RE: 2020 Land Rover Defender leaked (sort of)

[DonkeyApple]

Condi said:

But that is just perspective, in 50 years time the current Defender might be seen as supercool. Nobody knew when the first Land Rover was released it would be a success, and I'm sure some people compared it poorly with the Willies Jeep which had performed fantastically in WW2 and had a great reputation for relaibilty and 'go anywhere' ability.

The old Defender was not going to last forever - by the end it wasn't profitable anyway - and I think the LR designers and engineers have produced a great looking product which will hopefully perform as well off road as the old one. Even among its core market - farmers - the old Defender was considered uncomfortable with poor on road handling, and most farmers these days use Jap pick ups instead. There is no argument it had to change to reflect the modern world.

The big score of the Landy over the Jeep was that it recognised that the vehicle needed to drive better and more efficiently on the road as the world was changing rapidly. Fast forward to today and they’ve done it again, recognising that the whole world now has roads and that it is the movement between the offroad bits as quickly, efficiently, safely and comfortably as possible that are the biggest demands. In addition it recognises that in today’s world very few people with £50k to spend on a car want to do their own panel beating or even oil changing and that it’s not sheep or dirty men that need to go in the back but jet skis, inflatable boards and flat pack furniture.

What some people are really railing against is the modern world. Meanwhile, JLR have just delivered a near perfect product for that world.

[Shakermaker]

OOh i like that you can spec a "portable rinse system" - a pressurised water supply with a shower nozzle so you can wash your bike/boots/dogs before you put them in the car, without needing to use any vehicle power

[Digga]

RicksAlfas said:

I've found a picture without the side panels. Looks much better, but more conventional. Bit Yeti like?

A lot of people calling this similarity. To which, I think:

1. If you design a modern 4x4 with pedestrian-friendly rounded corners, what else do you get?
2. So what, the Yeti is IMHO a rather handsome, pseudo-rugged design. Skoda got it right.

[Condi]

DonkeyApple said:

The big score of the Landy over the Jeep was that it recognised that the vehicle needed to drive better and more efficiently on the road as the world was changing rapidly. Fast forward to today and they’ve done it again, recognising that the whole world now has roads and that it is the movement between the offroad bits as quickly, efficiently, safely and comfortably as possible that are the biggest demands. In addition it recognises that in today’s world very few people with £50k to spend on a car want to do their own panel beating or even oil changing and that it’s not sheep or dirty men that need to go in the back but jet skis, inflatable boards and flat pack furniture.

What some people are really railing against is the modern world. Meanwhile, JLR have just delivered a near perfect product for that world.

Agreed. For everyone complaining 'its not a Defender' 99.9% of them will drive a different car day to day anyway, and so the previous Defender evidently wasn't doing a good job of being a car people wanted, except in a very small set of cirucmstances!

[was8v]

I cant get past that panel in the middle of the glass.

I bet they drop that within a year.

[techguyone]

Shakermaker said:

OOh i like that you can spec a "portable rinse system" - a pressurised water supply with a shower nozzle so you can wash your bike/boots/dogs before you put them in the car, without needing to use any vehicle power

Nice idea, but you'd have to be insane to buy the JLR one when you can get similar from Amazon etc at a fraction of the cost.

[Shakermaker]

techguyone said:

Nice idea, but you'd have to be insane to buy the JLR one when you can get similar from Amazon etc at a fraction of the cost.

Shush. This one is part of the "Adventure pack" and as such, it will fit into the car with only a couple of firm thumps and a self-tapper that you have to screw in yourself in 6 months time

[swisstoni]

My favourite line from the reveal was that the middle front seat is ‘suitable for big dogs or teenagers’.

[Digga]

swisstoni said:

My favourite line from the reveal was that the middle front seat is ‘suitable for big dogs or teenagers’.

I have nothing against either, but surely it is a close run thing as to which of them you'd least want to have sat right next to you for the whole of a long journey. Smelly articles.

[CS Garth]

Digga said:

swisstoni said:

My favourite line from the reveal was that the middle front seat is ‘suitable for big dogs or teenagers’.

I have nothing against either, but surely it is a close run thing as to which of them you'd least want to have sat right next to you for the whole of a long journey. Smelly articles.

That’s where the external side locker comes in.....

[RicksAlfas]

Digga said:

RicksAlfas said:

I've found a picture without the side panels. Looks much better, but more conventional. Bit Yeti like?

A lot of people calling this similarity. To which, I think:

1. If you design a modern 4x4 with pedestrian-friendly rounded corners, what else do you get?
2. So what, the Yeti is IMHO a rather handsome, pseudo-rugged design. Skoda got it right.

Yes, agreed. It certainly wasn’t a criticism. I’m a big fan of the Yeti. Still baffled why Skoda canned it in favour of a generic SUV. I think many Yeti owners are too!

