88 or 109? The fascination with the 88?

[fuckwit]

I've mentioned this before, and its clearly me, but meself, I've never understood the allure of the 88f?

I mean, all else being equal, save for a 109 CSW, you'll always pay more for the best 88 over the best 109. Even a 107 is worth less.
Now this beats me. To me a SWB leafer carries very few advantages:

1. They don't handle as well
2. Pitch and roll about the road (yes I know, a 109 is not exactly a limousine)
3. Don't stop so well (relativley!)
4. Have little usable space for their size.

Agreed a 109 does suffer:

1. Laughable turning-circle.
2. You're pushing hard before an 88 will make it and a 109 not, however a 109 is not so able off-road.
3. If you ever indulge, a 109 is a pig to park in London.

Despite costing less new, and any LWB being rarer, a SWB is still seen as more desirable? On here I'm preaching to the converted, but why, all else equal, and given the choice, would you want an SWB? And, I haven't looked but is the disparity still there with debenders?

[22900013A]

Mainly its perception. They are thought of as more economical to run than a 109" (negligible difference in the real world) and easier to park. That's about it really. A 109" is about the same length as a medium sized saloon car such as a Modeo/Vectra type. An 88" is practically Nissan Micra territory.

Across all markets the 109" was built in greater numbers than the 88, but the Uk did seem to favour the 88" for private buyers.

[DasLandRoverMan]

SWB certainly seem more popular as farm vehicles.
Period pictures of farmers often seem to feature Marine Blue truck cabs of some description, whilst it wasn't really until the early 2000's when the Double Cab 110 became an option tgat you'd see anything other than 90's carrying the Land Rover badge of you were to pass a cattle market on an Auction Day. Of course the 'Japanese' double cab pickup has now swallowed a great deal of the farm truck market, but there's still plenty of farm 90's kicking about.

LWB pickups and Vans were also likely to be worked harder and eventually run into the ground, whereas the SWB models seem to have a better survival rate, which means a wider choice for those looking to buy.

As to which you'd choose? We have a 110 CSW and a SWB Series III in our household, both have their merits and I've used both as a daily drive at one point or another.
The 110 is probably a better all rounder (carrying kids, dogs, towing etc) but the Series III does everything you could ask of it without complaint, just less internal space.

I must admit that at the moment I do like the idea of another SWB, but there's a few projects to clear first.

[fuckwit]

Essentially if you're both right and I suspect you are, there is no good reason. It's all about the perception.

It's not unlike the estate car or saloon argument. Speak to a saloon car buyer and they'll tell you a saloon is more economical. Yet when you look at a typical manufacturers figures the difference over say, 10,000 annual miles, comes down to about £25-30. Usually less. And in real world it's not measurable.

Ho-hum.

I'm sure you've gathered, I'm an estate man. Rarely do I need the extra space, but when I do?

Now, I'm told, a saloon is far more luxurious...

And never the twain shall meet.

[DasLandRoverMan]

It's definitely a perception thing, or maybe just whatever you fancy at the time?

Part of the reason my 110 is still around is the fact it's such a good all round car, and despite a few whims surrounding theidea of changing it for something else over the years, it's still here.
This is partly because I've become somewhat attatched to it, but also because a Discovery would be the only real option as a replacement, and even then would need time and money throwing at it to be exactly what I wanted.

I did run a 101 as a daily driver a few years ago, and truth be told would happily do so again, whilst there are other days I can perfectly justify the idea of running a -Series 2- Forward Control, a 127/130 double cab pickup, and even a P6 Rover (another automotive weakness of mine) as alternative members of my million pound garage.

I'll also add we've recently picked up a Disco 2 to replace the Seat Leon that the other half has been using as her everyday car for the past couple of years, as a 100" it's a fair compromise between LWB and SWB, the sunroof don't leak either.