New Defender - Land rover micro site

[Nithsdale]

but . . .


apparently people didn't buy the Defender either, at least not in enough numbers to keep building them


they are talking 40K + for the new Defender . . .

The old Defender sold, here. They weren't that expensive, you could buy brand new £17,000 (for the 90) which was still dearer than the Jap pickups, though.

But, it could tow 3.5t - which all the pickups have now gotten upto. If you want to tow in the UK, you need the vehicle to have that rating. If you don't, you're overloaded ridiculously quick.


The new Defender, isn't what the old one was. And it isn't a rival to the Jap pickups. They're pushing up into the posh motors trying to find a gap in their already crowded market between the Discovery Sport and Discovery (directly competing with both those vehicles within their own stable )

If you can't maintain 100 km / hr on our roads you are stuffed



That's why I can't imagine the idea of a heavily laden Defender 90 in low range pulling up a hill with a string of traffic behind it, let alone tractors & trailers on public roads

The UK is a different place and not many rural roads you can maintain that speed on, even in a car.

You don't need to imagine a Defender struggling in low range... because it doesn't happen.

 

[Longlowdog]

I wouldn't want a S2A for towing, just off road aspects of my job/hobbies. For towing I'd want the 260 horse Amarok, or maybe, just maybe, a LWB Zulu Defender.

 

[Rowland]

The old Defender sold, here. They weren't that expensive, you could buy brand new £17,000 (for the 90) which was still dearer than the Jap pickups, though.

But, it could tow 3.5t - which all the pickups have now gotten upto. If you want to tow in the UK, you need the vehicle to have that rating. If you don't, you're overloaded ridiculously quick.


The new Defender, isn't what the old one was. And it isn't a rival to the Jap pickups. They're pushing up into the posh motors trying to find a gap in their already crowded market between the Discovery Sport and Discovery (directly competing with both those vehicles within their own stable )





The UK is a different place and not many rural roads you can maintain that speed on, even in a car.

You don't need to imagine a Defender struggling in low range... because it doesn't happen.

I think they are aiming at the original Disco market . The new Disco is too much like the Range Rovers now with prices to match .
If its got air suspenshion and the 8 speed zf auto box matched with a decent engine it with drive like a dream . As long as they dont over do the interior then it with be fine , just make it better than the Disco Sport interior . (Ive only had basic spec ones on loan ) I think it will be a good car what the reliablity will be like remains to be seen.
Ive got my name down on one and will wait and give judgment once ive seen and driven it . Its what suits me the best, a small compact 4X4 van with a decent towing capacity.
Off to get bounced around in my poverty pick up ( Which is too big )

 

[milkloss]

but . . .


apparently people didn't buy the Defender either, at least not in enough numbers to keep building them


they are talking 40K + for the new Defender . . .

They stopped building them because they were approaching a point in time when they have to pass the Euro crash tests and they couldn’t without an extreme redesign. They were already making the special editions like the Lara Croft one with roof roll bars to meet the crash standards required by the American market.

 

[Farmer Roy]

They stopped building them because they were approaching a point in time when they have to pass the Euro crash tests and they couldn’t without an extreme redesign. They were already making the special editions like the Lara Croft one with roof roll bars to meet the crash standards required by the American market.

then why not continue ?

Im sure the crash tests & safety on Range Rovers have improved a lot since 1973


even the cheapest basic nasty little cars here have far better safety standards than we could have imagined 20 yrs ago

other manufacturers have increased the standards on their commercial vehicles over the years, why not LR ?

If they had been selling them in sufficient numbers, had a large enough market & were making the parent company money, then surely they would have invested money in R & D like everyone else ?

reading through ALL the LR hate on TFF, it seems as if they were hardly a popular vehicle except amongst a small niche

I say this as a LR tragic. I grew up surrounded by Series 1, 2 & 2a & have even owned a Range Rover ( which was my all time favourite vehicle ). It saddens me that LR have moved away from the segment that they pretty much invented & had huge market share . . .

but, it is what it is. Things change, nothing lasts forever

 

[Nithsdale]

I think they are aiming at the original Disco market . The new Disco is too much like the Range Rovers now with prices to match .
If its got air suspenshion and the 8 speed zf auto box matched with a decent engine it with drive like a dream . As long as they dont over do the interior then it with be fine , just make it better than the Disco Sport interior . (Ive only had basic spec ones on loan ) I think it will be a good car what the reliablity will be like remains to be seen.
Ive got my name down on one and will wait and give judgment once ive seen and driven it . Its what suits me the best, a small compact 4X4 van with a decent towing capacity.
Off to get bounced around in my poverty pick up ( Which is too big )

It'll be interesting to see what models, specs, trim levels they offer.

I won't be buying one, well, not new anyway.

Just looking at what LR/RR have done in recent times, I believe they are pushing yet another vehicle up into an area they already have too many vehicles on offer. They are just competing with their own cars. The new Defender does at least look different to the rest of the vehicles in their line up.

