The Defender 110

I like driving but don't really care about cars. I don't spend time worrying about how fast they go. I don't spend Sundays cleaning them. I don't really pay much attention to them at all. However, I had one vehicle that I absolutely loved.

When we moved back to the UK from the USA in 2007 we were looking for a large family car, ideally with more than five seats. We'd become used to seven-seaters in America, enjoyed the extra space and being able to have grandparents in the car with us so we could avoid taking two cars everywhere.

I'd also enjoyed owning an old Jeep over there, something about not having to worry about it getting banged up with three kids, dogs, luggage, and using it as a dump truck.

One weekend we drove past a small sign that said 'Rockingham Landrovers' in a village nearby.

We turned around and went in.

The small track lead to a small cluster of old buildings surrounded by several old Landrover Defenders and Discoverys, all waiting for services or repairs.

A couple of them were for sale, including a beautiful (In my opinion), white 110 model with a snorkel exhaust and off-road tyres.

Sarah, myself and our three young kids looked it over.

I hadn't been excited about a car before - this was new to me.

The size. Two seats in the front, three in the middle, and six in the back!

The height. Sitting so high up was like sitting in a van.

The smell. Oil and diesel. It smelled great.

The basics. Cars don't get much more basic. No air con, no electric anything, you wound the windows down, you flipped the air vents up.

The sound. Loud, and clunky.

I took it for a test drive. It was crazy. The pedals were spaced further apart, allowing for large workboots. They were high too, you had to move your legs to change gear, brake and accelerate. The gears were clunky, you had to work to get into gear. It was heavenly.

Needless to say, we bought the Landrover and collected it a few days later.

That Landrover Defender 110 brought me more pleasure, and memories, than any other car. Perhaps it was the timing too, the kids were young, we had two Parsons Russel terriers and we were spending a lot of time in Devon and Norfolk.

Driving to the beach with the kids, dogs, bags of towels and beach toys.

Sitting in the back at the end of the day with a flask of tea or some ice creams.

I sold mine back in 2010 and the last of these versions of the 110 rolled off the production line a few years later.

I miss mine and feel a pang of envy everytime I pass one.