If you want to revive an old 4 X 4, few things can be more exciting than finding a Land Rover engine for sale, allowing you to get the old one replaced and your vintage motor back on the road – or off-roading.
However, with Land Rover launching new vehicles every few months, some may argue that the biggest thrill is not in driving an old model, but in trying out the newest ones and being amazed at what it can do.
This is quite a debate and there is much that folk considering this question might mull over just now.
On the one hand, a Daily Telegraph feature this month revelled in the joys of a day out at The Land Rover Experience, which is based near Skipton in North Yorkshire.
Here, the writer discussed the joys of sending a vintage 1953 Series 1 down a steep slope, with no “unheard-of luxuries” like power steering or assisted brakes, but two long levers to change gears.
Lead Instructor James Hutchinson described this as “proper old-school driving, and people love it,” adding: “It’s all about trust; trusting the older Land Rover to do its job, trusting yourself, trusting your instructor – and having fun.”
If all this makes you yearn to get behind the wheel of an older Land Rover, nothing can get someone as excited about a new one as the announcement that it is being unveiled on some grand occasion.
There can be few bigger dates on the motoring calendar than the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Auto Express has revealed it is then that the new Defender OCTA will be released. Get it in your diary; On July 3rd this new model will show off its power on the 1.16-mile hill climb after three years of testing in challenging conditions around the world.
However, the truth is that there can be no final answer to which is a better experience. To some, nothing is better than the newest vehicle blazing a trail, while others will love the heritage and the hands-on challenge of an older model. Some might like both equally. After all, each one is part of the great Land Rover story.