My uncle had an 1.3S. Unfortunately (or not) when I arrived he had already moved to a Sierra 2.0S

Nobody I tell you. It won’t fit anywhere and fuel consumption will probably be abysmal. Curiously though it has no competition*. There is no massive (both in size and price) SUV from a non-premium manufacturer. Its closest competition must X5s, GLEs and Q7s.

I should have added a disclaimer *potentially grenading gearbox not accounted for.

The 4 cylinder turbo will be faster than the V6 (probably) even if it has lower maximum power output. This is because the average power of the four is much higher than that of the V6.

Look at that, an Accord! 😃

If this is your only concern why not buy an Accord or a Camry?

They also make for more relaxed progress in daily driving.

The problem is that the correct wheels are not being driven.

That was the one which was the Japanese/European Accord wasn’t it?

Nothing has been safe and inoffensively designed for a long time.

You know what? Ford is bringing (again) the Explorer to Europe. Only a 450bhp PHEV version which costs over 70 grand.

Here Ford and Fiat have been the biggest losers.

Hyundai (especially) and Kia have been making inroads in the European market at the expense of “traditional” brands. It’s all been down to some great products designed specifically for European needs.

And there I was thinking the ones in my Alfa failed so soon because of Alfa Romeo’s legendary build quality.

Neutral: yesterday I took my first drive in ten full weeks. It was a shit drive around a city that sees the car as a public enemy, but a drive nonetheless.

Toyota proved that unlimited money isn’t everything.

Nope you were more accurate previously. The Defender keeps the longitudinal engine as opposed to the Freelander’s tranverse - front wheel drive based arrangement.

I think that the original poster wanted to focus on the apparent contradiction of giving a vehicle which is know for its offroadability prowess go-faster bits. The go-faster bits basically diminish what the vehicle was known for originally.

The 504 V6 Pickup Group B rally car was a curious African contraption.

Maybe, but with an advantage of over 50bhp the auto alone can’t diminish that much performance...