Back to Home page
It stands out in a carpark, and being too tall for most multistoreys I can always find it in a glance. It does everything a normal car will do, eventually, and much more besides. I take the view that any problem can be solved with enough time, and given the correct tools will be much easier. The LandRover is a universal tool, and it can move more people, furniture, and rubble across terrain you can't walk across than any other vehicle I've found at an affordable price.
Driving it is fairly cheap, because insurance can be very sensible with the right company, and parts aren't generally described as costly. But then you do use a lot more than your average Fiesta owner. When I spun my Ninety into a hedge in snow I took out two concrete posts and popped the numberplate off the bumper, but in a small car I would have caused untold damage and possibly have been hurt. I have a friend who was involved in a side impact with a motorcyclist and while he walked to the ambulance to have his shoulder seen to, the motorcyclist sadly died at the scene. I think this illustrates the importance of a strong, heavy vehicle without the electronic fripperies which make modern cars feel so safe at speed.
There is a great sense of community driving a LandRover. Other owners wave and flash, and stop at the side of the road for each other, and the enthusiasts will strike up conversation in the street. The friendly attitude is strongest at club meets, where I have walked up and felt welcome at three out of three LandRover clubs so far.
I know that people reckon the car gives an image of the driver, but a LandRover owner could be a bearded enthusiast from the early thirties motoring of AA men saluting at countryside junctions, to a boiler-suited farmer off to feed the cattle, to a hardcore offroader squaddie-wannabee plucked straight from the Fast Show. It's a classless vehicle. It just doesn't tend to impress the girlfriend's parents.
I just like the whole feeling of 'I can' when I'm driving it.
Back to Home page