I really don't understand why people think the D90 has reached it's limit. Yes it costs more to purchase and maybe more to maintain but if you set money aside I think a well restored D-90 or D-110 is a better all around Overland vehicle then a Jeep. Parts really are available overnight anywhere from US or Europe if you are willing to pay the shipping fees which you would be if it keeps your trip going. Payload is much higher on the Defender. It is more solid and far simpler then a 2012 JKRU. The engine options on a Defender are far greater then a modern (US) Jeep. You can run a 200tdi with a single wire if you needed to. I'm going out on a limb here and saying, money aside, the Defender is always a better solution then a modern Jeep or anything else for that matter. FLAME ON!
Nomad: You have one of the nicest 110's in the Country. I too have owned a very similar truck. I loved the very feeling just looking at the truck and driving the truck left me with. Just to see it in the drive made you think back to watching Wild Kingdom on Sunday nights as a kid.
You knew there wasn't a place it couldn't take you. But, a few things were true about the truck. It was hot in the summer and cold in the winter! My wife and kids hated this. Despite much work with sound dampening material, it was loud as rip inside when you were driving down the interstate and even though mine had a 4.6 installed, still top speed was like 75 without the temp guage starting to climb. (and at that speed, you really didn't feel safe based on the very design on the truck).
Yes, drive by wire, can be a good thing in Mozambique, but hardly necessary in most of North and South America. True you can fly parts in but the very reference I did to O2 sensors- Jeep - like $20 bucks each and takes 2. Land Rover - $299.00 each and takes 4.
The 110 despite many efforts to correct these problems and thwart them- Leaked when it rained, electrolosis on the lower doors (even though repaired twice), 2 water pumps in a two year period, two fuel pumps in a two year period, rust was a constant battle on the rear cross member, and my truck had never seen any further north than Virginia.
So, there are points where you decide in life, ... form or function, difficult or easy, wrench or go.
I can say this emphatically, ... Land Rover IS indeed moving away from it's roots and heritage. Jeep had, ... and realized the err of their ways, and all marketing, commercials, ads, tie-ins with Tread Lightly, Concept Vehicles and partnerships with the likes of AEV show that they are serious when it comes to supporting the lifestyle that comes with the ownership of these trucks.
Soapbox yielded.
D
