Good Times

threads merged and moved to general vehicle topic.

guaT-100

I had a 1990 Land Rover Defender 90 with a Turbo Diesel as a work vehicle when I was working on a development project in highlands of Guatemala, and it was damned near unstoppable. I never got it truely stuck, and I drove the thing like I stole it. A few times I had it sitting on one front and one rear wheel in ditches and other uncomforatble areas, and rocked it out with the lockers engaged, once I did have to get a little push from some frienly locals, but I never had to walk. For the slick clay we would put chains on the tires, and that made it into a tank. It was a great vehicle, but I would never have driven it the way I did if it were mine, as they are too expensive to really drive if you care about resale, ours was dented to hell. The other downsides that I found were the high tech security system doesn't hold up too well, and to override it we had to rig up some switches and buttons to flip and switch before starting it, and sometimes she needed a pushstart when the connections were bad. It is a PITA to get parts for too, we would even have to get out oil shipped up from Guate City, as it is a very specialized vehicle that isn't too common outside of Europe. It also didn't have a snorkel and I was never too comfortable in deep water with it. Would I buy a Land Rover? No, but I'll drive the hell out of someone else's. I would take a slightly modified Toyota over a Defender any day, mainly for reliability, cost, and ease of service.

Keith B.

The diesel Defender would be attractive, but, alas not availible here. Even more attractive is the Land Cruiser 70 series(Diesel or gas) availible around the world but not here. Also, the USA market gas defenders are still selling used for more than they were new; 30+K used vs. 22K new!

guaT-100

The Land Rover turbo diesel is really nice, but sucks down a lot of fuel. I'm sure that the diesel Land Rover is far more efficient than the beast of a V8 that Land Rover puts in their US models, but can't even compare to the efficiency of a Toyota Hilux diesel. It's a shame there aren't more diesel options in the US.

xcmountain80

Yea I'd buy a diesel 4Runner, would be perfect really. Are the rumors true about the diesel Tundra 1/2 ton?

Aaron

Sporin

Short wheelbase, flexy coil spring suspension and plenty of ground clearance is what made them so good. No one else was offering that at the time (Jeeps were still leaves, FJ's were not available new at all)

I would say a new Rubicon would be more then a match for it since it also comes with low gearing and lockers from the factory.

I don't think it's fair to compare a mid-90's D90 against a mid-70's FJ40. They are two completely different animals. More comfort and convenience features, fuel injection, etc. etc. Too many differences.

I really think these "which is better" topics should stick to comparing vehicles form similar periods, not jump all around.

Once you start modding, the comparisons go right out the window.

D90's and the like aren't as trouble prone as you might think. It wasn't until the later years when they added all the electronic gizmos that things really went to heck. A well maintained, early Rover will be just as reliable and daily drivable as any of it's contemporaries. The key is maintenance.


That said, I'd rather spend the $20k a D90 would cost even now on an FJ40 restomod tuned to my needs.