Hi Teejay
If you want an unbiased , independent view of the relative merits of Landy vs Land Cruiser , you have come to the right place - nothing but the truth to be found in these forums !
Seriously , though, I will give you my opinion . Many Landy owners might disagree and more Land Cruiser owners will surely disagree . So you be the judge.....
Firstly , the question of reliability.. There is reason for the anti LR brigade to mouth off about Land Rover reliability. But this reputation has now got a life of its own :
In the late 90's and early 2000 ' buying a new Defender or Discovery was like playing Russian roulette - some owners were lucky - many were unhappy. Why ? Inadequate engineering standards on the new TD5 engine and inadequate quality control , driven by typical British union dominated systems.By 2005 the TD5 was sorted and Ford had bought LR and were not afraid to demand quality - or else "dont come Monday"
The result : Disco 3 and Disco 4 which are clear world leaders in engineering excellence , with the best levels of production quality control.
So , what about the Defender? Unfortunately the Defender has not yet reached the same same levels of assembly line quality control - so that even now new Defenders have the odd glitch. The good news is that if you buy a good used Defender (Puma , TD5 or Tdi ) it will have been sorted out and will be reliable.
The secret is in the selection.. Get a good one and I am sure it will be at least as reliable as a Land Cruiser , despite what some of the "captive media loud mouths " bleat on about.
Just today the following post was placed on the 4x4community website , which illustrates my point .It is a scenario that is repeating itself more and more often :
Namib dune tour
I just returned from a great experience, the Luderitz Walvisbay Namib desert tour. It started on 21 Feb at Luderitz and ended on 26 Feb in Walvisbay. Our group consists of my 130 Puma D/C. one Ford Ranger 4.0L D/C, one V6 Prado and three Cruiser S/W 100 VX (one diesel and two 4500 EFI)
The two support vehicls were also 4500 EFI Toyota Land Cruiser Bakkies.
When we started I was hammered with the normal Land Rover teasing and ask to release the hand brake of the Landy when taking on the dunes. I must admit the diesels are not fully equiped with power to take on the very high dunes but done on all the other dunes with the big 4.5 liter EFI petrol Cruisers.
The Land Rover and the Ford were the only cars not damaged or broke down during the trip.
All three 100VX's were repaired in the desert. One broke the diff lock electrical switch and the stabiliser arm at the back, the other one's outomatic gearbox overheat and broke an engin mounting and the last one took a dune to fast and bend the nudge bar in the grill broke the cowley and the starter motor broke down (this car belongs and was driven by a well known motor journalist - his mouth was also the biggest against the Landy, after these repairs he was reminded that the Landy never broke down and was not towed to start during the trip)
The Landy's toolbox with the required bolts, nuts and spanners was used to fix these Cruisers in the Desert.
My experience was as follows: The Landy CAN do the job with ease. The two most steep dunes were not done by any diesel on this trip, only with the V6 Prado and Ford as well as two of the 4500EFI Cruisers. The Prado with the V6 done the best of all cars but tore off the rear bumper.
I only used 4L when climbing steep hard surface slopes and used 2H, 3H and 4H on all the dunes to built momentum and 1H to go down the slip face of the dune. I used the normal 235x86x16 tyres, this was a mistake as you need more flotation on the very soft loose and fine sand of the Namib. Tyre pressure was 0.8 front and back and the 130D/C was not loaded, only my camping gear, 60 L of water and 90 L of diesel. Fuel consumpsion was high at 3.6 L per Km on this 650 Km Desert trip.
What will I change next time, three things: one 265X75x16 Mud Terrain BFG's or bigger, upgrade the engin output with a chip and fit a snorkel to reduce the intake temp to obtain cleaner air.
I will reccommend this trip to every body as it is a great experience, specially the long slip faces to manuvere and the climbing of long dune with speed.
Regards,
Without doubt the Land Cruiser has been a formidable performer in the off road scene. But I believe its day has come and gone , just like the dinosaur....Fuel inefficiency will kill it dead...
Be aware that a Cruiser can be expected to use twice as much fuel as a Defender . Some will say , so what, I can afford it. So be it - but I can relate a story of a trip though the bush in Moz that I did in the company of a Cruiser and a few other jap vehicles , in my Tdi Defender - 600 km. The Cruiser carried extra jerry cans of fuel and topped up half way . The Defender had no extra jerry cans - by the time we reached our destination the other drivers were all looking anxiously for a fuel station. The Defenders fuel gauge was still over half ...So fuel consumption is more than just a money matter - it is freedom from "Empty Tank Phobia".
With regards to the Defender and its user friendliness , most people who have driven them love them and their families love them. But .some people report that the driving position is uncomfortable , and that the car is too noisy.
Take one for a long leisurely test drive - you will know then whether the Defender likes you and whether you will be able to enjoy the friendly wave that you will give to every other Landy driver.
Enjoy the Best Car Ever
Dave