Land Rover Defender TD5

Hi Alan,

A guy at work has the Defender Extreme (2000 Model) and he is extremely satisfied with this car. The only problem he had was with the starter motor (he actually destroyed it in the mud) and Land Rover Assist fixed it without any issues.

Regards
Phil P

Hi Alan,

I have had a 2002 Defender Td5 now for 14 months and 35000km. So far it has been absolutely brilliant. Bags more power and torque than my old 200Tdi Disco, and just as frugal. If I drive with a light foot I can get 9.5L/100km, however I enjoy using the accelerator and usually average 10.5. The motor now feels as though it is beginning to loosen up and just gets better all the time.

I have done a fair amount of long distance driving and even with the relatively low gearing of the Defender it will sit quite happily on 110kmh, and will pull strongly past 130 for overtaking if you put the boot in. Off road it will tonk along at idle in low range. Also great going up hills. With the Disco I used to have to get a run up for Welshpol hill and keep the foot flat to the floor to maintain speed in 4th gear. The Td5 will just cruise up in 5th.

I know Kevin from Rover Tech and respect his opinion highly.

Cheers Tony.

I have had a td5 defender for two years been up the canning , Gibb R.Road Kalumnburu , Mitchell falls Plenty Central Aust. No problems exept front coils ,put heavy duty ones in wiring loom to an abs sensor 78,clicks good economy in rough, Wiluna - well 23 via calvert range 100 litres./ Thump it and consumption goes up. It suits us, will buy another one. Need to drive them differently most of all when starting off.

Thanks Tony, Phil and Lyndsay. You've made my mind up for me.
Alan.

G'day Alan,
I purchased the Extreme TD5 in November 02, and find it a most relyable and fun vehicle to drive. I have covered 12k in the last three months with no problems or faults.
Very capable off and on road
Fuel consumption is excellent, and for a change it even goes when you give it a bit of boot.

All the best,
Mac

G'day Alan,

Seems you've already made up your mind but I'll ad my 2c worth as well. I just traded my '98 v8 disco for a 12 mth old but as new '02 extreme 2 months ago. Have clocked up 6000 k's in that time so plenty of time to get used to it. No probs to date but then the disco led a tough life and ran for 5 years and 130k's without fault too.

Firstly economy is pretty static at 10.5 - 11.5 l/100k irrespective of driving. doesnt matter if low range, peak hr traffic or 110k's on the highway. Prob not quite as good as a tdi but very close. The decision for me was between a td5 disco or extreme. The xtreme already has a lot of the mods as standard over the disco, bullbar, larger tyres, uprated suspension etc. ie. much better value & much better resale ... if i ever sell it. The disco was obviously a lot quieter but the xtreme is certainly fine. Mine is my daily commuter and weekend toy. Much quieter than many tdi defenders i've been in.

Gearing is fairly short and 3000 rpm equates to about 120k's so thinking of changing high ratio to disco spec or fitting overdrive at some time in the future. Motor is very smooth up to this point. Off road it walks over ground in high 1st that i would have been in low range in the disco. Needless to say in low range its amazing. Traction control very rarely kicks in maybe due to the better wheel travel. Very low rpm torque is nothing like the v8 but once you get on boost the td5 will hold 5th far more comfortably than the v8 ever did.

Only negatives are the fuel tank is too small and the new models with colour coded roof look great but lacking the insulation of the disco they get bloody hot. Other than that the front springs are also not up to the job when you put a winch on the bar. As for space, no comparison with the disco so long as your rear seat passengers arent too big. Some of the load space is gained by the increased length, some by the lack of rear legroom.

Other tip is to ask the dealer to replace the useless clock with a nice matched td5 tacho instead. Not many dealers in melb seemed aware of this option.

cheers and enjoy

Dane