[Shakermaker]

RicksAlfas said:

Yes, agreed. It certainly wasn’t a criticism. I’m a big fan of the Yeti. Still baffled why Skoda canned it in favour of a generic SUV. I think many Yeti owners are too!

Yup, I wanted a Yeti, until my mother in law bought one, but it was so good, she bought another one after the first was written off. It is actually pretty great, because it isn't actually much higher than a normal car to get/out of, but is much taller so you can sit properly upright in it, but also specifically, isn't a Citroen Berlingo

[FiF]

Shakermaker said:

techguyone said:

Nice idea, but you'd have to be insane to buy the JLR one when you can get similar from Amazon etc at a fraction of the cost.

Shush. This one is part of the "Adventure pack" and as such, it will fit into the car with only a couple of firm thumps and a self-tapper that you have to screw in yourself in 6 months time

Or even a home brewed version, plastic container from the home brew section of our local DiY indy, go Wigleys DIY, a length of plastic pipe same source, submersible 12v pump, cheap shower head. It doesn't provide hot water, but seeing as our hooligan is happy to splash around and even wallow in ice covered muddy puddles he's not going to object. Could even fill with warm water before heading out if really bothered.

Now speaking of dog accessories, not looked, but an integrated pull out ramp would be handy, bit like that Nissan Qashqai design study.

[techguyone]

FiF said:

Shakermaker said:

techguyone said:

Nice idea, but you'd have to be insane to buy the JLR one when you can get similar from Amazon etc at a fraction of the cost.

Shush. This one is part of the "Adventure pack" and as such, it will fit into the car with only a couple of firm thumps and a self-tapper that you have to screw in yourself in 6 months time

Or even a home brewed version, plastic container from the home brew section of our local DiY indy, go Wigleys DIY, a length of plastic pipe same source, submersible 12v pump, cheap shower head. It doesn't provide hot water, but seeing as our hooligan is happy to splash around and even wallow in ice covered muddy puddles he's not going to object. Could even fill with warm water before heading out if really bothered.

Now speaking of dog accessories, not looked, but an integrated pull out ramp would be handy, bit like that Nissan Qashqai design study.

There'a quite a bit of dog stuff in the LR accessories bit of the configurator including dog ramps (Don't think they're integrated though)

[Shakermaker]

Thesprucegoose said:

Suprised they haven't offered a bar bones, steel wheels, no fancy electric stuff, vinyl floors and black bumpers, wheel arches..

Sell all the expensive ones first

Then, much like Porsche, do what you've described. but charge an extra £20k for "added lightness"

[DonkeyApple]

Shakermaker said:

Thesprucegoose said:

Suprised they haven't offered a bar bones, steel wheels, no fancy electric stuff, vinyl floors and black bumpers, wheel arches..

Sell all the expensive ones first

Then, much like Porsche, do what you've described. but charge an extra £20k for "added lightness"

Ah, Sir would like to order a new Defender with the ‘Poverty Pack’ option. That will be an additional £20k

Would probably work as well!!!

[Shakermaker]

DonkeyApple said:

Ah, Sir would like to order a new Defender with the ‘Poverty Pack’ option. That will be an additional £20k

Would probably work as well!!!

You'd have to give it a better name..

They've got Urban, Country, Adventurer and Explorer packs already, so perhaps they need... Paramilitary Edition?

[JxJ Jr.]

DonkeyApple said:

The big score of the Landy over the Jeep was that it recognised that the vehicle needed to drive better and more efficiently...Fast forward to today and they’ve done it again...

Land Rover were no further ahead of Jeep who lined up the CJ to replace the war time MB for the coming postwar boom, which in turn was no more profound that what happened across industry from aeroplanes to electronics. Fast forward to today and JLR are doing what they do best - be two steps behind, which is why the Wrangler sold almost quarter of a million units in the US alone last year because they started taking their product 'lifestyle' in the 70s while Land Rover did, er, not a lot and so were forced to go for revolution rather than evolution with the inevitable divisiveness.

It's also a little ironic that this vehicle is unveiled in Frankfurt the same week as 4 people were killed by an SUV in Berlin accompanied by "calls to ban SUVs from German city centres".

[Sporky]

RicksAlfas said:

Yes, agreed. It certainly wasn’t a criticism. I’m a big fan of the Yeti. Still baffled why Skoda canned it in favour of a generic SUV. I think many Yeti owners are too!

Agreed - my comparisons to a Yeti were also favourable. I loved both my Yetis, and the Karoq just doesn't do it for me in the same way.

The Yetis were genuinely decent off road, really good on road, comfy, and interesting.

[jeremy996]

Shakermaker said:

You'd have to give it a better name..

They've got Urban, Country, Adventurer and Explorer packs already, so perhaps they need... Paramilitary Edition?

Or perhaps "UNHCR", "UNICEF" or "Peacekeeper".

In white, steel wheels and knobbly tyres, tow pack, rubber mats and vinyl seats. My attempt on the configurator came to £51k. I'd guess the mats and seats would get it down to all of £49K!