Land Rover Defender
REPORT 3
£51,295 OTR/£74,146 as tested/£1,004 pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
To live the life most Defenders can only dream of
DRIVER
Sam Burnett
FAIR WEATHER IS ALWAYS PREFIXED TO SOMETHING TO TURN IT INTO an insult but what’s wrong with doing something when the weather is nice? It just seems sensible I’m a fair weather person but Mrs Burnett fancied doing a little light tramping across Devon and who am I to argue?
You’re not allowed to do wild camping on Dartmoor because of the plants and that but we found a ‘wild campsite’ which meant sleeping in the woods with better toilets Plus it was the only place with room An ordinary tent wouldn’t cut it but Land Rover’s optional one only fits the longwheelbase not our shorter Thankfully the nice people at TentBox managed to rustle up their latest effort the TentBox Cargo It bolts to your roof rack and springs up to reveal accommodation for two plus it has an awning and a rack on top for all your lifestyling accessories like bikes and surfboards and such Wouldn’t be troubling that
The Cargo is the ultimate Swiss Army lifestyle tool for adventurous types who are at home in the great outdoors The opposite of me in fact But it was easy to set up and I had a lovely night’s sleep once I hoiked on my four layers pulled on my balaclava and filled up my hot water bottle At k it’s not necessarily for fair weather campers like me but if you find yourself frequently leaving the house to do impromptu sporting activities and need somewhere to sleep then it’s worth considering Purists will still want the original Defender People who like to suffer in the outdoors enjoy the leaking and the cold and the breaking down But this car is entirely more civilised and there was nothing more delightful in the morning than clambering down from our rooftop perch to thaw out with the heated seats and climate control
It’s a bizarre car So huge with so little space inside Bluff brash inefficient But I kind of love it even if I am a fair weather driver