I was 80% sure I was going to get a Defender a few months ago, but then the Land Cruisers started popping up on the Youtube car review sites and I started liking them more than the Defender.
That, and there are a few other things that put me off of the Defender.
First, is how big of a PITA it is to get a wheel/tire combo I'd want. The 4 cyl can fit 18" wheels standard, but a lot of people think the 4 cyl is underpowered off road. The 6 cyl has more power, but it's a much more complex engine and you have to swap out the rear brake calipers to get 18" wheels to fit.
And no matter what vehicle you go with, you can't fit tires much bigger than what can fit on an LR4 without taking a cutting disc to the Defender wheel wells.
Another thing made me shy away from the Defender. I had been looking at the ownership experience on the Land Rover World forum. For those who've been here a bit, Umberto used to be a frequent LR4 poster here but when he sold his LR4 and bought a Defender, he moved to that other forum because this site was too slow in getting a new Defender subforum. Umberto had modded his Defender and was loving it until one day someone rear ended him on the highway.
2020 Defender - D90 Fender Bender - Folks - Unfortunately this evening I backed my D90 into another family car and am trying to assess the damage. It looks like the taillight cover will need to be replaced which seems like a cheap fix. My main concern is the rear right panel which is dented at...
landroverforums.com
You can see the damage there. Doesn't look too severe. But it wound up totalling the vehicle.
For some reason, that turned me off of them a bit, and made me want to stick with a body-on-frame vehicle for a bit longer.
I've always been somewhat brand agnostic. I've owned four Jeeps, four Land Cruisers, and two Land Rovers. I like to mix things up. The Land Cruiser should be fun.
I've already dusted off my account at IH8Mud (created that account in 2003) and have been posting there.