Well having it home delivered last week, today was actually the first time I'd driven it. A trip to the agent's for a missing cargo barrier and a long list of queries.
Out of the drive and into the lane, first warning - PDC error. Turn left onto the main road, a second warning, followed quickly by a third warning - TPMS error and rear seatbelts error. I must admit, I had a little inward giggle, as having shared so many of these stories with other on here, I knew it was just the Grenadier pulling my leg - he's a bit of a jester. Down to the mini roundabout, braked, gearbox downshifted very nicely, I checked all clear and accelerated away smoothly marveling at the way ZF could could make my life so much better. Then, a message I really didn't expect to see - Gearbox in "N":
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(photo taken later when parked up).
What the feck, I was doing 50mph at the time it first appeared. Those bastards at ZF weren't my friends anymore. Anyway, that particular message cycled though the screen all the way to the agents. Is there a prize for having the "first" of any particular fault?
I was just mulling over the ramifications of the gearbox thinking it was in neutral as I moved along at 50mph with an indicated 8th gear, when I was rudely brought back to the present by a new bong and a red warning that my front passenger door was open. For this message I decided it was time to pull over and check the door, it had proved troublesome when climbing in and out over the last few days & it would be an opportunity to switch it all off and back on again. I was but 2 miles from home.
After opening and shutting the door (it was actually open) and jumping back in, the rest of the trip was fairly unadventful.
I can say that it drove beautifully on a mixture of motorway, sweeping rural A roads and a smattering of very bumpy B roads. I allowed the same time to get to the agents as I had the week before to view the vehicle straight off the transporter in the old Defender; and despite not hurrying, indeed being overly careful to "run in" everything, I found myself about to be 20 mins early on a 56 mile journey. Best thing I could think of was park up for a photo:
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The journey home was even better - not a single message, error or warning, even the TPMS. The best thing I can say is it is a Defender on steroids. It has all the theatre of hustling along in a large 4x4 but just far more refined and large wads of power/torque available to get past the inevitable camper vans the old defender would be stuck behind for miles. Cabin is a very nice place to be, general sound levels exponentially better than a Defender.
I'd be very happy to wander across those large arrid plains in Spain and still have the right vehicle when I arrived at the ferry.
I've got a long list of jobs to do around the house tomorrow but will be looking for an excuse to visit the local agricultural store by the longest route possible.