (1871bft) at 2,500rpm — and might tempt petrol-engine enthusiasts with its superior fuel economy.
Land Rovers have been using permanent four-wheel-drive for several years. Drive is fed to the live axles via a fivespeed gearbox and two-speed transfer box with hicking centre differential; essential
Iv, it is the same system as used on earlier Range Rovers. The manual diff-lock is engaged using the transfer box selector.
• PERFORMANCE
Land Rover claims a 30% improvement in acceleration and a 13% improvement in maximum speed over the 2.5-litre turbodiesel. We were unable to verify this, because the last Land Rover we tested was the heavier 110 model (CM 8-14 June 1989). However, the results from our tests correspond reasonably well with the comparison figures Land Rover supplied, suggesting that improvements come close to the company's claims.
The Defender can certainly hold its head up against its off-road rivals in our comparison chart, keeping most of the field at bay.
Reasonable progress can also be made without much cog swapping thanks to the engine's impressive torque. Changing gear is another reminder that a Land Rover is a curious mix of car and truck. The heavy clutch is decidedly truck-like, while the slick if slightly vague gearchange would not be too out of place in a car, except for the long movements. Our main criticism is that the spring detent for reverse is too weak and it is very easy to select reverse instead of first if you are not careful. A lifting collar for reverse would solve the problem.
Using the transfer box lever is another matter. The left plane engages the diff lock with high or low range, while the right plane selects high or low range only. A warning light on the dash indicates when the diff lock is engaged. We have complained about the two-hands-on-thelever-and-one-foot-on-the-dash technique needed to shift this lever before and there is no excuse for it. If other manufacturers can build user-friendly transfer boxes, so can Land Rover.
The good news is that you won't have to use it very often. The Defender stormed up our test hills on and off-road in high range. It was equally possible to descend those hills in high range, but the excellent engine braking is better used in low range.
At the legal limit, the noise from the DI engine is enough to deter long journeys at speed, but the level of transmission noise is acceptable for permanently engaged four-wheel-drive.
• ECONOMY
With the improved performance, Land Rover also claims a 25% reduction in fuel consumption over the old 2.5-litre turbodiesel.
Again, we cannot verify that claim, but among our selected rivals only the Vauxhall Brava 4x4 is significantly better. Our laden consumption figure of 10.91it/100km (26.0mpg) is only marginally worse than the Defender's unladen figure of 10.6fiti 100km (26.7mpg): the housebrick aerody nannies obviously come close to cancelling out the weight penalty.
Underbonnet access is good the large engine bay was designed for the old straight-six petrol engine so accommodating the four-pot diesel is easy. With 140 UK dealers and a worldwide distribution network, servicing should not be a problem whether you're based in Catford or Kathmandu.
• HANDLING Setting off down the road in any off-road vehicle is a strange experience to start with, and the Defender is as quirky as most. Shod with Michelin 205 R 16 mud and snow tyres, road grip is limited and it rolls noticeably through corners. The steering has a poor lock, although power steering takes most of the effort away. Feedback and self-centring action are also very limited.
A quick glance under the front bumper explains a fair bit. The first thing you see is a massive steering damper which will soak up most sensations from the road and tend to keep the wheels pointing in the direction you last steered. On tarmac the seat feeds more information back to the driver, but hit the dirt and it all makes sense.
The Defender can be driven very quickly off-road. One reason is the near absence of kickback even over very coarse surfaces — all soaked up by that steering damper. It also handles very well and can be steered quite easily with the throttle. Another reason is the superb ride — one of the best among off-roaders — which won't attempt to shorten your spine over every rut and hole. This is due to another Range Rover cross over, all-round coil suspension, with finely tuned damping. Put simply, the Defender is an excellent off-road vehicle.
Luckily for us, if for few other road users, the weather during out test was atrocious so we had the chance to drive the Defender in snow. While most cars were confined to garages, the Land Rover was happy to climb slopes and could be driven on uncleared roads without much difficulty.
• INTERIOR
It's hard to escape the feeling that the interior is an afterthought. The budget money has been spent on the hardware it seems, with little left over. Instruments and warning lights are grouped together in a pod in front of the driver: the speedometer is accompanied by fuel temperature gauges, voltmeter and a bank of warning lights. The gauge markings are vague and some of the warning lights were not connected, not working or had a different function for different models. For example, the engine pre-heat lamp carried a choke symbol instead of the universally adopted heater coil. It all smacks of penny pinching.
If anything, the switchgear is even worse. Column stalks control the usual functions, except that the rear washlwipe has a separate switch from the stalk which controls the windscreen wash/wipe. This is mounted almost out of reach in the centre of the dash and has no delay facility — essential given how often the rear window needs to be wiped in rain. Fumbling for the switch means a momentary lapse of concentration on the road.
It's worse at night as none of the switcheS are illuminated. Rocker switches for the rear window heater, hazard lights and interior light are mounted in a row to the right of the steering column. In the dark you can only hope to hit the right one. Output from the heater is poor, and the controls are badly sited at each end of the instrument pod. The heat and distribution control are fiddly to get at because they are so close to the driver's door.
By way of contrast ventilation is good. The flaps below the windscreen mean there is no shortage of air at face level: it might be crude but it works. Our Defender was fitted with the optional sunroof, which improves matters still further.
Cloth seat facings are the only concession to creature comforts where furnishings are concerned. The Defender is a working vehicle and the mats can be easily removed to hose or sweep out the interior.
II SUMMARY
At £11,048 (ex-VAT) the Defender 90 is the most expensive vehicle in our corn parison charts, even without the £1,200 worth of extras fitted to our test vehicle. As an off-road vehicle it is also the best. It has the best chassis, the most advanced four-wheel-drive system, the best suspension and, with 200 Tdi power, the most advanced diesel engine.
If you need a vehicle for serious, extended off-road work, with a list of options as long as your arm, the Defender must come top of the list. The 200 Tdi engine has not only given the Defender competitive fuel consumption, but also enough power and torque to cope easily with harsh terrain.
Not that it is without its faults. Switchgear, instruments and heating all need sorting out; as a load carrier, the Defender 90 is no match for some of its rivals and for extended high-speed road use it is too noisy.
If you do not need the Land Rover's off-road capability, some of its rivals are more sensible choices. If you do. nobody does it better.
by John Kendall