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[A-Ro]

I’ve just watched World’s Greatest Cars on Quest where they were voting for the World’s Greatest off road vehicle. The choice was the Mercedes G-Wagen, the Willy’s Jeep, the Toyota Land Cruiser, the Land Rover Defender and the Ford F-150. I know where my vote would have gone however the love that was shown for the Toyota made me think it would win hands down. When it came to the final vote they all waxed lyrical about their own personal favourites but when it came down to the vote the Defender won by an absolute very muddy country mile. The Land Rover has somehow transcended all levels of vehicle desirability, one of the judges even declared that it was not only the world’s best off road vehicle but the world’s best vehicle full stop. I love them a lot but even I wouldn’t go quite that far.

[w3526602]

Hi A-ro,

By the same token, which is the best horse equine? I suggest a "mule". They can do everything a horse can do, but do it faster, better, and cheaper. (Except reproduce).

If LOTTO came up trumps, the G-Wagen  would be interesting/desirable. If I had a small holding, then the F-150 might become desirable, but thinking of Suburbia, how big is it?

Horses for courses ... a good horse is never a bad colour ... unless it happens to be a chestnut mare. If I can't afford it, it doesn't matter how good it is. Somebody remind me ... what problem did Toyotas suffer a few years ago?

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[Gareth]

Didn’t Top Gear also vote the Land Rover Defender as the greatest car of all time?

[MrTDiy]

Ha!

I went to bed at the land cruiser .....thinking the same thing

So the Landy won!

Hmmm, well. I was happy to drive a land cruiser across down and around the North West of Australia. I would have loved to have done it in a series or Defender but I would have wanted to take some spares and some tools....plus my Wife's back would have suffered.

Perhaps, and in summary to how I see it........ in my mind I would take the land cruiser for the journey and sightseeing but I would take the Land Rover for the adventure. Everything, automotively speaking, is too easy these days and I always want to try to get close to those pioneers from the early days of auto exploring....... Explorer Lite I call it

[A-Ro]

Didn’t Top Gear also vote the Land Rover Defender as the greatest car of all time?

I know Richard Hammond is a huge fan and he did a really good video about them which I know I kept at the time but I can’t find it now. The show also liked the Toyota, I think the model they tested to death was the hi-lux, for weeks they tried to destroy it but it carried on running, they even dumped it in the sea and let a couple of tides go over it.

[w3526602]

they even dumped it in the sea and let a couple of tides go over it.

Hi

And tell me , sir, what was your criteria for choosing this model?

Can anyone top a certain Napier (albeit with an American engine (Libery 27 litres?), that spent 40(?) years buried under the sand of a Welsh beach, before exhumed, and is now up and running.

Apparently you could still  smell the burnt brake linings, and a least one tyre, maybe more, was still inflated. It seems neither drive chain was missing, so if the driver WAS decapitated, it wasn't by a broken chain.

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Google, BABS PENDINE IMAGES

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[Nanuq]

Of course the Defender won, it's THE classic that every young boy grew up loving and wishing to share adventures with.

Take a look at Alaska Offroad Warriors.  It's another overdone aggravating reality TV show but it features a friend of mine and his D90, which breaks and is replaced by his trusty 2A.  You can see him on this Episodes page, episodes 1, 2 and 8 are Jason.

https://play.history.com/shows/alaska-off-road-warriors#episodes

[Worf]

This one (my son was passenger)

[TimV]

And there was plenty of Series 1 and Series 2 footage as well.

The outcome was a surprise.

[Exile]

I am assuming the vehicle that came first was the 1990 to 2016 Defender, and not the current "Discovery 6" badged as a Defender?

[gcc130]

It’s a shame the program was so boring, I fell asleep during the Landcruiser and only woke up t the result. Maybe that was a bonus 😄
I have tried to watch the other episodes with the same result, is it just me?  I’ll get my coat😊

[w3526602]

Hi Worf,

If our Glorius Leader will allow a cross-discussion (about exhumation) of Babs... Yes, that's a picture of Babs, AFTER they had applied a bit of "lippy".

As for Land Rovers, how much cash was spent developing the original concept into a Series 3. Same question for the other title contenders.

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[w3526602]

Hi,

I wuz there at the time, but didn't pay much attention .... didn't Britain have an Empire at the time, ready to buy our goods? I'm thinking India, Malaya (?), Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and (guessing) some lumps of Africa. And the then web had friends in places like Arabia.

The USA, on the other hand, was a long way away, and probably self-sufficient, and Japan had not yet built a reputation for quality (Pearl Harbour was the result of Japan's need for domination in the Pacific ... they needed the raw materials. It didn't work, so they tried other methods. You have to admire their drive in progressing from making junk, to their present reputation.

I understand that FIAT traded a complete factory (LADA) for a load of Russian steel, which went rusty very quickly. I'm not sure who got the best of the deal.

Mahindra (India) got the rights to make a copy of the US Jeep, which had the potential to be a useful motor (there is at least one that drives (drove?) around with a Ford V6 engine (which might be a different ball-game). I changed the clutch plate (splines torn out of the friction plate) on a friend's Mahindra ... horrible job ... thick runny underseal. But yeah, replace the original diesel with something more civilised (Marina 1.8, or Cortina 2.0, petrol. and it might have merit.

In Nevil Schute's novel, "A Town Like Alice " (that's Alice Springs) ... a sheep station owner's  wife had to translate a financial offer into terms that her husband could understand. I think it worked out at 27 Land Rovers plus a Bedford truck.

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