2020 Defender

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
561
Seattle
Range Rover tires aren't deflatable? Or are you saying that because they come with 20"+ bling rims, the Rangie's lower profile tires don't allow for the kind of sidewall deflection you can achieve with tires on smaller rims? That is true, but even so the footprint of the Range Rover's tires is still pretty big. I would expect the differences in off-road performance between new RR and new Defender to be small when comparing two vehicles rolling off the dealership lot. The Range Rover, for all its luxury appeal, is a formidable off-roader if you apply its full potential. As a vehicle for an outdoors enthusiast it's not as practical, however.
 
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ERover82

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2011
3,899
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Darien Gap
Range Rover tires aren't deflatable? Or are you saying that because they come with 20"+ bling rims, the Rangie's lower profile tires don't allow for the kind of sidewall deflection you can achieve with tires on smaller rims? That is true, but even so the footprint of the Range Rover's tires is still pretty big. I would expect the differences in off-road performance between new RR and new Defender to be small when comparing two vehicles rolling off the dealership lot. The Range Rover, for all its luxury appeal, is a formidable off-roader if you apply its full potential. As a vehicle for an outdoors enthusiast it's not as practical, however.

Yes. They excel on slick-rock and LR test tracks for the same reason. In the real world, protecting your tire and wheel are important.
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Range Rover tires aren't deflatable? Or are you saying that because they come with 20"+ bling rims, the Rangie's lower profile tires don't allow for the kind of sidewall deflection you can achieve with tires on smaller rims? That is true, but even so the footprint of the Range Rover's tires is still pretty big. I would expect the differences in off-road performance between new RR and new Defender to be small when comparing two vehicles rolling off the dealership lot. The Range Rover, for all its luxury appeal, is a formidable off-roader if you apply its full potential. As a vehicle for an outdoors enthusiast it's not as practical, however.

Oh, I'd have loved to have some of these new Rovers out in your neck of the woods.

Can you imagine how much more comfortable all those crap roads would be? Look, it's fun to poodle around in an old Series, but when you don't have a choice, it's not nearly as cool; it's just a slow, rough ride. I'm not sure I'd want one of these new Rovers out there when it's ten years old, but a new Range Rover?

Absolutely. It'll be a few years before it becomes troublesome, they can take a beating until then, and they're incredibly capable. If you don't mind stripping the interior, practicality can be found in there.

Sadly, you can strip that Defender all you want, and you'll still end up with a mouse hole for a cargo door.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Oh, I'd have loved to have some of these new Rovers out in your neck of the woods.

Can you imagine how much more comfortable all those crap roads would be? Look, it's fun to poodle around in an old Series, but when you don't have a choice, it's not nearly as cool; it's just a slow, rough ride. I'm not sure I'd want one of these new Rovers out there when it's ten years old, but a new Range Rover?

Absolutely. It'll be a few years before it becomes troublesome, they can take a beating until then, and they're incredibly capable. If you don't mind stripping the interior, practicality can be found in there.

Sadly, you can strip that Defender all you want, and you'll still end up with a mouse hole for a cargo door.

Cheers,

Kennith
Problem is its too expensive to use when its reliable, and when then price comes down to use it that way it will no longer be reliable!!
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Problem is its too expensive to use when its reliable, and when then price comes down to use it that way it will no longer be reliable!!

Yeah, but... How is that different from a traditional Defender? :ROFLMAO:

If the new Defender met the old one in an action movie, it would say: "We're a lot alike, you and I..."

Then, the old one would assert that they are nothing alike. It's got family, friends, tradition; things to fight for...

Of course, it would immediately prove otherwise by blowing a head gasket at the offending newcomer.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
Yeah, but... How is that different from a traditional Defender?

The most dependable Rover I’ve ever owned was a 110 with the 2.8 International diesel while in Brasil. Had it for 4 years without a single problem - and didn’t leak either. Just a shame we couldn’t have brought that back with us. Drove it everywhere and in many remote / desolate areas in surrounding Countries.
 

Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
Nice video. Very well done. Compared though-to the Rangie Great Divide Expedition, it shows the difference between where LR was and where it is now. One highlighted how well the Rover performed primarily off road while this one was pretty soft in this aspect. Very slick - like the new Defender versus the pretty crudely produced Great Divide with a off-Road oriented Rover.
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
You get a much better impression of the angles, clearance, and flex in that video than anything else I've seen; but it's still tracking as I thought it would. It's a very capable vehicle out of the box, and would obviously spank the shit out of anything we've got stock for stock. While fun, I'm sure; the vehicle is capable of much more than the trail in the video.

