Land Rover Defender 110 test drive since 2007 SUV
The new Land Rover Defender hump on the hood
The new Land Rover Defender hump on the hood otherwise did not fit a new turbodiesel. And he now has a modern salon and a 6-speed manual transmission. Nevertheless, he remained a good old defeat. Some funny people with all their might resist progress. They even create warm water for washing water by mixing hot and cold directly in the plug of the sink. However, what can you want from the nation still living under the monarchy? Unless a car such as an updated LR Defender. True, representatives of Land Rover stated that now this car is not a harsh hard worker, but a stylish SUV for lovers of outdoor activities. But they spoke somehow timidly.
Have you traveled or not?
If you never went to Defender before, ergonomics will be amazed at you. In order to correctly go inside, you need to stand on the bandwagon to the doorway, lower the sciatic on the chair and only then bring your legs inside. Brought? Great, we continue the conversation. Here is the classic version of the Commander Planting Commander Plant. High and vertical. Great. But! The steering wheel is not right in front of you. He is shifted to the left. And the pedals too. So it was before, and so left. At first it is a little shocking, but then you get used to it quickly. You just do not need to protrude the left elbow, that's all. In addition, now there is where to put the left leg, and this is already a considerable achievement. The rear view mirror sticks out exactly in the middle of the windshield, and only the edge of the spare and a few clouds can be seen in it. Fortunately, it is removed in one movement. Well and so on
If you know what the previous Defender is, you will be pleasantly surprised by the salon. The old one looked categorically primitive. I am a retrograde myself, but not to the same extent. But now everything is exactly as it should be. Moderately modern, with light notes of Militari. And, nice, the tachometer finally appeared. And the air conditioner, previously placed directly at the legs of the front passenger and very disturbed, moved under the hood. The hatches under the windshield disappeared, which allowed to launch an oncoming flow of air right inside with dust and flies. It was a pity, there was a cool thing. The seats are for my taste, they were always good, and now they have become even better. Although there are two adjustments: longitudinal and tilt of the back. Some, however, believe that the back on long trips get tired. So before buying, still sit, try on. The back of the rear sofa is designer, the upper edge of the wave. There are no shops in the trunk for additional passengers. Instead of them, the Defender 110 as an option (18,000 rubles) offer two additional chairs installed in the direction of movement. They fold, they are surprisingly easy to make, and in a cleaned form they hang on the side of the wall. The same are in Defender 90 as a second row.
What I categorically did not like in the salon of the new Defender is the velor on the floor. In the salon and trunk. Very high quality. But absolutely inappropriate in a utilitarian car. Well, at least it is black, not bright. But one of the main problems of Defa ineffective ventilation operation finally managed to solve. Now the stove blows correctly, the interior warms up quickly, and the glass does not even fog in heavy rain.
The heart of the van Structurally, nothing has changed: the frame, bridges, a constant all -wheel drive with the locking of the center differential and lowering the gear.
But the engine and the box are new. The turbodiesel is made on the basis of the Ford Power Unit intended for commercial vans of the Transit series. It is more powerful, more painful, but the main thing is more reliable than old TD5. But if modern diesel engines work almost silently on idle, then all this glamor does not relate to the new Defender at idle no less than the predecessor. Under load, at 3000 rpm, it, of course, is quieter. But you know what? I like. It is in this voice that a brutal SUV should have.
The motor is still very cold, it not only does not warm up at idle, it does not gain operating temperature even after an hour of work in conditions of dense landing on the ground, when the blowing from the bottom is completely absent. You are funny, but I almost got stiff. I had to wave a shovel, like the last navigator, just to warm myself in anticipation of a rescue group. In general, a good engine, overheating does not threaten him.
As for the new 6-speed manual transmission, it caused much less positive emotions. The first gear is too short. And with the second, touching is still not very convenient. The rear gear turns on to the left and go with a noticeable effort that protects against accidental hit, but my hand was heavy and I managed to turn on the rear a couple of times instead of the first, despite the presence of some driver's experience. Nevertheless, the new box is better. Due to the presence of the sixth gear, you can now go along the highway at a speed of 130 km/h, and on the predecessor there were 100110 cruising regime (of course, and this and that and then along the speedometer).
On borders and on a hill
In the city, the pleasure of driving LR Defender 110 is slightly overshadowed by a huge diameter of the turn. But if you don’t fit the first time, you can always run into the curb, regardless of the height of the latter. Unless, of course, you rested on the side of the road, and not on a parked car. And Def is also very respected on the road. Even in traffic jams, when people begin to lose human appearance, this angular bulk of many sobers.
What is the likelihood that the owner of the LR Defender will move off the asphalt? In my opinion, she strives for an indicator of 110%. Even if a person chose this model for considerations of style, sooner or later she herself will drag him into the mud. Because the true elements of LR Defender have always been off -road. In this sense, the current generation has not brought anything new. Unexposed bridges. The monstrous passages of pendants. Reducing gear with ratio 3.269. The angles of the entrance/congress 50 and 34.5, respectively. What is missing? Clear and instant inclusion of a reduced row. The system is purely mechanical (which cannot but rejoice), and therefore, at times, her tooth does not get to the tooth pushing the lever of control of the distribution box, but it does not go. So, you need to return to an increased row again, drive a couple of meters back or forward and try again. The conclusion is simple: the reduced one must be included in my opinion, in my opinion, a car of this class should already in the basic configuration in the basic conferences. Because when we sat on the belly (ten centimeters of dry sand, underneath soft clay, failed immediately, even my mother did not have time to say), if we had locks, we would have a chance. And so both wheels were skidding on the left side, and the right, standing on dry, did not participate in the process. As a result, we found out two more points. Firstly, a bursting cable of a plastic grille of the radiator is broken by one. Of course, we hung a safety quilted jacket on the cable, and that is why it flew not into glass, but to the lattice. Secondly, the regular bumpers of Defa, although steel, are not designed to work with hi-jack. That is, I managed to raise the left side of the car, but the bumper also skewed slightly as a result. So the power body kit for Defender is an urgent need.
We do not need transverse
On the new generation, a system for maintaining the trajectory stability of TSC, Traction Stability Control appeared. It will not help you in the mud (if you prefer to think for you electronics, buy better Discovery or Freelander), but can help when descending from a steep mountain. Helped us. The masking wheels were slightly inhibited. But only slightly. And in general, this thing is clearly invented for thin work on a slippery road.
By the way, about the road. In terms of controllability, nothing changed, and it should not. In a straight line, Defender 110 goes very clearly, not demanding steering even on not very even asphalt, but on the arc, if the asphalt is shocked, it slightly rearranges it. And the front axle, and the back. Well, how else, if the bridges are uncertain? But if Def had received an independent suspension, it would be necessary to get it out of clay in deep mud with the transverse levers work like anchors. So let him remain the way he is, one of the few professional SUVs. The keeper of the traditions of off-road. Honestly, having traveled on it, I am ready to exclaim: God, keep the queen, and at the same time all these funny British!
Author: Savva Safonov, photo Galia Nursultanova
Source: Magazine 4x4 [January/2008]
