The Land Rover Defender Is A British Icon, Is It Any Good? (1986 Land Rover 90 2.5 Petrol Road Test)

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The Land Rover Series 3 cemented its reputation as a workhorse 4x4 that could go anywhere, but that came at a cost for road driving - the bare bones interior, bouncy ride and terrible refinement left the door open for Japanese rivals like the Mitsubishi Shogun, Nissan Patrol and Toyota Land Cruiser to steal sales. The 90/10 (later Defender) was Land Rover’s attempt to make a more road capable off-roader, as much a lifestyle vehicle for families as a trailer-towing tractor alternative for farmers. It might be a legend these days, but is the Land Rover Defender actually any good?
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[@hammyh1165]

My own one is 33 years old and I love it , I also used to daily 90's for about 25 years. They have faults , but it always puts a smile on my face when I drive one. I'd actually rather have a Landy than a modern car , when my Yeti dies the 90 will be taking over.

[@jozg44]

A good Land Rover will be the best vehicle you've owned. A bad one will be - by far - the worst. I've owned enough ropey, tired Landys to say that no other vehicle can bring you to quite the same depths of misery and frustration as a Land Rover that - willfully, it seems - refuses to let itself be fixed. But a good one is a thing that can instill huge amounts of respect and affection. In that category I would include my 1990 Ninety County Station Wagon Diesel Turbo (the engine of which is briefly seen in this video). I owned it for 11 years, daily-drove it all over the country for five of those years. Off-roaded it (for work and pleasure), towed with it (including towing a 109-inch Series IIA on a trailer up out of the S. Wales valleys - that was slow!), moved house with it, did thousands of motorway miles in it. Went to Spain in it. And it only let me down twice; once on the journey when I picked it up after buying it, because the seller neglected to mention that the fuel gauge didn't read lower than 1/4 full, so I ran out of diesel on the M40, and then right before I sold it when it had been sat in an open field for six months and on the drive to the MoT the alternator seized and it threw the belt. Other than that it was absolutely dependable. I did a heck of a lot of work on it over the years - engine rebuild, complete steering/PAS rebuild, all-new brakes, new front axle swivels, some new bits of chassis - but that was all done at a time and place of my choosing and was putting right age/mile-related wear. It never once failed to start when I needed it to and never failed to complete a journey. Genuinely Toyota-like reliability until right near the end, when it started to throw up electrical issues and seized/rusted brakes due to lack of use sitting outside. And that's why I chose to move it on - it deserved better. I always though the Ninety/One Ten were the best blend of utilitarian 'tractor with more seats' charm of the Series models with a useful veneer of comfort, performance and practicality that the later Defenders (especially Td5 and onwards) slightly lost sight of. The 2.5TD engine is rather maligned but, once rebuilt, mine pulled like a train at low speeds at would sit at 70mph all day on the motorway provided there weren't any hills. But when treated like that you might as well have had a petrol engine - it did about 20mpg when worked hard and fast like that. A bit better when pottering around, but rarely more than 26mpg or so. Brilliant off-road and for towing though. Far more low-down grunt and better off-boost torque than a Tdi.

[@tomthompson7400]

lol ,,, are you crazy ,,, they have never built a good one , its just that some are not quite as bad as the others. nothing rusts like a land rover ,, even the oil leaks cant stop them from rusting

[@mantabond]

Having lately found this channel we are very much enjoying the commentary style of this gentleman. It must be his nasal accent which reminds me of my former headmaster at school: posh but not remote.

[@2702simmo]

I’m on my second a TD5 and I tend to daily it now I absolutely love the thing and driving it Steering must be different on the newer models mine 1999 as it’s some of the best steering on a car I’ve had gear change is excellent I love the big gear lever clutch a bit heavy but at lower speeds I get as much fun on a good road as I do in my tvr or 911 Great cars I’ll never be without one

[@uktech]

The old Defender is like Lego. Anything goes wrong and it can be fixed easily. It's not a complicated vehicle and can be maintained with ease. That's why it's known and loved across the globe.

[@jimmyquinn9639]

Lovely old defender and another good video 🚗🚙🚘👍👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

Is It Any Good? Depends how you look at it. As a form of transport it is atrocious. As a bush tractor it's great.

[@stevedangerous1]

Had one of them things since i was 19...now 56...still got a td5 110, daily use...year 2000.. Rebuilding an 84 rangerover envouge...not a vouge..made for 8 weeks, before the vouge SEs where launched, interesting test bed. If you sort out the steering box, and stop monkying around with the suspension, they steer fine. Other car, FQ330 EVO X, Guess which got stolen, all parked next to each other...td5, didnt get very far, he thought he could bump start it...thought it was a 300tdi...

[@kevinbodnar448]

I love it, it's an upgrade to my series 3 1973 petrol 👍

[@97suhail]

That road noise though

[@JonDingle]

Its a machine not a car.

[@frglee]

Not something I would ever want to drive again long distance. Noisy, bouncy, slow and uncomfortable. Just plain hard work to drive. Something for the farmer, off-roader or automotive masochist. Unhappy memories of the jack bouncing out from under the front seat and bruising me on the shins.🙄

[@Beechams1042]

I've seen a 200TDI converted auto in my potential budget. It's from a Land Rover/off road specialist - but I'm not sure whether it would be too painfully slow. For reference I currently have a '93 Mercedes 220CE which is not exactly a rocketship...