They'll make a good job of what they are trying to do, but I don't see reliability being any better than their others cars. They really don't need to load it with all the electronics they said at the start that it will have.

 

[JP1]

The old Defender sold, here. They weren't that expensive, you could buy brand new £17,000 (for the 90) which was still dearer than the Jap pickups, though.

But, it could tow 3.5t - which all the pickups have now gotten upto. If you want to tow in the UK, you need the vehicle to have that rating. If you don't, you're overloaded ridiculously quick.


The new Defender, isn't what the old one was. And it isn't a rival to the Jap pickups. They're pushing up into the posh motors trying to find a gap in their already crowded market between the Discovery Sport and Discovery (directly competing with both those vehicles within their own stable )





The UK is a different place and not many rural roads you can maintain that speed on, even in a car.

You don't need to imagine a Defender struggling in low range... because it doesn't happen.

£380 for a standard (basic) radio on the options list

 

[CornishTone]

then why not continue ?

Im sure the crash tests & safety on Range Rovers have improved a lot since 1973


even the cheapest basic nasty little cars here have far better safety standards than we could have imagined 20 yrs ago

other manufacturers have increased the standards on their commercial vehicles over the years, why not LR ?

If they had been selling them in sufficient numbers, had a large enough market & were making the parent company money, then surely they would have invested money in R & D like everyone else ?

reading through ALL the LR hate on TFF, it seems as if they were hardly a popular vehicle except amongst a small niche

I say this as a LR tragic. I grew up surrounded by Series 1, 2 & 2a & have even owned a Range Rover ( which was my all time favourite vehicle ). It saddens me that LR have moved away from the segment that they pretty much invented & had huge market share . . .

but, it is what it is. Things change, nothing lasts forever

I think they were selling in ever smaller numbers. The irony being, they had to stop production to make them popular again.

There’s a big after market industry around them here now. They’re basically a big, grown ups meccano set, so anyone can buy one and make it their own, or be a “rivet counter” and restore them, or work them.

Haters are always gonna hate, but for something that was so “bad” there’s an awful lot of them still going, there’s a huge demand for them and, as I tell people who take the p1ss out of mine, it’ll be the only vehicle in the pub car park that’s going up in value (unless there’s an FJ40 in the car park, which there won’t be)!

I was out with a moorland farmer this week and he moved from a Defender to a Isuzu pick up and regrets it every time he drives out on the moor. It just doesn’t go where a Defender would and doesn’t tow as well.

 

[Nithsdale]

£380 for a standard (basic) radio on the options list

But they all came radio ready... £90 in Halfords buys a good radio you just plug in and go

 

[JP1]

But they all came radio ready... £90 in Halfords buys a good radio you just plug in and go

That's what I did but it's taking the pee Royally to have that price on an options list

 

[Clive]

See that puddle ? That’s oil

Just recovered again ! Let hope they can build defenders better than this

 

[ollie989898]

View attachment 830325



See that puddle ? That’s oil

Just recovered again ! Let hope they can build defenders better than this

That is bad. How in the fudge does any new car, much less one costing serious money, develop an oil leak? This is school boy stuff.

 

[Paddington]

View attachment 830325



See that puddle ? That’s oil

Just recovered again ! Let hope they can build defenders better than this

Land Rover have never mastered the processes of keeping oil in and water out of their cars.

 

[pgk]

View attachment 830325



See that puddle ? That’s oil

Just recovered again ! Let hope they can build defenders better than this

What engine under the bonnet?

 

[pgk]

Land Rover have never mastered the processes of keeping oil in and water out of their cars.

Water ingress in defender standard, never yet had an oil leak having run 200tdi and current td5 110.

 

[Paddington]

Have had oil/fluid leaks from the engine, gearbox, transfer box, rear diff, power steering, active corner enhancement and fuel pipes on my td5 D2, also a blocked drain pipe from the sunshine roof that let water on to both front seats. As soon as one leak is sorted another one arises.

 

[pgk]

sounds nightmarish, maybe basic spec of my defenders helps but I assume td5 is save for tuning the same engine, not sure if transfer and gearbox are the same. we use ours mainly for towing, now over 150k miles and continues to plod along. Short of project grenadier cannot see any suitable replacement on the horizon.

 

[Clive]

What engine under the bonnet?

4.4 TDV8

I don’t really care as I won’t be paying and it will go next spring

Dealers say they can’t even look at it for 3 weeks and if the last repairs are anything to go by it will take 3weeks after that to sort

They left us a RRS autobiography loan car ........ which they will regret !

 

[pgk]

That is the Ford Mexico built engine, generally has a good reputation, may be something else I suppose.

 

[Clive]

That is the Ford Mexico built engine, generally has a good reputation, may be something else I suppose.

It may not be engine - could be suspension or gearbox I guess - it’s all so covered underneath you can’t tell where it’s coming from just that there is a lot of it