RE: Land Rover launches new 525hp Defender V8
Discussion
300bhp/ton said:
Clearly you have a chip on your shoulder over this.
Btw I’m not uniformed. I Have spent seat time in the new Defender on and off road. Have you? I’d guess not, else you wouldn’t be dismissing that the Terrain Response is complex. It simply is. This is looking at it as my day job profession as a software tester. I also don’t dislike the vehicle either or the brand.
Terrain response was developed in 2001, so 20 years ago. Since then it’s been updated several times and from my experience of it, it works really well. Btw I’m not uniformed. I Have spent seat time in the new Defender on and off road. Have you? I’d guess not, else you wouldn’t be dismissing that the Terrain Response is complex. It simply is. This is looking at it as my day job profession as a software tester. I also don’t dislike the vehicle either or the brand.
Foolishly, a couple of weeks ago I parked mine on soaking wet, soft ground and I knew when I could feel it sink as I drove onto it that I’d be in trouble getting back out. Initially it just span all 4 wheels and went sideways, so I put it in snow setting and it just drove out. It really does work.
wormus said:
Terrain response was developed in 2001, so 20 years ago. Since then it’s been updated several times and from my experience of it, it works really well.
Foolishly, a couple of weeks ago I parked mine on soaking wet, soft ground and I knew when I could feel it sink as I drove onto it that I’d be in trouble getting back out. Initially it just span all 4 wheels and went sideways, so I put it in snow setting and it just drove out. It really does work.
The system is great, it is the way that it and the controls that are set out specifically in the defender that is being cirticised and if I'm honest I think it's a fair point.Foolishly, a couple of weeks ago I parked mine on soaking wet, soft ground and I knew when I could feel it sink as I drove onto it that I’d be in trouble getting back out. Initially it just span all 4 wheels and went sideways, so I put it in snow setting and it just drove out. It really does work.
Ref the new Defender and terrain response, I went on a shoot last year and a guy had a new 110 Defender. We were all looking at it and he was very proud.
Later on we all had to drive down into a small valley with a muddy gateway and back up a hill.
The convoy had mostly Japanese pickups and I was in a L322 Range Rover which admittedly does have semi off road tyres on it.
Guess who got stuck 4 times trying to get up the hill! The new Defender. No one else out of the 10 or so vehicles struggled.
Couldn’t help cracking up to be honest, he had 4-5 goes to get up the hill. He must have been in the wrong mode or something but how embarrassed was he when we got back to the farm!
Our Range Rover is a 2006 supercharged model, just before extra fancy terrain response came in, usually turn the tc off as otherwise you can get bogged down! At least there is plenty of power to keep momentum up 😀
Later on we all had to drive down into a small valley with a muddy gateway and back up a hill.
The convoy had mostly Japanese pickups and I was in a L322 Range Rover which admittedly does have semi off road tyres on it.
Guess who got stuck 4 times trying to get up the hill! The new Defender. No one else out of the 10 or so vehicles struggled.
Couldn’t help cracking up to be honest, he had 4-5 goes to get up the hill. He must have been in the wrong mode or something but how embarrassed was he when we got back to the farm!
Our Range Rover is a 2006 supercharged model, just before extra fancy terrain response came in, usually turn the tc off as otherwise you can get bogged down! At least there is plenty of power to keep momentum up 😀
Reading the Swiss Land Rover site this was in the smallprint at the bottom of the page on the V8
"The Defender V8 models have a roof loading capacity of 0 kg. The accessory options are limited. Contact your local Land Rover Dealer for more details."
For me not being able to use the roof would be a show-stopper and moves it away from the practical, rugged, carrying-the-kit-to-places-other-cars-can't-get-to purpose. The V8 comes standard with all the kit that I was planning on optioning onto the P400e so the man-maths was coming into play and I've already made enquiries about ordering the V8 instead of the P400e. I thought the yaw control on the snow-covered hairpins I have much of the year would have been rather fun / silly.
"The Defender V8 models have a roof loading capacity of 0 kg. The accessory options are limited. Contact your local Land Rover Dealer for more details."
For me not being able to use the roof would be a show-stopper and moves it away from the practical, rugged, carrying-the-kit-to-places-other-cars-can't-get-to purpose. The V8 comes standard with all the kit that I was planning on optioning onto the P400e so the man-maths was coming into play and I've already made enquiries about ordering the V8 instead of the P400e. I thought the yaw control on the snow-covered hairpins I have much of the year would have been rather fun / silly.
chandrew said:
For me not being able to use the roof would be a show-stopper and moves it away from the practical, rugged, carrying-the-kit-to-places-other-cars-can't-get-to purpose.
The V8 was never going to be that anyway. 22" rims with relatively low profile tyres don't equal a go-anywhere car. It's designed for posing outside the Sugar Hut. The only time these things will be used off-road will be parking in a field to watch Nickelback in concert. mintcrumble said:
The V8 was never going to be that anyway. 22" rims with relatively low profile tyres don't equal a go-anywhere car. It's designed for posing outside the Sugar Hut. The only time these things will be used off-road will be parking in a field to watch Nickelback in concert.