[@ThePorkypete51]

As a back seat passenger in the 90 on numerous occasions, I can say I never enjoyed the journey. Neither did anyone else inside at the time.

[@mantabond]

Ouch.

[@JonDingle]

You weren't meant to enjoy the ride, that isn't what a Land Rover was about. It was a work vehicle not a car.

[@amazulu3401]

Gonna make myself REALLY unpopular here. Ok, three massive problems with any series or defender that make them hateful. 1) The original prototype was centre steering, like a tractor. When the wheel was moved eventually to the left or right the body wasnt widened. To this day you need to cut off your right or left arm to drive them properly. 2) Never designed to be driven on tarmac. They just arent. 3) Never designed to be driven in bad weather. You have to open the drivers window to have somewhere to put your arm. Thats it. Alienated myself from everyone now, but these things are generally bloody awful no matter what mods are made and should simply have been abandoned in the sixties where they belong. Buy yourself the last drivable, proper LR, a face lifted TD5 Discovery. A great compromise and all round good egg.

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

Not really, many of us think they're absolute shite

[@jc-d6179]

Excellent.

[@philhawley1219]

That 90 is not a van. In Land Roverspeak it is a hardtop.

[@royblackburn1163]

I've had a cabriolet with faux leather seats lol.

[@philhawley1219]

@@royblackburn1163 So did I. A 1959 series 2 diesel. Incredibly slow. but it was my first LR. My newest one is a 96 Discovery. You cannot beat old tack. New LRs and RRs are simply wanker wagons.

[@pwatom22]

Except North America where nearly everyone thinks its a Jeep. I have an old defender and number of things times folks have said ..nice jeep you have there

[@michaelbarnard8116]

I still can't believe that JLR has retired the land rover brand 😢

[@georgepom328]

Always preferred a 110

[@SimonLloydGuitar]

You need £15k- £20k for a good one, unless youre very handy. If not, expect misery, and lots of it.

[@tomdigby4463]

I presume he meant speed comes in “minutes not seconds” not the other way around but perhaps I misunderstood

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Seconds not minutes in relation to the Series 3 ;)

[@tomdigby4463]

@@ClassicsWorldUK got it - thanks - great vid 👍👍

[@jamesecroucher]

Compared to the alternatives available in 1986, this is just too antiquated to cut the mustard

[@JonDingle]

But where are those alternatives now? Gone to be scrapped and now in your kitchen as an appliance! 😂😂😂😂Whereas, those old Land Rover's, some gone, some still working for a living and some in loving hands!

[@paullacey2999]

Gerroffmoiland

[@JoseMartins-nr3jv]

United Kingdom England Manchester Jeep Land Rover Defender Monster Truck 1986 🇬🇧 Playmobil

[@howardthegasman]

You forgot to mention the dreadful rust problems. What is it that people like about these?

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

They certainly rot, but they're charming and incredibly capable!

[@JonDingle]

They rust, so what! All the alternatives have long since been scrapped and now in your kitchen as an appliance! 😂😂😂. I recently welded up a 2011 Toyota Hilux, RUST, it was a right mess. I doubt it will pass another MOT without coming back to me for more welding or off to be scrapped and made into a cheap wheelbarrow, washing machine or toaster! Whereas, those old Land Rover's, some gone, some still working for a living and some in loving hands!

[@Harrybowles1969]

My 1987 is on its first rust repair. 2 patches on the bulkhead corners. That's 37 years! After repairs I'm confident it will do it's 50th birthday. Oh and it cost about 30 quid in my shed to do

[@FourthDrawerDown]

Unreliable and popular with car thieves

[@georgepom328]

Popular with thieves yes, they are very reliable, actually

[@Tillerman56]

I had a 90D, it became tired with 500.000 km on the clock. I tend to think that there are cars which don't make it to that number.

[@nigelbond4056]

Quite honestly, the Land Rover 90 is the worst car I’ve ever driven… and I once briefly drove a Lada 😂

[@lewis72]

Or, as Mike Brewer would call it, a "Lam Rover".

[@georgeevans3823]

look, the reality is that unless you REALLY want one there isn't a rational reason to get a 90...go buy a Forester or a Fortuner...I love my Puma 90 and my Forester.

[@MrACOUSTICPETE]

I can see the appeal and was nearly seduced once But seeing the result of one " flipping over " and a variety of other un -advertised " health hazards " cured me of the desire !!!

[@lesklower7281]

A series 1 Land Rover a very rough example sold for sud $744 on ebay auction in Australia as most classic british cars in Australia they are not selling why because they aren't holding there value in Australia because they are unreliable and rust even in Australia l owned three Hillmans and they all rusted but now l have a 1997 Toyota Hilux and it is not rusting and it is extremely reliable and they are selling for aud $5000 $6000 $8000 and $10000 depending on condition and the amount of kilometers they have done sell in a couple of days instead of being gor sale gor 5 years nobody wants to buy them and the prices people are asking much to much

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

It might have been ok in the 1950s, but by the 80s it was bloody awful and by the end of it's life it was shocking to drive and live with, making Hilux seem refined in comparison

[@garypoulton7311]

So you jump in a well worn, if not abused, 38 year old Land Rover, then complain the steering is not precise. Having owned these for 31 years, I can promis you, when in correct condition, the steering is fine. Hiw many other competitor cars are still running at 38 years old. Jump into a 1985, abised Gelenderwagon and try it, no you cant, they have all rotted away. Sounds like you need to get back in yor German car, and move to the EU.