OK, first the bad news. They're expensive. They're incredibly noisy, slow, staggeringly uncomfortable, thirstier than a rugby team after a friendly in Abu Dhabi and you could hula-hoop with the steering wheel and yet not ever actually have any meaningful effect on the path of the car. In purely objective terms, against modern opposition (the Volkswagen Amarok comes especially to mind) they're terrible. 

 

But then... You have the utterly iconic shape. The least-designed car in history has become one of the most recognisable and has a visual appeal that transcends time, class and fashion. 

 

You also have the sheer capability. We drive modern cars almost without noticing them but a Defender, in trained and able hands, can do things that stagger belief. I've witnessed one Defender, lashed to a stout tree, use its winch to haul another Defender up a slope that was, effectively, vertical. I've used them to scrabble up icy walls in -20 degrees and clamber along sun-bleached river beds. They can officially tow 3,500kg on a braked trailer but the snatch weight is far higher. Defenders have been known to pull stranded articulated lorries off of motorways - sideways. 

 

So, go into it with your eyes (and ears) open. Make sure you can live with the shortcomings brought on by age. Make sure you at least test drive an Amarok first before deciding. But you really can do things with a Defender that you cannot do with 'mere mortal' cars.