2020 Defender interior leaks online: Update!
This is our first glimpse of the Land Rover's half-retro, half digital dash
UPDATE - 14.02.2019
Given the excitement surrounding Land Rover's next Defender, it was only a matter of time before more details leaked. The first image we have from the murky world of social leaks is of the interior, well, the dash, to be exact.
It's as some of you might have expected, mixing retro boxiness with digital infotainment and a modern wheel. JLR's made no official comment as to whether it's real, but we see no reason why it wouldn't be.
The rest of the car has - for now - remained veiled behind thick cladding. But the theme of the interior suggests we could see a similar mix of old and new outside. The Defender's boxy body is clear from spy pictures (more on those below), but perhaps there's a more modern face that mimics JLR's other SUVs attached to it.
So, what do you think of the design so far? And are you a fan of this interior?
PREVIOUS UPDATE - 05.12.2018
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the garage that holds Land Rover's development prototypes. We'd already have a pretty good idea of what the all-new Defender will look like because the prototype photographed here can get undressed in there. Sadly for our curious eyes, the car we see in public is hidden behind that layer of cladding and black and white camouflage.
Naturally, the conversation on PH's forum (see below) has included suggestion that this disguise's resemblance to the Disco 4 and other current Land Rover models points to an end of the retro Defender shape. And that's a fair assumption, given what the test car looks like. But there's hope our beloved vintage Landy shape still has legs, because the new images do appear to show how very thick the cladding is. What makes it into showrooms could still end up being very Defender-like.
Furthermore, a new image also provides a clearer glimpse of the test car's independent rear suspension, which replaces the original Defender's more rudimentary layout. As we know, this more modern solution allows each wheel to work over rough terrain without being directly impacted by the angle of another. It should also save weight and make the new Defender more comfortable on the road - which, evidently, is where lots of Defenders spend their lives.
ORIGINAL STORY - 03.10.2018
We’re less than two years away from the arrival of the next Land Rover Defender so it’s about time we caught glimpse of one testing out in public… and, oh look, here’s one along now, on the roads surrounding JLR’s Coventry base no least, sporting a thick layer of camouflage. Obviously the covers prevent us from getting a proper look at the 2020 model’s features, but you'd be a brave man to bet against a very boxy body featuring underneath.
The DC100 concept still looks to provide the clearest glimpse of what’s to come, but – and this may just be the effect of the camouflaging – there appear to be hints of Disco 4 about the cars front end (once you see it…). That doesn’t mean, however, that the Defender will come with a hand-me-down structure, because Land Rover has previously stated the new version will be its most high-tech model. It’s set to use JLR’s all-new aluminium Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA).
The first Defender to go on sale since the last one rolled off the production line in January 2016 will probably be offered with several powertrain options, so as to broaden its appeal. But the car spotted testing here is listed on the DVLA with a 2.0-litre diesel engine, most likely a variant of the turbocharged Ingenium motor already seen in current Landys.
JLR has previously said it’ll electrify every model in its range from 2020, so we can expect a hybrid version to also be offered – although it’s possible that car will use a petrol-electric system rather than mating electric power to the diesel, as with the plug-in hybrid Range Rover models.
Now that a mule has been photographed out in the wild, Land Rover has admitted the project reaching “an exciting stage of its development” - whatever that means. Being a predictable bunch, we'd imagine this means wading against the current in a fast-flowing tropical river. Alternatively it could mean that test drivers have begun sampling the roundabouts of the West Midlands and testing the roof clearance at the local drive through.
Either way, we should expect big things from the next Defender because it absolutely has to be the best proper off-roader on sale. In the whole world. Predecessors that stretch back to the iconic Series I of 1948 have all earned respect across the globe for their go-anywhere abilities, so in 2020, this model will need to emulate that with a modern twist. Land Rover bosses have previously stated that the previous Defender was as much an off-roading halo product as it was a plucky workhorse. The new car will need to pick that baton up, and go long.
k. A Defender without lives axles or a ladder chassis = instant FAIL!
A shame, but predictable in this day and age of fashion icon Land Rovers for those uninterested in 4x4's, off roading or utility vehicles.
A Defender without lives axles or a ladder chassis = instant FAIL!
A shame, but predictable in this day and age of fashion icon Land Rovers for those uninterested in 4x4's, off roading or utility vehicles.
Will it make a difference at the local pay and play/trial? Probably.
Will the people who buy it take it to one of those events? No.
Will it have more off-road ability than 97.5% of buyers will ever need. Yes.
I'm not sure quite where this is going to sit in the market if it's as road-biased as the discovery though?
For the record... people who really want a Defender want something like this, just built by Land Rover...
There are already plenty of posing and lifestyle vehicles in the Land Rover range, we don't need another and certainly don't need the Defender name literally dragged through the mud on some unworthy Chelsea tractor.
Will it make a difference at the local pay and play/trial? Probably.
Will the people who buy it take it to one of those events? No.
Will it have more off-road ability than 97.5% of buyers will ever need. Yes.
The early coil sprung Rangies that donated there chassis to the defender in the very early 1980's did have good articulation, because they had no anti-roll bars at all, and very soft, low rate long springs (because ride comfort for the passengers had taken a leading role in that platform. However, by the early 1990's the appearance of fixed anti-roll bars and stiffer springs to improve road manners started to knock that articulation right back. By the mid 2000's, a typical Defender actually had fairly poor articulation, and not been expensive enough to get the clever variable rate ARBs of it's posher cousins, and only having a basic traction control system, the last of the line defenders were (when shod with like for like tyres) actually worse off road ultimately than the RR and Disco! (The difference of course, is that when you, inevitably cock up and smash the sills or tail down into a rock or tree stump, in a defender the resulting dents add "character" but in a £60k RR they knock a massive amount off it's resale value.........)
The Ultimate off road ability so beloved of people with beards from Barnsley is more a function in a classic defender of being able to use it, heavily, off road without doing too much damage, and having things like steel bumpers and cross members you can get a high lift jack under to get you unstuck etc.......
But evidently either Land Rover are right and Jeep/Suzuki are wrong, or it's the other way round.
I'm sure a Defender in name fashion vehicle will sell short term for Land Rover, but it will hardly be replacing the old model or continuing an icon, the sort of vehicle that keeps people loyal to a brand.
I suspect a large percentage of Defender owners also own another Land Rover product. The same is probably true for Wrangler owners, as in a person who owns one, probably also owns a Grand Cherokee or similar (especially in the USA) and it's probably even true with Jimny owners too.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff