The New Landrover Discovery...Ugly?

[Bill]

I think a square plate would help.

[Tempest_5]

Can't help thinking there was too much Bean Counter input on the D5. The pinched roof at the rear looks a bit like someone trying to improve the airflow to get better MPG figures. The old D3/4 probably didn't have much better aerodynamics than a series Land Rover.

What's worrying is JLR are describing the new Defender as "Premium Brand", I know they are expensive and they have to sell enough to make it worthwhile but surely you want to appeal to your "work horse" fan base to some extent to help boost sales.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/land-r...

[Tempest_5]

Whilst we are on the Defender I can't help wondering why they can't keep the same style but with a contemporary structure all the necessary safety/eco features that legislation dictates. A bit like the Ford GT rework of the GT40.

[TheGuru]

Willy Nilly said:

Discovery's 3 and 4 looked good and their asymmetrical rear door/boot lid looked right. Why does this one look so bad? They just don't look right at all, surely they could have kept the trade mark back door and made it look right.

I’ve been staring at both - it’s not the asymmetry, the new Discovery is just badly designed and ugly. The rear end is just a disaster

[TheGuru]

Tempest_5 said:

What's worrying is JLR are describing the new Defender as "Premium Brand"

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/land-r...

They seem intent on ruining the Defender name, I also can’t see why they couldn’t retain the current body style and modernize it, much like the Jeep Wrangler.

Do people buy them commercially much these days though? Outside of the UK most people buy Japanese trucks/utes these days

[ajprice]

Bill said:

I think a square plate would help.

Yep. A square plate, and the stepped bottom edge to the rear window.

These are LR Discoverys





This just isn't


The horizontal lights might have something to do with it too, all the other Disco's have vertical lights that don't cut into the tailgate.

[NomduJour]

TheGuru said:

Do people buy them commercially much these days though? Outside of the UK most people buy Japanese trucks/utes these days

Most in the UK too, but go to any cattle or sheep market and you’ll see there’s still a market.

[FiF]

TheGuru said:

Willy Nilly said:

Discovery's 3 and 4 looked good and their asymmetrical rear door/boot lid looked right. Why does this one look so bad? They just don't look right at all, surely they could have kept the trade mark back door and made it look right.

I’ve been staring at both - it’s not the asymmetry, the new Discovery is just badly designed and ugly. The rear end is just a disaster

The front end isn't brilliant either imo. Looks like an Evoque/Discovery Sport that's been on the prednisolone and gone all chubby and moon faced. Bit like James May.

[Tempest_5]

NomduJour said:

TheGuru said:

Do people buy them commercially much these days though? Outside of the UK most people buy Japanese trucks/utes these days

Most in the UK too, but go to any cattle or sheep market and you’ll see there’s still a market.

There seem to be as many, if not more working Defenders around here in West Sussex than passenger/family ones on my daily commute.

From talking to people the main points against Defenders are their cost and perceived reliability issues.

Edited by Tempest_5 on Thursday 4th January 23:11

[Crumpet]

Tempest_5 said:

There seem to be as many, if not more working Defenders around here in West Sussex than passenger/family ones on my daily commute.

Most Defenders I see these days are working vehicles rather than family cars. The only ‘family’ Defender I knew of got pinched a couple of months ago.

I was actually in the local Land Rover garage today (all shiny and new, only a few months old) and a farmer parked up in his Defender. He walked in the showroom in his boiler suit and muddy wellies and I couldn’t help but think he was completely at odds with what LR have become. I’m not sure LR want his ‘type’ (the traditional Land Rover buyer) in their showrooms, so I really don’t hold out much hope for the new Defender.

[Murphy16]

Don't know if it's already been posted (a link further back wouldn't work for me) but Startech have designed a solution that moves it to the centre. Not traditional Discovery style but it does look better none the less.



https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.topgear.com/car...

Edited by Murphy16 on Thursday 4th January 23:28

[Murphy16]

Tempest_5 said:

Whilst we are on the Defender I can't help wondering why they can't keep the same style but with a contemporary structure all the necessary safety/eco features that legislation dictates. A bit like the Ford GT rework of the GT40.

