RE: Defender makes UK debut at Goodwood Revival...
Discussion
Saw this when I went to the JLR site and it was being tested on their track.
Was not impressed at all. It looks far too curvy and given all the electronics they were testing it with you can garantee you can't take this apart and rebuild this with a few rusty spanners.
Actually the only JLR products which really caught my eye were the Jaguar ones. And they won't sell and lose money.
Was not impressed at all. It looks far too curvy and given all the electronics they were testing it with you can garantee you can't take this apart and rebuild this with a few rusty spanners.
Actually the only JLR products which really caught my eye were the Jaguar ones. And they won't sell and lose money.
coppice said:
Weird isn't it ? Until the Millennium the Defender had been a bit of a joke for years . It was only bought by old school farmers who didn't trust that new fangled , if reliable, Japanese stuff the rest of the world has been using since we lost the Empire.
But suddenly it was only a bloody Icon , loved by every classic car magazine hack , hipsters and off grid nutjobs alike. But very few farmers - in my part of the world they all drive crew cab f*** off pickups .
I'm pretty sure it was Top Gear wot done it. Clarkson put the Defender in the Sub-Zero section of the Cool Wall, then Hammond delivered an excellent and heartfelt case for the Land Rover in their Greatest Car of All Time poll, which the LR then won convincingly.But suddenly it was only a bloody Icon , loved by every classic car magazine hack , hipsters and off grid nutjobs alike. But very few farmers - in my part of the world they all drive crew cab f*** off pickups .
I was very much in the LR scene at the time with my grotty SIII 88-inch diesel and it was really noticeable how in the year or two after the TG feature the shows, clubs, mags and off-road events switched. Before 2003 they were for LR diehards wearing too much milsurp clothing who had three Landys, all over 20 years old (plus one perpetual project and four in bits in boxes), who built 100-inch hybrid triallers out of rotten Discos on their mate's drive at the weekend and whose dream vehicle was a genuine Amazon Camel Trophy One Ten with dents, scrapes, bent light guards and an interior smelling of BO and vomit.
After 2003 the scene filled up with 18-year olds in ropey Ninety Hard Tops with Tdi conversions and with most of the Scorpion Racing catalogue bolted to the underside and 30-something IT workers in brand new 110 Double Cabs with knobbly tyres, snorkels, eight spotlamps, chequerplate on every surface, a deleted rear silencer and an overland luggage rack on the roof.
This was also right at the time that LR introduced the Defender XS with silver grille/lamp surrounds, air-con, leather seats, heated screen, chequerplate wingtips, standard ABS/ETC etc. which gave it a big boost in practicality and fashion appeal.
The Vambo said:
RTB said:
I wonder how many the army have ordered........
Hopefully none, soldiers work best with their legs still attached.Go on Exercise and just need to get around Salisbury Plain...you get your hired-in Hilux 4x4 (awesome trying to hide 10 white Hilux's!!). Go to "war" and you get, or soon will get, things like this......
Civilian spec vehicles cannot carry the protection, radios, weird anti-IED stuff, troops and all their kit on their weedy springs and suspension. And lastly JLR do not see supplying to the military in their interest so wont bother trying.
Is there any way to disable comment on new Defender articles. There are 900 comments in the launch article. Literally everything that anyone could say has been said...not a real Defender...blah blah, farmers.....blah blah, army...blah blah, Skoda Yeti....blah blah, it's a Discovery not a Defender...blah blah, I actually like it more than I thought I would....blah blah. ENOUGH ALREADY.
Well I have owned 19 Defenders and 16 Series and still have a few. There was nothing for me to consider in the LR range and I had recently been to try the Utility Landcruiser.
The new Defender isn’t awful and sounds like it should be exceptionally good off-road. What it will be is far better than both the old one and the LC at on road and safety. Two areas I wanted improvements for the miles we do.
I’ll go with an open mind and closed cheque book to drive one when available. Basic spec 110 and steels for me please.
The new Defender isn’t awful and sounds like it should be exceptionally good off-road. What it will be is far better than both the old one and the LC at on road and safety. Two areas I wanted improvements for the miles we do.
I’ll go with an open mind and closed cheque book to drive one when available. Basic spec 110 and steels for me please.
