THE MIDDLE LANE
TGTV script writer Sam Philip considers the ramifications of driving a Defender a long way
Sam Philip
ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING
On occasion, this column has been known to gently poke fun at statistically dubious ‘studies’ pumped out by publicity hungry press offices. But here’s a genuine doozy of a revelation, courtesy of motor leasing firm LeaseLoco: on Britain’s roads today, there are no fewer than 16 Land Rover Defenders with over 750,000 miles on the clock.
Yes, in between providing quality motor leasing deals to customers in every corner of the UK, LeaseLoco found time to press-gang the DVSA into revealing all the cars in Britain with more than three-quarters of a million miles on the clock. I’d have assumed the high-milers would be private-hire taxis –Volvo S60s, Merc E-Classes and the like – but no. Turns out the most common 750k-er in Britain is the Vauxhall Astra, with 35 still patrolling our roads, while the Corsa, VW Golf, Ford Focus and Fiesta are all in double figures too.