THE DREAM CONTENDER: 1995 LAND ROVER DEFENDER

It may not look like much, but if you've got $25k to spend for a well-maintained example of the 1990's Land Rover Defender, you've got quite a hot rod on your hands. A 3.9 litre V8 that roars when you stomp on the exhaust pedal, a serious five speed transmission coupled with one of the more serious 4x4 setups around.

This vehicle may look like a jeep, oh but it is so much more. The time tested 4wd system on this car has traversed anywhere a vehicle could possibly go, from sand to mud to jungle to rocky mountain roads. Various versions of the Defender have been made over the decades and years and sold the world over, but this was the one sold in America in the 1990's. The webinfo I found, which may or may not be correct, says that just over a thousand soft top versions were imported in 1995.

I had a friend whose wealthy father bought one of these in 1995, to take golfing and bird hunting and on fishing expeditions to the families yacht on the coast. He'd let his grown son drive it around town, to keep it in good running shape, he said. I took several small road trips in this vehicle over the years, and saw awesome performance of the Defender in a seemingly impossible hill climb in Central Texas. I've been in the Defender when it forded a fairly strong moving 2-3' deep creek with a mossy, rocky bed, and it drove across that like it was parking at the mall.

Even used, they remain priced at a premium, for good reason. They rock off road, they have tons of power, and they are quite a fast driving vehicle. I know my friend's Defender was rated as a high performance/high risk vehicle, like his dad's Corvette, by their insurance carrier and they paid extra because of it's rowdy engine.

But if you're looking to blast over the sand or rough terrain, rather than struggle through it in a heavier 4x4 that may be powerful but lacks the horsepower to weight ratio of the Defender, then this is your ride.

I'm probably wrong about this, but as far as stock 4x4's go, this is one of the faster, more capable ones. I kick myself in the rear for not buying one in 1995 or so after my friend showed me his, just as I regret the choice on occasion of buying a Toyota Supra in the mid-80's over a FJ-60.

I'm focused now on why vehicles like the FJ-60 and the Defender achieve cult status and just seem to run forever. If another company decides to market a classic like one of these anytime in the U.S., I'm going to pay attention this time around.