Macboy said:
Is there any way to disable comment on new Defender articles. There are 900 comments in the launch article. Literally everything that anyone could say has been said...not a real Defender...blah blah, farmers.....blah blah, army...blah blah, Skoda Yeti....blah blah, it's a Discovery not a Defender...blah blah, I actually like it more than I thought I would....blah blah. ENOUGH ALREADY.
The corollartion between how people voted on Brexit and how the the new Land Rover is received... Oh well Macboy said:
Is there any way to disable comment on new Defender articles. There are 900 comments in the launch article. Literally everything that anyone could say has been said...not a real Defender...blah blah, farmers.....blah blah, army...blah blah, Skoda Yeti....blah blah, it's a Discovery not a Defender...blah blah, I actually like it more than I thought I would....blah blah. ENOUGH ALREADY.
Don't read it then......I think it's extremely positive that the new DEFENDER is creating so much interest. Better than discussing VAG crap!I must be the odd one as im both glad and unsurprised its a modern vehicle. So to give another perspective to the love in.
I have tried to like the old series and 90 but they are without doubt one of the worst vehicles I have ever driven. Poor safety, horrid to drive, high maintenance, rust buckets, unreliable and ..... Farmers dumped them for a reason.
My other half had a petrol pickup from the fifties, my god it should have stayed in the fifties.
I can confess that I owned the jap stuff landcruiser and and all mark variants of the shogun. I now have a Yeti so of course the new defender is my cup of tea. If its finally reliable I will probably buy one.
I have tried to like the old series and 90 but they are without doubt one of the worst vehicles I have ever driven. Poor safety, horrid to drive, high maintenance, rust buckets, unreliable and ..... Farmers dumped them for a reason.
My other half had a petrol pickup from the fifties, my god it should have stayed in the fifties.
I can confess that I owned the jap stuff landcruiser and and all mark variants of the shogun. I now have a Yeti so of course the new defender is my cup of tea. If its finally reliable I will probably buy one.
petop said:
For the reason above and the fact vehicles like these in the role the original Land Rover provided are not there anymore. Peacetime you want to get from A-to-B you get your hired-in Hilux 4x4.
Go on Exercise and just need to get around Salisbury Plain...you get your hired-in Hilux 4x4 (awesome trying to hide 10 white Hilux's!!). Go to "war" and you get, or soon will get, things like this......
Civilian spec vehicles cannot carry the protection, radios, weird anti-IED stuff, troops and all their kit on their weedy springs and suspension. And lastly JLR do not see supplying to the military in their interest so wont bother trying.
Ah, the Oshkosh JLTV. Replaced the Hummer in the US.Go on Exercise and just need to get around Salisbury Plain...you get your hired-in Hilux 4x4 (awesome trying to hide 10 white Hilux's!!). Go to "war" and you get, or soon will get, things like this......
Civilian spec vehicles cannot carry the protection, radios, weird anti-IED stuff, troops and all their kit on their weedy springs and suspension. And lastly JLR do not see supplying to the military in their interest so wont bother trying.
There's an interesting installation in the Imperial War Museum where you can peer into a "Snatch" Land Rover. Stick that next to an Ocelot and it's a sobering experience to imagine what modern warfare demands.
I agree with you - I think the Defender's role is limited to general logistical/transport requirements where there is no need for armour of any sort. I imagine the Army has a few old Pinzgauers kicking around for that, otherwise it's whatever generic hired vehicle meets the budget!
Modern warfare has killed off the demand for softskin vehicles, especially now most warzones are engaged in asymmetrical warfare with no established lines of battle, or 'safe' areas behind them.
I applaud Land Rover for building an all new vehicle, and not trying to built a pastiche or incorporate any naff or unnecessary features from the previous model. I understand that the new SWB version will start at about 40 grand which places it outside of the utility and commercial market, but LR have been moving away from this market anyway in recent years.
I applaud Land Rover for building an all new vehicle, and not trying to built a pastiche or incorporate any naff or unnecessary features from the previous model. I understand that the new SWB version will start at about 40 grand which places it outside of the utility and commercial market, but LR have been moving away from this market anyway in recent years.
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