Jimny vs. Defender Off road - which is best?

wrote:

And if you are lucky enough to have an automatic gearbox in your Jimny then you can do the creeping about slowly bit way better.

Not to sure it has to do with being lucky.

Personally I'd not want an auto one. I know autos can go well off road, but they are less fun and on technical terrain you have less low speed control in terms of engine braking and rolling over obstacles.

And on the road a low output n/a motor and a 4 speed auto most certainly wouldn't be my choice.

I can lock in 1st just like any other Jimny and climb down a slope with every bit as much control. As for on road my last jimny was manual and was way more frantic constant gear change until you reach the dual carriageway, town was even worse. Temeraire on the other hand keeps up with traffic just as easily but in a way more relaxed manner, which I find makes it easier to keep an eye on suicidal cyclists and pedestrians. Less multitasking is better.

TBH a lot of this will be personal opinion and I do realise you have an auto Jimny 

wrote:

I can lock in 1st just like any other Jimny and climb down a slope with every bit as much control.

I'd have to beg to differ on a technical level, unless it is doing something fancy and able to lock the torque convertor up when in low range. The Discovery 2 does this automatically in low and the p38 Range Rover uses the Sport button to toggle the feature on and off. But of course with the torque convertor locked you won't then get the benefits of the slippage from the convertor at other times.

If it is locking it, then you are still probably at a gearing deficiency over a manual with more gears. But if it isn't locked, then you just won't get the same level of engine braking. As going downhill the torque convertor will flash and slip before you get any meaningful engine braking. Hence autos have a rep off road of feeling like they run away from you on steep descents. As that is essentially what is happening. Newer vehicles have other tech to counter this in some situations.

Now I do admit, in the Jimny with the low displacement petrol engine, you don't get huge amounts of low rpm engine braking. So the effect might be a little masked. But I'm sure it is there.

HDC (does your 3rd gen have HDC?) will be able to hide this. But there are times you might not want to use HDC. Which is why it is normally switchable on and off.

wrote:

As for on road my last jimny was manual and was way more frantic constant gear change until you reach the dual carriageway, town was even worse.

It's been a while since driving a Gen 3. But I wouldn't call the 4th Gen frantic at all. However changing gear is for me at least, part of the Fun!

I also find that automatics always always annoy me. They are dimwitted and will either at times be in the wrong gear, do the wrong thing or have an rpm gap where they just feel flat. With only 4 gears I'm pretty sure this would be the case with the Jimny.

I've driven and owned many autos from many different makes, covering 3 speed right through to 9 and 10 speed. They all annoy and in almost any and every car I'd take a manual given the option.

I guess I must just be more suited to driving an automatic then. But certainly in low first on the very significant slopes on my farm some of which are difficult to walk down without sliding on your bum, I have no more rev climb or overrun in this one than I had in the manual before it. This is the kind of terrain when you cover the brakes and accelerator in equal measure no matter what you are driving even the tractor never mind the Prado, both of which are better at this trick than either Jimny, less you end up sideways and in serious trouble. But that could be from my familiarity with my cars and my terrain.

My experience has been that sometimes the Landy does stuff with ease, other times the Jimny does stuff with ease. Sometimes the Landy just can't do the obstacle and the Jimny goes through with no effort, and vice versa. I have a friend with a 90 that eventually fitted a locker becuase his wife with her gen 3 Jimny (no traction control) was able to do stuff that his Landy (with traction control) wouldn't.

wrote:

My experience has been that sometimes the Landy does stuff with ease, other times the Jimny does stuff with ease. Sometimes the Landy just can't do the obstacle and the Jimny goes through with no effort, and vice versa. I have a friend with a 90 that eventually fitted a locker becuase his wife with her gen 3 Jimny (no traction control) was able to do stuff that his Landy (with traction control) wouldn't.

lol, makes me wonder how much might have been driver rather than vehicle