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I’ve had my First Edition D90 and absolutely love the fabric roof. I have a V8 on order (who knows when/if I’ll ever get it) and would get the fabric roof on that too if it was an option.
I really have no complaints, but haven’t yet driven it in rain in the off-chance that it might leak…but doubt it would.
No issues with mine in 6 months and 5k miles of ownership. It has been raining a lot in South Carolina and I’ve had no leaks. I really like how wide it opens. Only drawback for me is there is no good way to vent it like a glass roof.
I just leased a 2021 with the folding fabric roof here in Los Angeles. Thought it was cool & different - you don't see many. Also gets you around 7" of additional opening vs. the panoramic glass. I configured with the Explorer Pack (roof rack, side storage box, ladder). We checked to make sure the roof rack still allowed clearance for the folding fabric option - no issues.
When I took receipt of the vehicle though - I flipped through the owner's manual and immediately saw that the folding fabric option is listed as "not compatible with roof rack or crossbars". The dealer did not check this! It was the first they had sold with this configuration.
So even though there isn't a clearance issue - when I took the car on the freeway for the first time, I realized that above around 50mph, the wind shear off the rack creates rippling in the fabric, which is audible and completely unacceptable for long drives at speed.
So I'm now unwinding the lease and starting over. Hope this helps others who are considering the fabric. It's very cool, but I think the rack makes the car and I wish I had known before signing.
I posted earlier this week, about getting the Thule Wing Bar Edge system to work without using the factory roof rails. The shape of the bars, as well as the low profile of the total approach, has resulted in a rack solution that doesn't vibrate my canvas top at all, even at 140 km/hr. I do hear the wind noise though from the bars themselves... It is low enough however, that I need to tuck the first fold under the first rail by hand, when I open the roof. The rest seems to open without a catch after that...
Every time I see a photo of the 90, I reflect on how darn cute it is. We sold our 2016 Evoque to make room for the 2020 110 which we bought. I am sorry my space needs drove us to the larger vehicle.
I lived in the Alps for several years (Swiss side) -- and love your photo !
Every time I see a photo of the 90, I reflect on how darn cute it is. We sold our 2016 Evoque to make room for the 2020 110 which we bought. I am sorry my space needs drove us to the larger vehicle.
I lived in the Alps for several years (Swiss side) -- and love your photo !
Enjoy !!
Thanks! I am trying to keep shots of the 90's adventures up to date on instagram alps.defender
I was also quite worried about the size of the 90, but I think it's the better choice in Europe for parking, getting in and out of city traffic and narrow streets. With the jump seat up front and a roof top carrier, we just finished a 4 adult 2 kid 2000km road trip for the holidays without issue! If you don't need more than 4 seats majority of the time, I'd go 90 any day...
I recently picked up a D90 with a fabric roof - the dealer equipped it with a ladder and the Expedition Roof Rack. Looking into it I see the Expedition Roof Rack is NOT COMPATBILE with the fabric roof as per Land Rover. I had the dealer remove the roof rack.
If you look at the accessories page here its clearly marked as not compatible for both 90 and 110 - Link is for 90 as that's what I have. Expedition Roof Rack - D90
I reviewed the accessories pages for the Crossbars, Roof box, and Bike Carrier and see no mention of incompatibility with the fabric roof. This may be because a roof rack is intended to be permanently fitted while the other accessories are for occasional use and dont cover as much surface area to apply force against the fabric roof.
Wanted to share this in the hopes it sheds some light on the situation and allows everyone to better determine if they want to install a roof rack or not.
More real-life pictures while in use, please? I expect many of us have never seen one in person with the fabric -- only the marketing photos.
It's exciting to hear from those who have purchased and are using the fabric roof !
Enjoy !!
Here's a video of mine showing how it operates and how far back it opens. Its a single toggle. Opening is automatic and a two-step process. The first opens the majority of the way automatically. The dealer mentioned this was for normal usage. Pressing the button a second time causes it to open a little farther. The dealer mentioned there may be buffeting at speed or depending on condition which is why they allow for both options. Closing the fabric roof requires holding down the button and the fabric roof will stop when you let the button go, allowing for some fine tuning if you only want it open a slight amount. As you can see in the video it opens just over top of the rear passenger seats, so its really the best experience when you're sitting in the back.
Other than that I've found the roof is very well made. It has a lot of cross bars in it so its very sturdy, and its very quiet even on the highways when closed. The original Defender I ordered was not equipped with the fabric roof rack and I was a little concerned with this option but it seems really well made and I've been quite happy with it overall. I would have liked to include a roof rack but it would really destroy the experience of having the whole roof opened up.
