It’s been a long time since I drove a car without power steering and brakes. Fifty years? Manual brakes and steering dramatically changes the way you drive (okay, the way I drive).

Stopping at an intersection requires some planning, some forethought. I have to start slowing well before I get there. Same with turning. You do not want to be going fast while turning this truck. If the MINI is a go-cart, the Land Rover is one of those red, double-decker London buses. Center of gravity two or three times higher than the MINI.

To make those turns the Land Rover engineers gave us a big old steering wheel, made of the same Bakelite as old telephones and ancient Farmall tractors. While I’ve never driven a farm implement, driving this old truck feels more like a tractor than a car.

Another difference one notices in the first few seconds is the noise. The 2.5 liter diesel engine is loud. You can talk to a passenger IF YOU ARE BOTH WILLING TO YELL. Phone calls? Forget it. I set my iPhone to ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving‘ mode. The accelerometer senses when I’m driving and automatically sends a message to incoming calls and messages. “I’m driving, call you later” or something like that.

What else? The turn signal lever doesn’t turn itself off. I seem to recall that being standard back in the day. So I’ve been driving around with my turn signal on. I’ve started keeping my hand on the lever until I turn it off.

I’m having a blast so far. But an old Series Land Rover would not be a good fit for everyone. Or anyone who has to be somewhere soon or far away.