I'm just having trouble keeping it in my mind. Somehow, it's bland; forgettable.

Aside from the strange take on ass trim with those black bars and scattered lights, the styling is pretty much solid from any perspective. It's clean, modern, and relatively rugged... It may be too good.

Right now and throughout the recent past after the demise of the LR4, the Range Rover Sport has been and is still the most exciting Land Rover on the market, and it's objectively the most unnecessarily complex and traditional design execution; even after it's face-lift.

I think the aftermarket has a chance to take that blank Defender canvas and make it interesting. It's still got a stupid, limiting, and hair-brained rear door, though.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

JackW

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2005
675
69
Kennith -

If you had been clonked on the head a few times by the lift up gate on the Discovery 5 like I have - you'd appreciate the rear door a little more.
I liked the setup on my D3 but I'd much rather have the rear door than the big overhead hatch.
 

DiscoHasBeen

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Aug 7, 2016
1,171
262
Indy
"We're getting ready to go down the most difficult part of the trail. Push that button, now that one, that one also, now turn that dial down a couple of clicks. Now, don't touch anything"!
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Kennith -

If you had been clonked on the head a few times by the lift up gate on the Discovery 5 like I have - you'd appreciate the rear door a little more.
I liked the setup on my D3 but I'd much rather have the rear door than the big overhead hatch.

I love rear doors. What I don't like is the size of that one.

It's a legacy design cue that's stupid as hell. That's not a door, it's a porthole.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

DiscoHasBeen

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2016
1,171
262
Indy
"We're getting ready to go down the most difficult part of the trail. Push that button, now that one, that one also, now turn that dial down a couple of clicks. Now, don't touch anything"!

Although thinking about it it really is offroading for the tech gen isn't it. Use to be it was about when do you engage the front diff locker, or the transfer case locker, or feathering the brake/clutch, or rocking the vehicle to extract oneself from a difficult situation without fucking shit up. Now it's about choosing the right combination of modes to engage in any given situation. To each their own I guess but why not spend $$ on a rollercoaster ticket instead of 75k on a truck where you're only along for the ride.
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Kennith -

If you had been clonked on the head a few times by the lift up gate on the Discovery 5 like I have - you'd appreciate the rear door a little more.
I liked the setup on my D3 but I'd much rather have the rear door than the big overhead hatch.
Why does the lift gate keep closing on your head? I have a first gen Sequoia with a lift gate, and an Odyssey with one. Never hit my head on either nor had one close on me unexpectedly....
 

jymmiejamz

Well-known member
Dec 5, 2004
6,008
361
35
Los Angeles, Ca
Why does the lift gate keep closing on your head? I have a first gen Sequoia with a lift gate, and an Odyssey with one. Never hit my head on either nor had one close on me unexpectedly....

If you are tall, you can hit the corners of the lift gate when the vehicle is in access mode.
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
561
Seattle
I watched the video last night. Having been to Namibia twice, it was cool to see a corner I don't know. Why was there no footage of the Skeleton Coast? One of the all-time great drives in southern Africa is Luderitz to Walvis Bay through the giant coastal dunes of the Great Namib Desert, past huge rusting hulks of shipwrecks. That terrain makes for amazing footage, it's like the Dakar Rally for amateurs. It was conspicuously absent.

Anyway, my main takeaway was that the new Defender is probably better than I had originally thought. Some aspects of it look very appealing and there are definitely features I could do without. Any new 4x4 can drive Van Zyl's Pass, it's not as extreme as the video made it out to be. The question that the video failed to answer is whether the new Defender can make the same journey just as smoothly in 10 or 15 years as it did in 2020. It's great that the vehicle took a 5-day pounding without incident at age zero, but I'm more concerned with long-term usability and reliability. Time will tell if the new Defender can take that 5-day pounding after years of use. I do like some of the factory accessories. The roof rack, for example, looks clean, simple, sensible, functional.
 

Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
The question that the video failed to answer is whether the new Defender can make the same journey just as smoothly in 10 or 15 years as it did in 2020.
Yep, this always has been my question as well. Yet it might not be the criteria any more. There was a discussion on the lifetime design for the components and not sure if it was 15 years. Guess time will tell.