Off-Roading in a Defender and Range Rover | RadVentures - Hagerty Media

For Ryan Symancek, a car’s character only comes alive in its true element. RadVentures isn’t a show about staring at museum pieces; it’s a show about feel. The feeling you get when you push a car to its full potential.

This episode focuses on Land Rover’s two classics from the mid-’90s: the Land Rover Defender and the Range Rover Classic.

Ryan opens with the most utilitarian piece of British metal possible, a British Army FV432 Personnel Carrier tank built by GKN Sankey. Comparing the tank to the ruggedness of Land Rover’s early years, Ryan stumbles upon a Range Rover Classic (the prettiest of the Land Rover fleet).

Given free range to explore Monticello Motor Club’s off road trails, the Range Rover is shaken down to see if the added luxury takes away from its usability in the woods. Things are going well, until the Range Rover gets stuck and Ryan is left lost in the forest trying to find his escape pod, a 1994 Land Rover Defender.

Ryan drives the Defender hard, back through the mud and snow, to get to the Range Rover’s location and save it. However, during the expedition back, Ryan realizes he might love the Defender more. He can only drive one truck out of the woods. So what will he go home with?