Range Rover Classic - Rackspace Hosting

When it comes to brand identity;
Defender is what qualifies
Range Rover, LR3, and LR2 as
being worthy of the green oval.
Photo: Richard Howell-Thomas (LRM).
compatibility. Given the improved interior insulation, you can truly
hear the music.
It’s still a narrow vehicle so your seats, which adjust a bit more
than before, still rely on the door and electric window to help
position you in cockpit. Autocar.UK noted that “the driving position
remains appalling…elbow room is notable for its absence and leg
room is right on the limit of comfortable.” In the Defender 90’s rear,
EU regulations have forced the twin rear jump seats to face forward,
not sideways. The seats will tip forward and fold sideways so as to
leave plenty of room for work tools or play stuff. Again, EU regulations
mean that you can’t have more than 7 seats; gone are the
10-seat and 12-seat possibilities of yesteryear.
The 2007 Defender offers 14 different body styles in wheelbases
of 90 [actually 92.5”], 110, and 130 inches. You can enjoy a hard
top [with or without side windows], the venerable station wagon, a
double cab [crew cab], and pickup model. Land Rover Special
Vehicles will still create or authorize ambulances, lifeboat haulers,
tippers [dump bodies], or most anything else you’d want.
On or off-road, the Defender will haul up to 3,500 kg while
climbing steep or slippery hills. There’s no automatic transmission
option nor does the Defender come with airbags, anywhere in the car.
You can’t loll about in cruise control or watch a DVD player.
Reflecting the popularity of Defenders amongst auto thieves, an
alarm, an immobilizer and central locking is standard. The optional
sunroof is manually operated. The exterior mirrors move only when
you grab them with your hands and yank them in the right direction.
The rear windows on the 90 still slide open and shut, just as they do
on my ’66 Series II-A. For the UK market, you can still order rubber
mats and take a hose to the interior. The clutch is reportedly as heavy
as ever and the turning circle still rivals that of a Kenworth attached
to a semi. Interior noise at 70 mph is 73 decibels, about that of a
diesel locomotive, but you can hear the standard audio system.
Autoinsider.com summarized the off road capabilities well.
They wrote “The test course covered some of the toughest terrain –
so steep, deep and undulating that you’d think twice about covering
it on foot. Yet the Defender lapped it up, rocking from side to side
over tree roots but plodding on unmoved. When it eventually came
unstuck it was down to a lack of driver technique – it scaled the
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