Do you value your own time so little you'd waste it to post such inane drivel?mintcrumble said:
The V8 was never going to be that anyway. 22" rims with relatively low profile tyres don't equal a go-anywhere car. It's designed for posing outside the Sugar Hut. The only time these things will be used off-road will be parking in a field to watch Nickelback in concert.
Guess you missed the bit with 20” and off road tyres being an option for the v8 model.Also, Nickleback? Really?
A.J.M said:
mintcrumble said:
The V8 was never going to be that anyway. 22" rims with relatively low profile tyres don't equal a go-anywhere car. It's designed for posing outside the Sugar Hut. The only time these things will be used off-road will be parking in a field to watch Nickelback in concert.
Guess you missed the bit with 20” and off road tyres being an option for the v8 model.Also, Nickleback? Really?
Imagine this thing rocketing up behind you with the accompanying noise of a thunderous V8...and a dead pheasant's arse sticking out of the grille
Well done LR. I've a feeling they'll sell plenty of them
woops said:
... You can have a lot of fun whizzing about in a Panda 4X4 and they are totally under the radar...
The Panda 4X4 is the cult car here in St. Moritz, precisely because it is so capable and under the radar. The rich drive GTC4s or Cullinans, the really rich drive a Panda.I realised that I needed something more practical off-road in my life last summer when I had to swap out of my BMW x-Drive into a friend's Panda. Jaw-dropping what they can achieve on nasty rough stuff.
urquattroGus said:
Ref the new Defender and terrain response, I went on a shoot last year and a guy had a new 110 Defender. We were all looking at it and he was very proud.
Later on we all had to drive down into a small valley with a muddy gateway and back up a hill.
The convoy had mostly Japanese pickups and I was in a L322 Range Rover which admittedly does have semi off road tyres on it.
Guess who got stuck 4 times trying to get up the hill! The new Defender. No one else out of the 10 or so vehicles struggled.
Couldn’t help cracking up to be honest, he had 4-5 goes to get up the hill. He must have been in the wrong mode or something but how embarrassed was he when we got back to the farm!
Our Range Rover is a 2006 supercharged model, just before extra fancy terrain response came in, usually turn the tc off as otherwise you can get bogged down! At least there is plenty of power to keep momentum up ??
I see you story and relate mine, where in 1996 my Integrale was the ONLY vehicle to get out of a (very)wet grass field when taking part in the AWDC's "Welsh Hill rally" that year, and that includes ALL the competitor vehicles. As a result i nomiate the 1991 Lancia Detla Integrale EVO 1 as the best off road vehicle ever made ;-)Later on we all had to drive down into a small valley with a muddy gateway and back up a hill.
The convoy had mostly Japanese pickups and I was in a L322 Range Rover which admittedly does have semi off road tyres on it.
Guess who got stuck 4 times trying to get up the hill! The new Defender. No one else out of the 10 or so vehicles struggled.
Couldn’t help cracking up to be honest, he had 4-5 goes to get up the hill. He must have been in the wrong mode or something but how embarrassed was he when we got back to the farm!
Our Range Rover is a 2006 supercharged model, just before extra fancy terrain response came in, usually turn the tc off as otherwise you can get bogged down! At least there is plenty of power to keep momentum up ??
More seriously, the point i am making is that you cannot draw any meanigful conculusion from a single event, especially where tyres and driver skill play such a massive part is the difference between "making a fist of it" and simple "driving right out"
BTW, the real reason my 'grale got out and no one else was the fact it was a) on M&S tyres, had >200 bhp and was very light compared to the rest of the landrovers and range rovers and also 2) no WAY was i letting the local farm tractor driving animal hitch his massive tractor up to my little 'grale and watch him yank the entire front clean off it..... ;-)
AngryPartsBloke said:
So that's one single example, it's the only example that anyone can ever bring up. One defender had an issue with it, the other had an issue with a franchised dealer slicing through the loom.
Nobody has ever been able to provide any evidence of all these of people rejecting them.
Meanwhile there are loads of owners all over social media in Europe, US and Aus enjoying their defender for what people claimed it would never be used for.
It certainly is not the only example. They are now on their third Defender as you have said (also, do you have any idea how idiotic it is to have an ECU which is capable of writing off the entire car located within the front bumper), and they were comparing it to a Land Cruiser off road. The low coolant warning light kept going off every time the car was on a slope. An off roader which freaks out when the car isn't level. Brilliant and well executed design there.Nobody has ever been able to provide any evidence of all these of people rejecting them.
Meanwhile there are loads of owners all over social media in Europe, US and Aus enjoying their defender for what people claimed it would never be used for.
Another South African reviewer was comparing it to a Prado and his front windows failed. Couldn't open them at all. Windows...those hi tech and complicated window regulator.
The mild hybrid P400 is on long term review with some US magazine and they have not once bettered 12 MPG (US) which is pretty catastrophic for a mild hybrid 3.0. In fact its catastrophic for most NA V8s.
Like most JLR products its half baked and rushed.
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