A defender 90 hardtop.

Please tell me I’m gonna like it.
The rangie has been great and covered 175k miles.
I’ve regularly been looking at alternatives and the defender 90 hardtop seems to tick the boxes.
I don’t need 2 rows of seats as I’ll use it for a daily plus I can buy through my small limited company and claim tax relief.

Anybody looked at these cars, honest opinions please.

Colour:
I didn’t want to go black black and black because I want it to look like a defender.
So I went for eiger grey, white roof and the small white wheels.
I’m thinking the engine might feel a little weak at just 200bhp but I’m sure I’ll get used to that as I have a fast car for weekend use.

I’ll be keeping the vogue as it’s too luxurious to give up on but the sport will be missed.

I've heard lots of good things and am sure you will love it. Some of the YouTube reviews suggest the 250 engine is the sweet spot but you would have to go with the Defender S though you can still spec white roof and wheels (khaki seat and white cross bars would look good!). MY2022 HSE Silver D300 in Firenze Red with black contrast roof
2018 XC90 D5 Inscription with Polestar...gone
2017 XC90 D5 RDesign....gone
2013 Audi Q7...lot of issues...gone
2012 Mercedes CLS...loved it...gone

The 200 and the 250 are both 3 litre inline 6, aren't they? I bet it'll be an easy job to map the 200 up to 250. I wouldn't be surprised if the only difference between the two of them coming out of the factory is the code in the ECU. I bet LR didn't make physical changes between the 200 and the 250. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

That Ecu map sounds tempting.
I’m wondering how one could find out if the engine and other components are actually identical in the d200 as they are in the d250.

Spec I’ve gone for is white roof, eiger grey body and white steel wheels.

Well, defender was delivered yesterday and I stood there looking at it thinking, should I have gone with the stealth black on black look.
I looked at the white roof and white steel wheels and just didn’t feel certain.
Then when I parked up next to my black Range Rover sport I realised that this is a totally different car.
Why would I want to tailor it to be like a rr sport or vogue.
It looks like a defender and when I drove it it felt great the interior of these cars are so solid.

In terms of power, the 200hp engine was plenty, I think the torque is what carries it through. I would have liked a 2.5 but the 3.0l 200hp is plenty for this mini tank.

So now I’ve got to part company with my tdv8 load Lugger.

I'm glad you didn't go black on black on black with extra black. I've seen a couple around like that and they just look like something a 20-something wannabe would drive. Or a footballer.  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Agreed although I like the stealth look, I just didn’t want to be one of the crowd in black again.

I’m thinking I’ll find a decent home for the tdv8 at my sons riding stables as a towing horse or sell it cheap to family.
It’s been a fantastic car, loads of power and extremely reliable.
7 plus years in my ownership and never let me down, had all of the foibles sorted, both turbos, handbrake, air suspension pump and wishbones.

If I don’t find it a good home maybe I’ll take off the hat kit and try an off-road experience with my son. Never tried that before and maybe I’d lie to give it a go.

And this is my new landy baby

Here