Landrover Defender Xtreme Td5

Our ‘Down-under’ correspondent, John Weinthal has just finished testing the new offering from LandRover. I have known John for over 35 years and he is not one to be swayed by the manufacturers or to mince words. His rather forthright test of the LandRover Xtreme Td5 follows. I have not driven one, but I do know John Weinthal! Here are his words....

“I looked forward to this week’s test vehicle for a number of reasons. Firstly, the LandRover Defender has a heritage which few others can approach - it is a direct and obvious successor to the original LandRover of 1948. Second it is NOT Japanese. It would be interesting to note how it differed from the market leaders - the highly regarded Nissan Patrol and Toyota’s LandCruiser and Troop Carrier.

“The LandRover defied my understanding. On the positive side, the test Defender cost round AUD 48,000 with its host of hopefully go-anywhere and get-home extra equipment. That is at least AUD 10,000 less than a similarly boosted Troop Carrier. The Defender also has four side doors while the Troopie has two.

“From there on, the Poms lost me totally. It’s a matter of where to start the criticism. The five cylinder turbocharged diesel engine is extremely noisy at all times. Further, 2.5 litres and just 90kW is simply inadequate for a two tonne vehicle. Its lack of highway over-taking ability could be dangerous, and in town its acceleration is simply embarrassing.

“Off-road the wait for the turbo boost makes it easy to stall which could be fatal in the worst conditions. It was more than just irritating at times. The interior materials, control layout and appearance are simply prehistoric. It is uncomfortable, heavy to drive and noisy all the time. The already heavily used, and maybe abused, test vehicle also rattled like no new vehicle I can remember.

“I can think of no purpose for this LandRover compared with a LandCruiser Troop Carrier - and it makes no pretence at offering the quality, performance, user-friendliness, comfort or build quality of a Patrol or Cruiser wagon.

“The LandRover Defender Xtreme might appeal to the determined masochist - the type who reckons we have all gone too soft. Well, good luck to him, but pity his uncomfortable passengers who don’t even score a decent sound system, door pockets, vanity mirror or any grab handles. Forget about central locking or power windows. Dammit, it even requires three keys for the doors, ignition and fuel filler.

“We managed to talk above the LandRover, even if only to comment on the limited range afforded by its 75 litre fuel tank. And we enjoyed the scenery, particularly on the mainly-dirt Sunday Creek Road from near Jimna to Kenilworth (in Queensland).

“We will have another weekend like this soon, but next time in something a lot less exhausting. Yes, I know one of our larger off-roading magazines has just rated the Xtreme - the exact same vehicle we had - as better than a Troop Carrier. Yet they too admit it is easy to stall, appallingly laid out and generally way behind the times. They seem to reckon discomfort, heavy controls and general awkwardness to be desirable qualities - I don’t. This was a test vehicle I looked forward to handing back.”

Autotrivia quiz So to last week’s quiz. After the First World War the Brooklands authorities dropped their 24 hour race in favour of a “Double Twelve”. The question I asked was simply, why? The reason was simple - it was because the people in the neighbourhood complained about the noise at night and so the Brooklands people locked the cars up as night fell, releasing them the next morning to do the second half of the 24 hours. This week’s quiz question is one to send you running off to the kitchen for inspiration. You know the kitchen, the place where the maid and the wife congregate. One of the current manufacturers of kitchen appliances also used to build cars; in fact the production lines ran side by side. They built 125 vehicles in two years, but decided there was more money to be made in filling madame’s kitchen rather than the master’s garage. What was the name of these cars? Clue - they made three models, a K1 and a K2 and a long wheelbase limousine. For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email [email protected]

Kimi Raikkonen heads to McLaren for 2002

It is old news now that Kimi Raikkonen has been released from his contract with Sauber Petronas to drive alongside David Coulthard next year. What many people do not know, however, was that Pattaya alerted the world media before the news came from McLaren.

Kimi Raikkonen

Our own “Kimi” - Matti Kaikkonen, who has recently taken up race driving at Bira in the Concept I series, has contacts in his native Finland and passed on the news to me. In turn I passed on the news to a Formula 1 website in the UK and it was up on the web 24 hours before everyone else. Thanks, Matti and the Finnish connection!

McLaren had to put forward millions of dollars to buy him out of his Sauber contract, and Peter Sauber said, “I knew Kimi was fast from his first test at Mugello, and after three races I knew he was very talented, extremely focused and also egotistical. He thinks he is quicker than anybody. All these things add up to him being a good racing driver, although not necessarily a nice one.”

There’s a certain Michael Schumacher that has done well with those attributes too!

Fairthorpe Atom A few weeks ago I mentioned in the Autotrivia quiz the hoped for British “peoples car” produced by “Pathfinder” Bennett, the Air Vice Marshall who earned his nickname following his exploits during WWII in the bomber command. Since nobody came within cooee of getting that one right, I thought I should publish some more on this abortive and totally hideous concept vehicle, of which only a handful made it into the hands of private owners. Take a look at the photo and you can see why! Fairthorpe Atom The year was 1954 and the UK was just coming out of the ravages and restrictions of post-war rationing. The Atom featured a lightweight plastic body and the go power was a 250 cc BSA motorcycle engine. Creature comforts were practically zero, and when compared to the veritably “luxurious” Austin A30, the Fairthorpe Atom was found wanting by the British general public. Later cars were offered with the 650 cc BSA or even a Triumph Herald engine. The performance would have been quite good - but could you have driven around in something looking like that?

Thailand Touring Car Championship Round 4 this weekend?

Sport Grand Champion field at Bira

Many people ask me when the next race meeting will be at our local Bira Circuit. As you can see by the question mark in the heading, nothing is ever cast in concrete here in Thailand, and I must quickly add that it is not the circuit which is at fault here. The organisers of the Thailand Touring Car Championship (TTCC) set their schedule in slow drying custard if you ask me. At the time of writing this, a little over a week to go and the meeting is still to be confirmed!

Stop press - meeting postponed!

Fortunately, the organisers of the Thailand Grand Touring Cars are switched on and the October 21st meeting for their classes is on schedule, with the GT cars, the Concept cars and the Sport Grand Champion cars all ready and waiting to present some first class action. You can definitely pencil in the 21st October in the diary.