The Land Rover Defender

The Land Rover Defender has been around for quite some time. It's always flown under my radar because these vehicles are too pricey. It only started grabbing my attention last 2012, when I saw a Defender Station Wagon 90 in Ilocos.

It was at the parking lot of Kapuluan Vista Resort. One of the guests owned it, and it was parked beside our van. It looked nice. It had a rugged, indestructible feel. It had decent ride height, and it looked like it fit my categories for an ideal city vehicle. Practical, spacious, high ride height, and nice to look at.

from Land Rover's official site

There is a longer, five-door version of the Defender. But I quite like this one. It's not that long so it can still fit decently in parking areas. And you can still seat four to five people in it. As for accommodating groceries, well with some good packing you can most likely fit it in easily also.

So what's the biggest downside of this vehicle? For me it's the fact that it doesn't have an automatic transmission. I'm 'lazy' when it comes to shifting gears, but I still know how to drive a stick shift. I'll probably need some practice to get the hang of manual transmissions again, but it's a price I'm willing to pay.

(In fact, there are only three vehicles I wouldn't mind driving stick if someone gave me one for free. The first is the classic Volkswagen Beetle, the second is this Defender 90, and the last is... any stick shift vehicle. I mean, come on, would you really say NO to a free ride?)

For the price of one of these you can easily purchase a diesel Kia Sportage or the newest Toyota Rav4 and still have change to buy a nice set of rims. So why would I choose this over them? To be honest, I'm not sure. All I know is I wouldn't mind owning one of these.

The Land Rover Defender is slowly making its way up my list of family car vehicles I want to own. But to be honest, the order is still:

1. Diesel Kia Sportage A/T
2. Diesel Toyota Innova A/T
3. Toyota Rav4 A/T
4. Land Rover Defender 90
5. Toyota Avanza A/T

Notice a pattern? Yes, I still prefer automatic transmissions. But that doesn't mean I will completely shut the door on manuals.

Out.