I read somewhere (might have been on PH) that the 'new' Mercedes G wagon is the old body re-built in aluminium, made a bit wider and put on a heavily revised chassis with modern engines and electronics. So it looks the old way that we know and love, but has all the modern underpinnings. Imagine if JLR could rebody a classic Defender design with more cabin room onto an Evoque chassis, throw on all the good off road stuff, give it a simple yet modern interior with new ingenium engines under the bonnet and they could be onto a winner.

Edited by Murphy16 on Thursday 4th January 23:36

Edited by Murphy16 on Thursday 4th January 23:39

[swisstoni]

Murphy16 said:

I read somewhere (might have been on PH) that the 'new' Mercedes G wagon is the old body re-built in aluminium, made a bit wider and put on a heavily revised chassis with modern engines and electronics. So it looks the old way that we know and love, but has all the modern underpinnings. Imagine if JLR could rebody a classic Defender design with more cabin room onto an Evoque chassis, throw on all the good off road stuff, give it a simple yet modern interior with new ingenium engines under the bonnet and they could be onto a winner.

Edited by Murphy16 on Thursday 4th January 23:36

Edited by Murphy16 on Thursday 4th January 23:39

That’s more or less what I recon they will do if they have any sense. A rufty tufty model that can be very expensively dressed up, G wagen style.

[hyphen]

Murphy16 said:

I read somewhere (might have been on PH) that the 'new' Mercedes G wagon is the old body re-built in aluminium, made a bit wider and put on a heavily revised chassis with modern engines and electronics. So it looks the old way that we know and love, but has all the modern underpinnings. Imagine if JLR could rebody a classic Defender design with more cabin room onto an Evoque chassis, throw on all the good off road stuff, give it a simple yet modern interior with new ingenium engines under the bonnet and they could be onto a winner.

Heavily revised

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/nick-gr...

[ghost83]

I like the discovery if I’m honest

[Swoxy]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Max5476 said:

Red Merle said:

TheInsanity1234 said:

MarshPhantom said:

Well hello.

I actually kind of like that a lot.

The only gripe I have is, all that rear light real estate, and they make the brake lights two tiny little pinpricks.

Why? Surely the brake lights are the ones you want to be the biggest, most noticable lights possible?

If it were a lower range Discovery 5, the area where that brake light is would be a black plastic blanking plate; you need to spend a lot of money to buy a D5 without a significant amount of the rear lights completely missing. Seriously!

Do you have a photo of that? The brake lights have to be visible with the rear door open, hence they are small and on the outside, if that was blanked off, there wouldn't be a rear brake light.

The discovery 1 and 2 also struggled with odd brake light position because of this.

Not necessarily, the Audi Q3/Q5/Q7 all have the entire rear light cluster lifting with the tailgate, however Audi obviously get around the design regulations by just fitting a sensor that recognises when the tailgate is open and then utilising the foglights in the bumper as the brake lights. It's why you'll occasionally see an Audi Q5 where they'll brake and the fog lights come on rather than the main brake lights.

But as ^ said, where do the brake lights go then?

[berlintaxi]

ghost83 said:

I like the discovery if I’m honest

Yep, me too.

[popeyewhite]

Parked next to one yesterday. I'm not sure the plate would be such an issue if the eye wasn't drawn to it because the back end of the car is too narrow and high. I appreciate the designer wants to differentiate from the older model but if you deliberately make a pig's ear of the design then what's the point?

[Willy Nilly]

Murphy16 said:

I read somewhere (might have been on PH) that the 'new' Mercedes G wagon is the old body re-built in aluminium, made a bit wider and put on a heavily revised chassis with modern engines and electronics. So it looks the old way that we know and love, but has all the modern underpinnings. Imagine if JLR could rebody a classic Defender design with more cabin room onto an Evoque chassis, throw on all the good off road stuff, give it a simple yet modern interior with new ingenium engines under the bonnet and they could be onto a winner.

Edited by Murphy16 on Thursday 4th January 23:36

Edited by Murphy16 on Thursday 4th January 23:39

They still use utility (if that's the right word) G Wagons in Germany and Austria. I saw a lot on what I assume was local authority jobs on the side of the road

[Andy-SP2]

I'm sure that the yummy mummies will still buy them for trips to Waitrose