I have to confess to something. I'm a sucker for the old Land Rover series. Call it an innate countryside reaction (rural Yorkshire born and bred, quite feeble arms thank you), but there's something compelling about having a car that you can drive up a dirt track to rescue a stuck sheep without having to worry about whether the exhaust will fall off at the next bump.
I've tinkered with the guts of a Series IIA that is my senior by a decade, like an oil-covered Frankenstein stitching in the very heart of the monster. A classic Land Rover looks like a car that you can service yourself with nothing more than a wrench and hammer, and maybe a good pair of steel-toed boots for the inevitable frustrated kick that follows dropping a nut in the depths of the bonnet.
So it's with more than a little suspicion that I approached my next potential Landy purchase, because the more modern Land Rovers do not look as if they would take so kindly to an amateur mechanic wandering into his garage wielding a spanner and a copy of the Haynes manual. As ever I wanted a used Land Rover, both for the lower price and feeling that it had already been broken in to some extent. As I have already experienced the delights of bouncing about on country lanes in a tatty old Defender I decided to opt for a test-drive in the updated version.
With the vast range of models and specs on offer it may be a little daunting to the first time buyer. However don't be overwhelmed by the choices, because visiting a good specialist used Land Rover dealership means that you will be able to talk through your requirements with experienced sales staff who can advise on the model that best suits your needs. This applies to any used vehicle, and a specialist dealership should be your first port of call to avoid disappointedly kicking the tyres of a rust bucket that looks nothing like the "good as new, one careful lady owner" car that you were expecting.
As I was only borrowing this particular used Land Rover Defender for a few hours, I thought it prudent to avoid any off-road adventures. However travelling the back roads made it clear that the advances in technology have only served to enhance the performance of the Defender. I barely felt a jolt as I mounted the grass at the side of a single-lane country road in order to let another driver pass. And whilst I may love the classic models, one can't exactly pretend that they provide the most comfortable of rides over rougher terrain. The improved suspension of the updated Defender meant that even a vicious-looking pothole evoked merely a shrug from the vehicle.
Land Rover have a solid reputation built upon durability, and with their development of easy handling and ride comfort it's not hard to see why this iconic brand has endured even as local agriculture has sadly waned. I felt slightly treacherous in my enjoyment of the journey in the Defender, but there's no reason why a classic design has to mean a sore posterior.
All too soon I found myself heading back towards the dealership, wondering whether the Series IIA would still provide the same fulfillment now that I knew what I had been missing. Whilst I would be more inclined to leave the more intricate servicing of the newer used Land Rover models to the professionals, I'm sure that given time I'll be rooting around under the bonnet for the smaller tasks that can be handled by a competent home mechanic.
I admit that I was fully won over, and signed on the dotted line with only the briefest moment of hesitation as I wondered whether the Series IIA would throw some kind of sulk.
For anyone looking for a vehicle that combines off-road capabilities with on-road comfort, a used Land Rover could very well prove to be the ideal choice. If you get a chance to test it out on roads that offer slightly more challenge than the A1, you'll be able to get a feel for whether that particular model will be the one to take you up hill and down dale with the minimum of fuss.
I've tinkered with the guts of a Series IIA that is my senior by a decade, like an oil-covered Frankenstein stitching in the very heart of the monster. A classic Land Rover looks like a car that you can service yourself with nothing more than a wrench and hammer, and maybe a good pair of steel-toed boots for the inevitable frustrated kick that follows dropping a nut in the depths of the bonnet.
So it's with more than a little suspicion that I approached my next potential Landy purchase, because the more modern Land Rovers do not look as if they would take so kindly to an amateur mechanic wandering into his garage wielding a spanner and a copy of the Haynes manual. As ever I wanted a used Land Rover, both for the lower price and feeling that it had already been broken in to some extent. As I have already experienced the delights of bouncing about on country lanes in a tatty old Defender I decided to opt for a test-drive in the updated version.
With the vast range of models and specs on offer it may be a little daunting to the first time buyer. However don't be overwhelmed by the choices, because visiting a good specialist used Land Rover dealership means that you will be able to talk through your requirements with experienced sales staff who can advise on the model that best suits your needs. This applies to any used vehicle, and a specialist dealership should be your first port of call to avoid disappointedly kicking the tyres of a rust bucket that looks nothing like the "good as new, one careful lady owner" car that you were expecting.
As I was only borrowing this particular used Land Rover Defender for a few hours, I thought it prudent to avoid any off-road adventures. However travelling the back roads made it clear that the advances in technology have only served to enhance the performance of the Defender. I barely felt a jolt as I mounted the grass at the side of a single-lane country road in order to let another driver pass. And whilst I may love the classic models, one can't exactly pretend that they provide the most comfortable of rides over rougher terrain. The improved suspension of the updated Defender meant that even a vicious-looking pothole evoked merely a shrug from the vehicle.
Land Rover have a solid reputation built upon durability, and with their development of easy handling and ride comfort it's not hard to see why this iconic brand has endured even as local agriculture has sadly waned. I felt slightly treacherous in my enjoyment of the journey in the Defender, but there's no reason why a classic design has to mean a sore posterior.
All too soon I found myself heading back towards the dealership, wondering whether the Series IIA would still provide the same fulfillment now that I knew what I had been missing. Whilst I would be more inclined to leave the more intricate servicing of the newer used Land Rover models to the professionals, I'm sure that given time I'll be rooting around under the bonnet for the smaller tasks that can be handled by a competent home mechanic.
I admit that I was fully won over, and signed on the dotted line with only the briefest moment of hesitation as I wondered whether the Series IIA would throw some kind of sulk.
For anyone looking for a vehicle that combines off-road capabilities with on-road comfort, a used Land Rover could very well prove to be the ideal choice. If you get a chance to test it out on roads that offer slightly more challenge than the A1, you'll be able to get a feel for whether that particular model will be the one to take you up hill and down dale with the minimum of fuss.
Sir Cherrylton risked upsetting his Series IIA by writing about a used Land Rover Defender
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