New Land Rover Defender
- Thread starter Pandabean
- Start date
AS they say in Oz .
"If you want to get there, drive a Land Rover." "If you want to get back again, drive a Toyota"
This is exactly why they are dropping the 67 year old utility vehicle in favour of this. It's not a Defender, it's not going to have the same off-road capabilities, but so what? Neither does a Hilux Land Cruiser or Mitsubishi (without modification) and it hasn't harmed them. The reality is that most of the world has roads these day, all you need is a vehicle that can cope with really, really bad roads. It doesnt need to climb mountains or cross swamps. It's the Defender's uncompromising specialisation that has won it so many fans over the years, but it's that same uncompromising specialisation that has been it's downfall in the end. People want comfort and the reliability of a modern vehicle - that can also handle 95% of what a Defender can do. So that is what Land Rover are giving them. This is not an evolution for the Defender, it's a replacement for it. It's a different vehicle, targetting a different market. I dont much like the look of it, but it remains to be seen whether it'll deliver. I'm very curious about it though.
With a lift and muds the DC100 looks interesting....
The technology lokks interesting too. I'm thinking they will probably bring out a 4dr DC110 or maybe a DC120 in the fullness of time. But if it's going to win the farmers back from Toyota, reliability will be the issue.
Last edited:
A LWB version would probably need a bit of an *rse, but for a rough idea...
Now if Land |Rover have done the job properly and addressed all the criticisms of the old Defender, and produce a super reliable vehicle, with a comfy interior, reclining seats, plenty of legroom, no leaks in or out, a good heater, reliable aircon, reliable electronics, built in sat-nav, good towing capabilities, good roll-over safety, airbags, ABS, traction control, good road manners etc....
I'm not convinced, but I'm intrigued.
Now if Land |Rover have done the job properly and addressed all the criticisms of the old Defender, and produce a super reliable vehicle, with a comfy interior, reclining seats, plenty of legroom, no leaks in or out, a good heater, reliable aircon, reliable electronics, built in sat-nav, good towing capabilities, good roll-over safety, airbags, ABS, traction control, good road manners etc....
I'm not convinced, but I'm intrigued.
Last edited:
Personally I want something that will handle the Rubicon Trail. But you're right; most people don't really want to hit the boonies. And they're not worried about putting their muddy dogs inside with the leather interior (or the hoesecrap on their boots getting into the carpeted floorboard.
I very much doubt that LR will water down the vehicle to that extent. I would think this truck will be the equal of the Jeep Wrangler offroad if not better. The Range Rover and Discovery are no slouches offroad, I cant imaging LR will produce their new flagship utility vehicle with a lesser capability. I just meant that the commitment to the old design eventually crippled them.
It's not just the capability off road per se. But the ability of the fancy interiors (same problem with the modern Jeeps also) to stand up to the abuse of hunting dogs; dirty, jagged, stinky loads and such. The older Jeeps (and I suspect the older LRs) could be cleaned out by just hosing out the interior. Can you imagine what that would do to all the leather, carpet and electronics in a modern one? Do you think you'll be able to wrap canvas under the bottom of the new LR and paddle it across a steam like you can with the older CJs? (Wrangler is a poor imitation of the old CJ5 or CJ7)
I'm not disagreeing with you though. They're going the direction they are because it's where the market is. In fact, over here the defender hasn't been on the market for decades because the public want luxury SUVs instead. I am however, disagreeing with the public; it's not what I want nor what I think the other critics on this thread want. The demand for the old utility design (LR or Jeep) has shrunk to a niche market but so what? That market is still there however hardcore the customer base might be.
Last edited:
According to the info, the new LR has a waterproof interior, apparently - including the ruggedised and removable touchscreen display. I dont know what that means exactly - I suppose we will have to wait and see, but they are claiming an unmodified wading depth of 0.75m which is 50% more than the old Defender and well above the sills.
Why on Earth does it need a touch-screen in the first place?
I wonder if there will still be a basic, bare-bones version available for those who need a workhorse without all of the toys?
Outside of the UK, the Land Cruiser is available as such.
ps. What are the off-the-shelf options for somebody wanting a real off-roader these days then?
Last edited:
It's the sat nav, trip computer and entertainment system, but they do say it's removable, so you could just leave it at home if it annoys you, though a lot of people do spend a lot of money putting that kit in as after-market extras. I'll say it was a good call to have it packaged as part of the truck.
Last edited:
I agree with some of the posts above that car makers are steering towards overall usability and reliability rather than absolute off-road capability. A bit of a shame though because the Defender is pretty much the last of it's kind. There's the Merc G-Class, but it too has become a bit soft.
I do hope they refine the styling a bit before the final release, those pictures are butt-ugly.
As for me, I have a similar mindset that I don't need absolute off-road capability that much if the compromise is having a car that I don't have to mend so often. Better if it did both though.
I do hope they refine the styling a bit before the final release, those pictures are butt-ugly.
As for me, I have a similar mindset that I don't need absolute off-road capability that much if the compromise is having a car that I don't have to mend so often. Better if it did both though.
TurboGirl
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Depends what age/ price you're going for- we sell used 4x4s and the biggest majority are looking for discovery 2s. The Defender market is bouyant but fairly limited to enthusiasts and business with Freelanders VERY ppopular for country folk who wanna reliably get SWMBO to the kids/ shops etc, although they're fun OR too if you're not too precious about them... oh and don't get the petrol varients which can be nightmares, both V6 and 1.8 K series engined models. Theres some bargins in the crewcab world but avoid Nissan Navaras pre-06, they can have probs with the 3rd cyl, ginig seconds warning before the conrod joins you on the passenger seat. L200s are great if you got high mileage but struggle with the level of work demanded by eg farmers, who tend to love the For Ranger- we had one for business and tho they eat injectors, they're cheap n easy to replace. I like the Jeep Grand Cherokee but HWMBO (who does most of the work) aint keen on the complications designed into em.
Apart from the crewcabs, lots of folk love their Mitso Shoguns with a passion- they can be hard to source injectors for one of the engines but good ones have serious devotion for good reason. We hear great things about the Yeti and on a budget, the Hyundais and Mazdas seem to have good reputations although we've never stocked or worked on them... which probably says something in itself!
You got any particular needs in mind? Or models/ ages/ budget?
Similar threads
