I have been in Kenya for about a week now visiting my son who works as an agronomist on farms in the highlands around Mount Kenya.
So far I have seen a couple of new looking Range Rovers in Nairobi and one Freelander2 at the airport. Since then just a handful of old defenders out in the country areas. Everything else is Toyota. Looks like LR have given up on the real off road market. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Long since, unfortunately

or just that modern land rover are too complicated and too unreliable to run out in the sticks, and can no longer be repaired with a small amount of mechanical know how.

the Jap equivalents are cheaper to buy, more reliable and will go everywhere they need them to. Plus the fact the international agencies all use them so there are thousands of Japanese pick ups bought in bulk...

In my first tour in Bosnia in 1995, the headquarters staff shelled out for 10 brand new Mitsubishi Pajero LWB, and a team of guys were flown up to Zagreb to pick them up from the main importer there.

Any that survived the year out there were sold off for about £3k each on a first come first served basis. Oddly enough we then saw some of the surviving Pajero driving round back in Germany driven by high ranking officers........

More money to be made selling extra electronic gadgets & high end plush pile floor mats to tackle shopping centre speed bumps & even more expensive "necessary" gadgets for the school run so parents keep up with the Joneses!

Around here there are more RRs & Discos than you can poke a stick at. None of them have ever seen the sticks! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Last edited by Lightwater on 29th Sep 2017 9:05 am. Edited 1 time in total

My son took me out yesterday to look at some crops near Mount Kenya (including a 1500 acre field of barley!) in his Toyota Hilux and we went along some pretty difficult tracks and terrain for miles up to an altitude of about 2500 metres. I am sure that my FL2 would have got there but I wondered just how long it would last doing it every day. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Early hilux pickups in Saudi were just as close to getting to indestructible as you can get, just big enough to get one camel in as well. Our very large fleet of company vehicles there had one Defender that the C.E. used, it was a UK company ! I would not then turn my nose up at a Land Cruiser thats for sure then, I wonder if they are still as good. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Tigger wrote:

Long since, unfortunately

what the dearth

All sadly true. We spent several weeks in Malindi/Tsavo in ’97 and the dominance of Toyota in particular was already apparent.
The F-series big Land Cruiser was a truly formidable beast and is still in use all over Africa. We were driven around Game Parks in them in SA a few years back - 15 years+ old and still going strong.
Sadly again, whilst you can ‘blacksmith a Toyota but rarely need to, you can ‘blacksmith’ a Defender’ - and all too frequently have to.
As to modern, electronic, LR products... much as we all love ‘em in the West, and brilliant cars they are, they are way, way to complex for 2nd/3rd World markets.
I think that Tata/LR have made the right call as to the markets they go for.
Be interesting to see what ‘Mr Ineos’ comes up with in his quest to make a new Defender. I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.

Apparently Mr Ineos is being sued by JLR as they claim they own the iconic shape of a defender. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

They probably will do, and unless he has either bought the rights to the design, (mega mega bucks!) or bought a license to build like Santana in Spain (just mega bucks!) then he cant use anything from the Defender at all.

I would suspect that JLR will hold the rights to the design for eternity as the potential money to be gained from license could be more profitable by a long shot.

Last time I was in Kenya back in the early nineties, Toyota had already been offering the safari companies
basic pickups and cruisers at a loss, also by establishing the dealer centres in conjunction with maintenance programs they managed to corner the market..

And yes YB I wouldn't turn down a Land Cruiser either, what ever age......

funny enough this morning I saw a Toyota J40 (1960>84) drive by
Dave DAVE.
I.A.M. F1rst Driver.
Gone 2003 Discovery TD5 Auto,
Gone 1986 Defender 90 Station Wagon
Gone 1984 Range Rover 3.5 Vogue Manual.
Gone 1970 Series 11A/3 SWB 3.5 V8 Hybrid
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Van
Gone 1966 Series 11A SWB Van
Gone 1964 Series 11A LWB Station Wagon,

I wonder how these guys have got away with it?

www.bollingermotors.com 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

... and they're definitely outnumbered by Toyotas like 100-1...

Yes, it's easier having a Prado / Land Cruiser - easier to service, anywhere, anytime, by anyone with spares easily available... but I prefer having a Land Rover (had a Discovery II before): something unique, says a lot about one's personality, and their real desire to get out there.

Most of my friends who are true bound (bush) bashers have a Land Rover of some sort - 90, 110 or 110 pick-up... and the fancy guys have a Range Rover of an RRS. I like my Freelander; nimble yet capable. The only comparable Toyota is a RAV4, and I'd rather suck eggs before being seen dead or driving one of those! 2010 FL2 TD4 HSE Galway Green

Was it your FL2 I saw at Nairobi airport on Sunday night then? 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Bought my first Land Rover in Kenya in 1963 when they were the preferred vehicle. That took me from the Northern Frontier Distict (NFD) down to Mombasa and across to the Rwanda border.No problems that couldn't be fixed by the local fundi. Did have a broken fuel pipe outside Bagamoya which was fixed by the local garage, but had the luxury of a local African hotel, 4shillingi a night and that included a Tilley lamp.
Next vehicle was in Zambia 1968 but by then the Japs were making an appearance.
In Capetown late 80s very few Land Rovers, Japanese models dominate. 11 GS Bali Blue
07 GS FL2. Usually muddy. Gone
Numerous LRs since 1963