Skip advert
Advertisement

Used Land Rover Defender (Mk1, 1990-2016) review - What do owners think?

It’s as tough as old boots, but the Defender is an old design and will be more troublesome than newer machines

Overall Defender owners love their cars, blindly accepting its flaws, quirks and occasional reliability concerns because it’s such a characterful machine. Most take their cars to a specialist for mechanical work, which is unsurprising given the brand’s own dealers finish plum last in our Driver Power satisfaction poll, with high costs and poor service singled out by owners.

Reliability

The Defender hasn’t appeared in Driver Power surveys, but an army of enthusiastic owners has left reviews on our sister site Carbuyer.co.uk, awarding it on average 4.1 stars out of five, compared with our less generous verdict. Essentially, the Land Rover is built tough and can withstand plenty of abuse, but older examples in particular are likely to suffer from more faults than owners of much newer cars are used to.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Our latest car deals

Vauxhall Corsa

Vauxhall Corsa

RRP £18,505Avg. savings £3,518 off RRP*Compare Offers
Volkswagen Tiguan

Volkswagen Tiguan

RRP £35,080Avg. savings £3,600 off RRP*Compare Offers
Renault Clio

Renault Clio

RRP £18,395Avg. savings £2,695 off RRP*Compare Offers
Omoda 5

Omoda 5

RRP £25,235Avg. savings £1,836 off RRP*Compare Offers
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Car Deal of the Day: new MG4 long-range EV for a ridiculously low price
MG4 - front cornering

Car Deal of the Day: new MG4 long-range EV for a ridiculously low price

The MG4 is one of our favourite EVs on account of its sheer value for money. It’s our Deal of the Day for 11 December
News
11 Dec 2024
ZEV Mandate to spoil Christmas for 1,000s of petrol and diesel car buyers
Nissan Cube

ZEV Mandate to spoil Christmas for 1,000s of petrol and diesel car buyers

Got an ICE car on order? Don’t bet on collecting it before the New Year…
News
10 Dec 2024
McLaren gets a new owner with big plans for the future
McLaren 750S Spider - front

McLaren gets a new owner with big plans for the future

Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings aims to “redefine high-performance mobility”
News
9 Dec 2024