Sick, this what you’re going to be driving up in when we go for a skate?
Yes, “When” that happens…
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Do it when you can come in and Ill make you a brew.
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Only thing I’d say about land rovers are the engines are absolutely crammed into the bay, not easy to work on for any mechanic. They are known to get fucked valves and for normal cars are fairly straightforward to replace. For a land rover the cost can write the thing off as it’s an engine out and 4 day job if the mechanic is good.
Doh I mean Range Rovers . Not land rovers
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So none of that applies to a Land Rover? Really need something that’ll basically clean and feed itself without much attention from me.
Depends on the engine . It’s the Diesel engines on the range rovers that have this issue
Weirdly we have one on the TV set, spotted it a mile off . It’s a fucking beast of an engine and it’s tucked right in the bay with a 3rd of it under the windscreen Tight against the bulkhead . Which is why it’s a mare to get to.
I wouldn’t bother with an actually capable four wheel drive unless you need it for some reason. It’s just a load of added weight, complexity and extra stuff waiting to fail for nothing.
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I don’t use mine all that often. I do actually use it off-road a bit though not for fun, I got over the green laning thing years ago. It’s good for towing - trailers, boats and wood chippers occasionally. The extra ride height means you get better visibility on country roads than in a standard car. It feels safe because of the size. If I had kids I think that might be a consideration. It’ll definitely get you out of the shit when the weather’s bad. Boot space is great etc. I pretty much use it as a tool and use the estate more often than not. The TT’s for dry day rag abouts. All my cars are 4 wheel drive and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to 2 wheel drive unless I get a classic at some point.
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Yeah if you live somewhere that there’s actually tons of snow a lot of the time but putting winter tyres on or using chains is something hardly anyone seems to bother doing but probably makes a bigger difference. Heavier cars stop worse too.
But practicalities aside I suppose I just find the whole stupid fad of people buying ever larger fucking ugly looking trucks in an effort to see over the top of each other to be a bit demented and depressing. Cars used to attempt to be beautiful whereas now they just seem to compete to see who can make them the grumpiest looking.
The Japanese have an idea that cars have a face. They used to look like they were happy and smiling, now, most of the time, they look pretty pissed off.
I’ve got ATs on the Land Rover. They do the job. I have driven a previous Land Rover in snow with standard road tyres on with no real problems. Obviously there’s a difference but knowing how to properly drive a 4wd does count for a lot. I have seen people who don’t have a clue thinking that their cars are somehow magic and just barge it. I saw a a brand new gold Range Rover destroyed at the bottom of the steepest hill in a town near me last time we had heavy snow. I wouldn’t even have tried walking up or down it that particular day, let alone driving down it. There’s no run out even in dry weather, touch those brakes when it’s slippery on a slope and you’re simply ice skating down that hill.
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I think that’s the thing they make people “feel” safer and I’ve driven them enough to get why they do but it’s not really clear whether they actually are and if they are for the individual driving in the event that they have to plough through some poor cunt in a normal hatchback they definitely aren’t for anyone else.
A big heavy, tall car also isn’t generally going to stop as well. Also it’s far more likely to have a rollover accident. And if you get unlucky enough to hit a pedestrian with one of these slab-fronted motherfuckers then their chances are hugely worsened too. It’s just overall not a design that was ever meant for the purpose that most of them serve and it shows.
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This conversation reminds me of something I couldn’t help enjoying a bit of schadenfreude over. During the first lockdown some ‘blokes’ travelled down to Dorset from Essex. Driving white Range Rovers towing Jetskis they drove across a protected bird nesting ground to get to a spot to launch said pwc’s in a lagoon in a nature reserve near my folks’ house where access is limited and the use of powered watercraft is absolutely not allowed. Whilst reversing their launching trailer into the water the first guy got stuck. His mate went to pull him out. He got stuck in the mud too. The tide came in and swamped their cars. Then it went out, and came back in again. They couldn’t get towed out until the following day. I imagine that was expensive. Karma in action.
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Is it a crazy Idea to buy a second hand automatic car, insure it as a learner and get people to take me out in it until i’m good and then I have some lessons to brush up and test?
Ah yeah 4WD makes perfect sense in performance cars but more for outright performance and putting the power down than safety I think. With the systems on board nearly all cars these days RWD can be equally as safe. The last BMW I had with the traction and stabilty control on it was no more likely to lose the back end than a FWD car.
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Yeah if your mate who’s taking you out isn’t an instructor you might learn a bunch of bad habits we all probably pick up that you then need to unlearn. Do both at the same time instead, lessons and also go out to practice, especially reversing and parking and whatnot.
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Ok cool, gotcha. Not a mate but my Aunties bloke who’s helped quite a few people learn, he’s an ex copper and runs a blood bike charity so he’s a dogooder and stickler for rules and the right way of doing things.
Any reason you’d choose auto than manual?
Ease, time learning. I have no interest in being a driver particularly but I have to do it for my kids and future. I want it done quick. I hate learning anything, I just want to be able to do it, ha.
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