That whole shiter thing is interesting. I can't find the thread on one of the facebook forums, but apparently those shift levers need to go through some level of testing for safety, etc. For Ineos to get a new lever, they woudl have had to take on what I suppose is a high cost and time delay to design a new one. I had no idea. I agree that it could look better, but oh well.
I heard the cost is going to be starting at 80k for the USA market. To me, that blows it. 60-65K and I may have been a player. 80k is just too much for what it offers. With all the goodies, it is still, to me, only for "light off roading" and you can order up (gasp) a Defender that is probably just as capable (again, for light off roading) for far less. Afraid it will end up being the "poor person's G-Wagon" not the awesome, resonably priced, true Defender replacement the set out to make. If ithe starting price for a 2023 Defender is 53,500, how can they possibly claim to be the rightful successor?
My test drive in the Chicago area is coming up in May, maybe that will make a believer out of me, but I highly, highly doubt it for 80k.